As they filed out of the courtroom, Daniel reached for Juniper’s arm. “Jupiter, please-”

“Don’t,” she cut him off, her voice ice-cold. Daniel took a step back, but pressed on anyway, his voice taking on that measured legal tone she’d once found so compelling.

“If we review the precedent in Marshall, we could still-”

“NO!” The word tore from her throat in a way that seemed to surprise even her, echoing off the polished floors with such force that the remaining court staff whirled around.

Her hands trembled as they gripped her briefcase, knuckles white against the leather. For a moment, her face contorted into something raw and primal - mouth open in what could have been a scream but no sound emerged… just the silent agony of everything falling apart.

Then, barely above a whisper, each word seeming to physically pain her: “I’ll have to carry the sword now.” Her gaze fixed on some distant point beyond them all, yet somehow seeing right through each person in the room at once, eyes burning with unshed tears she refused to acknowledge. “Just me… K?”