The winter sun casted a pale light over the capital, providing no warmth.
Inside the palace, Elias sat at the small writing desk in the royal solar, the silver-and-emerald diadem resting on the blotter beside him. He hadn't put it on yet. He was staring at a single sheet of parchment that had arrived an hour before dawn.
It wasn't a war report from the Pass this time, nor was it a request for more medical supplies.
It was an internal dossier from the Western Oversight Committee.
The name at the top of the list was one Elias recognized: Lord Harlen of House Ronald.
During his years as an Asset, Elias had seen Harlen at various galas—a man who had always looked at Elias as if he were a particularly interesting piece of equipment. Now, the dossier laid out a different side of the man.
Under the cover of the Northern mobilization, House Ronald had been caught hoarding three thousand tons of winter grain.
