THE NEXT MORNING - BREAKFAST TABLE
Peace, I've learned, is just war with better lighting.
I came downstairs expecting tea, bread, and maybe fifteen seconds of emotional privacy before Ezra materialized to ask invasive questions.
Instead, I found the entire household already assembled.
Lily with documents.
Kassandra pretending not to care.
Mira calm in the way that meant she absolutely knew something.
Ezra vibrating like an overenthusiastic prophecy.
Even Lydia was there, which meant whatever had happened was either historically important or deeply irritating.
Kieran was standing by the window holding coffee like it was a defensive weapon.
The moment I walked in, everyone looked at me.
I stopped in the doorway.
"No," I said immediately. "Whatever this is, no."
"You don't know what it is yet," Lily said.
"Your faces say administrative ambush."
"That's fair," Mira admitted.
