THREE DAYS LATER - GRAND COUNCIL HALL
The hall was too full.
That was my first thought.
Too many representatives.
Too many observers.
Too many scholars, provincial delegates, military liaisons, trade envoys, and journalists pretending not to be delighted by the possibility of political spectacle.
When a room got this crowded, it usually meant one of two things:
war
or bureaucracy pretending it wasn't war.
Today, unfortunately, it was the second one.
I stood near the rear entrance with Kieran, Lily, Mira, and Ezra while the chamber filled.
At the front, the Speaker's platform had been expanded.
Behind it hung the Alliance banners—not one national standard above the others, but all of them arranged in equal height.
Democracy really did love making symbolism into furniture.
"You can still say no," Mira murmured beside me.
"I am aware."
"Just checking."
