The door to the study was open.
That alone wasn't unusual. Darius rarely closed it unless the discussion required privacy, and the guard outside stood at his usual post, unmoving, indifferent to who passed through. There was no signal to wait, no instruction to stay out.
I stepped in without hesitation.
The conversation inside had already begun.
"...the eastern border will not hold if they continue to delay reinforcement," Seraphina was saying.
My steps slowed, not enough to be noticed, but enough for the shift to register within me. Her voice carried across the room with quiet clarity, steady and precise, as though every word had been considered before it was spoken. There was no hesitation in how directly she spoke, and no effort to soften the weight of what she was saying.
Darius was listening.
Fully.
"That depends on whether the delay is deliberate," he said.
Seraphina shook her head slightly, her expression unchanged.
