Everyone leaned forward, holding their breath. Ryker looked up. Then fixed his face to neutral.
When he broke the wax and unfolded the parchment, he kept the seal hidden under his palm. That told Maddox two things. One: Ryker recognized something. Two: Ryker did not want him or the room recognizing it yet. Both facts were filed and neither was forgotten.
Ryker read it quickly. Whatever was on that page, his face gave nothing more to the room until he folded the parchment and tucked it into his coat. That's when his face hardened. The man who flipped coins and had been using finger guns lately for some reason unknown to Maddox, had vacated the premises. The shift was tectonic.
The events that followed would be classified, redacted, reclassified, and then burned. In that order.
"By order of the High General, you are under arrest for treason, seditious conspiracy, and acts of espionage against the forty dragon houses and the Drakencrest Crown."
