POV: ALESSIA DE LUCA VOLKOV
The silence after Cassian’s threat lingered long after Don Matteo Ricci stumbled from the council chamber.
Nobody rushed after him, nobody defended him, nobody even looked particularly concerned. That was the real humiliation not the hand around his throat, not being pinned against a stone wall in front of half the empire.
The humiliation was realizing nobody considered him important enough to challenge Cassian Volkov.
The chamber slowly emptied. Conversations resumed in low whispers, council members avoided looking directly at Cassian. Others avoided looking directly at me which was somehow worse because I could feel it.
The shift, the recalculation. Every powerful person in this fortress had just witnessed something dangerous. Not Cassian’s temper. Everyo
