The council chamber had gone dead silent since the messenger's report, five warriors gone, nothing left but weapons standing upright in blood-soaked dirt, and Julian watched Maldrek pace the length of the room like a man trying to outrun a thought he couldn't outrun.
"They're not dead," Maldrek said, more to himself than to anyone listening. "The messenger said unconscious. Not dead."
"You're relieved," Julian said. "That's interesting."
Maldrek stopped pacing. "I'd rather she's capable of restraint than not. It changes what we're dealing with."
"What exactly are we dealing with." Julian's voice came out rougher than he intended, the ache in his chest still a constant, low-grade fire even hours after the collapse. "You keep talking around it. I want the truth, Maldrek. All of it, right
