Lebía was finally in bed. The house was overrun with the Dar's specially selected servants and chaperones. Two tall guards in full armor stood at the door of the house, each holding a fluttering banner--a golden Syrin in full flight on a black field--the sigil of Dar Antomír and the Clan of Cassían. Having given his steward a final instruction regarding tomorrow's continued fallout from Aglaia's sudden disappearance, Voran sought the haven of his rooms.
He had not had a single moment to stop moving, much less process anything that had happened. Now he wished for nothing more than the pleasant lie of sleep.
Sleep avoided him as though he were plagued. Thoughts tussled in his mind, each insisting on his full attention. A heavy knot sat in his chest and refused to be budged. Voran lay with
