I called Lucian at seven in the morning.
He answered on the second ring, already alert. Either instinct or the news had reached him.
“You’ve seen the confession,” he said.
“You know about it.”
“I’ve known about Caius Moonveil for six months,” he said. “I’ve been building a supplementary case on council corruption. I intended to bring it to you when it was complete.”
“How close?”
“Close enough. What do you need?”
I told him.
Silence, brief and measured.
“You want to call an emergency council session without using official channels,” he said. “Because she monitors them.”
“Yes.”
“And you need three council-adjacent alphas to present a removal motion before she can block it.”
“Yes.”
“I know which three. Give me two hours.”
“You have ninety minutes.”
A pause.
“Understood.” Then
