Wren set the east conference room for four hours of formal meetings.
The kitchen supplied the good linens, polished trays, water carafes, and the narrow porcelain cups used when the council wanted diplomacy to look effortless. Every object had a place measured in advance: carafes at the center, cups aligned to the right, refreshments positioned far enough from the documents that no careless hand could turn a border negotiation into a stain.
Daya pushed the first cart. Wren followed with the second and found Seraphine already in the corridor, questioning Henrique about the southern routes.
In daylight, Seraphine was harder to dismiss. At the formal dinner, rank and candlelight had done part of the work for her. Here, with maps open and aides moving around her, competence did the rest. Sh
