Darius's POV
On the way back from the mill, I already knew this wasn’t going to be a simple “we’ll file it and deal with it later” kind of case. The boy’s face, my courier, burned in my retinas.
When we turned into the courtyard, Sera slid off her horse, the motion cautious but not painful. Lia and Bram stayed at her heels.
“The horses will be taken,” Cassian told the stablemaster. “Keep the gear close. We don’t know when we’ll head out again.”
“Half an hour in the council room,” I said. “Inner circle only.”
Sera looked at me. “Me too.”
“Of course,” I answered. “I’m not leaving you out of a briefing where you provided one of the main pieces of information.”
I saw a small release of tension in her. It mattered to her that I wasn’t sidelining her.
“Half an hour,” I repeated. “Wash up
