The council room had not been formally convened, but the evening had drawn them there anyway.
Mira sat near the far end of the table, idly turning pages in a wedding magazine she had borrowed from a traveling merchant. She was not truly reading. Her fingers paused on sketches of lace and candle arrangements as if she were studying logistics rather than celebration. The idea of ceremony felt distant lately, something delicate being balanced over shifting ground.
Elias stood beside the hearth, arms loosely folded, speaking quietly with Taren.
Joy lingered near the windows, watching the last light fade from the courtyard.
Gabriel entered without ceremony.
Rowan noticed the tension in his shoulders before he registered the silence that followed him. Gabriel rarely carried news lightly.
