The shift did not announce itself loudly, but Elara felt it the moment she stepped out of the west hall. The corridor looked the same as it had before, quiet and polished, but the air no longer carried the same stillness. It felt heavier now, as if something unseen had begun to move beneath the surface, reacting to what had just happened.
She walked beside Dante without speaking, her steps steady but her thoughts sharper than before. The meeting replayed in her mind, not as doubt, but as analysis. Every glance, every pause, every subtle shift in tone from the people at the table carried meaning she had not fully understood in the moment.
"You are thinking again," Dante said.
Elara did not look at him immediately. Her gaze remained forward, focused, controlled.
"I am reviewing," she rep
