The study felt smaller than Enrique remembered. Or maybe it was simply because he was now the center of attention.
The shelves still climbed toward the ceiling, with leather bound volumes and scroll cases sealed in wax. The fire still burned low in the hearth, casting shadows that bent and warped along the stone. But the room no longer felt like a place of wisdom.
It felt like a courtroom.
Alpha Fredrick stood behind the desk, both palms braced against its surface as though it were the only thing keeping him upright. His hair had gone more silver since Enrique last saw him. Lines bracketed his mouth, deep and permanent, etched by years of command and compromise. His eyes, the same sharp ember Enrique saw in the mirror every morning, were restless.
Elias paced back and forth. The movem
