The lodge had been repaired since the rogue attack, though faint scorch marks still marred parts of the stone walls, a lingering reminder of how close disaster had come only days before. Twelve elders sat once again around the long table, firelight flickering across faces Lily was beginning to recognize, though she still couldn't have named most of them beyond Grayson and, reluctantly, Selena, who occupied a seat near the head of the table with an expression carefully arranged into polite neutrality.
"Tell them," Grayson said, the moment Ethan and Lily crossed the threshold. "Exactly what happened in the library today. Every word."
Lily recounted the encounter as steadily as she could manage, watching the gathered elders' reactions with the same careful attention Ethan had asked of her,
