ough heavy storm-clouds hangin

the kitchen when Kael enters wea

my way. He pours hi

mands sharply. "The Council convenes in one hour. I int

rm teacup. "Kael - what if the

t a harsh mo

You have not the instincts of a warrior. You wou

he table and walks away, leavin

vy iron-barred oak doors seal shut. Spectators, noble attendants and Kael himself are locked o

crystal," announces the Head Elder. Hi

on the central pedestal. Wi

adow-Shrouded Mist from two nights prior. Dense red markers fo

silver lines materializes on the

During those critical forty seconds, my magic a

one by one, carving a narrow safe escape passa

s, you could hear a

his throat and breaks the silence. "The duty-officer's ju

ealizing I had bee

noble Elder closely allied with Elara's powerful

n. She bypassed the commanding Alpha's authority. Much of our northern border military funding comes from noble houses. We cannot permit front-line officers to d

his fist onto the

fe to save those men. And you demand she bow and c

that formal statement acknowledging procedural violation, we freeze her transfer file. She will r

ts outside, counting on noble political support to shore up his military standi

I must go to Winter-Claw terri

my voice eerily calm

e, take rough parchme

gizing for deviating from standard op

stamp it firmly with the officia

inside a confidential archive pouch for the scribes, ensuring

f the scribes' archive and hands it to her. Elara uses the clan messenger network

king public fury, painting the anony

o unrest outside. Passing clansmen snarl angr

ael and Elara lounge on a sofa w

to the coffee-table. "Cold lifeless words. No hint of genuin

. "People like her probably c

t the bottom of the staircase. His expression

w what angers me most?

fe, you could not even spare a private telepathic thought

town square where the angry crowd s

ry," I sa

sorry I could never become what he wanted. As the

rstands nei

mutters and tur

rne's private thought-vo

d approved. The carriage is already at the border sta

u, Elder.

te one final night watch before you

the night-watch

first patrol since th

last time, I wi