The council chamber was one of those places that always smelled the same polished wood, ink, and something faintly sharp from old stone that had watched too many secrets pass through it.
Lucien sat beside Alexander at the long table, shoulders squared, expression calm, and tried not to look like he was still carrying road dust in his bones.
They had been back in Avaloria for two days.
Two days of baths, clean sheets, and servants fussing as if the palace itself could scrub away the weeks of travel. Two days of being greeted with bright smiles and careful bows that said welcome home while quietly asking, Did you bring trouble with you?
Lucien had slept better, eaten better… and yet he felt more awake than ever.
Because today was the day the numbers came in.
Stacks of reports lay in neat piles in front of the ministers inspection summaries, provincial ledgers, trade updates, and infrastructure reports, all sealed with wax and tied in ribbon like they were gifts.
