Inside the main kitchen, the long wooden table gleamed under lamplight. Bowls of stew and roasted roots filled the air with warmth.
It was a rare evening without work.
Therese had called it a gathering, not a meeting, which meant they were allowed to laugh, argue, and gossip without a scribe hovering nearby to write it all down.
Mira arrived first, boots still muddy from a patrol shift. "If this isn't about new work assignments, I'm staying," she announced, dropping into a chair.
Marla snorted from the stove. "You're staying because of the food."
"Same thing," Mira said. "Both keep me alive."
Eira followed soon after, calm as always, wiping her hands on a clean cloth. "We're not here to fight, Mira. Just to eat and breathe like normal people."
"Speak for yourself," Mira muttered. "Normal's overrated."
"For tonight's gathering, we pay for stew, bread, roots, and watered wine or tea.
I'll pay for Athena. My welcome treat," Eira said.
