Outside, soldiers straightened as Xander mounted the Blue Wyvern once more. The beast's wings beat heavily, lifting them skyward toward Cross Manor.
The ride back passed beneath a sky dimming toward evening.
Neither spoke.
At Cross Manor, Xander dismounted and dismissed Arceus with a brief nod.
"I have matters to attend to."
While he was walking away, his gaze hardened.
"I must meet Queen Consort Callista Frost. I need to make sure she didn't have any siblings."
If anyone knew the truth behind Lysander Frost's past, it would be her.
*
For several days after Commander Xander Cross's visit, Averton District breathed without incident.
No soldiers lined Stormstride Street. No drakes shadowed rooftops. No imperial envoys knocked at the shutters of Nexus. The ordinary rhythm of trade resumed, though beneath it lingered the quiet awareness that eyes still watched from somewhere unseen.
Inside Nexus Store, however, business did not slow.
