There was a heavy pause in the council chamber as Alpheo's words settled over the room like a velvet curtain hiding a theater show, smooth but weighted.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Shahab and Jasmine exchanged a quick glance, wondering if they had interpreted the same sentence in the same way.
Across the table, Jarza shifted in his seat. Asag blinked, caught halfway between nodding and frowning.
The stillness was broken, unexpectedly, by Egil.
"Wait, Alph... you mean this?" he asked, dragging his thumb slowly across his throat in a crude gesture. The meaning was unmistakable—and the reaction immediate.
A collective inhale. Shahab's brows shot up in disbelief.
"By the gods, no, he's not meaning that, you oaf," Shahab snapped, half-turning toward his grandson-in-law. He turned to Alpheo then and in a unsure tone asked ''I believe he is implying that we hold them until they agree to surrender hostages?"
