Aethel stepped forward, his voice hard as steel. "Union officers. Guilds. You have your proof. Detain Alister Hazanworth — now!"
Weapons were drawn all at once. Blades, pistols, charged rune-staffs and focusing crystals. A surge of mana rippled through the hall as hundreds prepared for violence.
Aethel raised a hand, glaring directly at Alister. "Stand down, or you will be publicly executed for the disruption of public order, mass murder, and the attempted seizure of power by terror."
For a moment, the weight of a thousand killing intents bore down on Alister.
Then — he laughed.
Soft at first. Almost playful.
"Cinder," Alister called over his shoulder, a crooked smile creeping across his lips... the first the public had ever seen. "Did you hear that?"
"...They want to execute me if I don't stand down."
Cinder's eyes glimmered like molten rubies.
