Valen moved silently behind Asterix, his boots whispering against the stone floor. Asterix had said nothing of their destination, but Valen already knew.
'Mother's quarters.'
Ever since Jorvik's assault on Liam, the estate had simmered with a low, uneasy tension. It sat behind Asterix's measured movements, in the tight line of his shoulders.
He is worried. Not just for me. For Mother.
Valen kept his pace steady, though his mind worked as sharply as any other noble in House Maddach.
'Mother had not summoned him or me immediately. She must have needed time, to think, to plan.'
As the doors to her wing drew near, Valen considered the timeline.
So much had shifted. Ever since the Emperor's announcement in that dinner. 'Or… was it Liam?'
'Ever since Liam declared he would fight for his nobility; nothing has been the same.'
He was still unsure if the change came just because of the Emperor's announcement.
It made more sense if it did.
