ERIS
I arrived at the imperial suite with the weight of Ellyn's revelations pressing against my ribs. I expected to find the room bathed in the warm glow of the fireplace, with Soren already there, perhaps shedding his heavy formal furs or nursing a goblet of wine.
But as I pushed the heavy oak doors open, I was met only with the rhythmic crackle of a fire tended by servants and an expansive, haunting emptiness. The large, fur-draped bed was untouched. The room felt hollow.
He was busy. I knew it before I even checked the adjoining rooms. With the trial looming and the strange, quiet reports of supply delays trickling in, it was only logical that he was buried under a mountain of parchment in his office.
He was likely working alone, his brow furrowed in that way that made him look far older than his years, chasing the ghost of his mother's influence through a thousand ledgers.
