"I am here to welcome you back to Silverfen."
"Thank you," he said, turning to her.
"How long will you be staying?"
"I will be gone by morning," he said. "If you'll excuse me, Selene… I need to rest and freshen up before the ball."
"Of course," she murmured with a small curtsy before gliding from the room, the faint rustle of her gown fading into silence.
The door had barely clicked shut when it opened again. Kael slipped inside, closing it quickly behind him.
Thornak's eyes narrowed. "What did you find out?" he asked, his voice low.
"Plenty. And none of it is good."
Back in Vargorath, Aedric and his personal guard arrived at a quiet part of the forest where the Draemore camp had settled. The night was heavy, the shadows broken only by the flicker of a nearby torch. A man stepped from the darkness and bowed quickly before leading him deeper between the tree trunks.
