"Power stabilizes kingdoms; partnership stabilizes the men who run them."
MARCUS'S POV
The scent of the office was, frankly, insulting. It was still the sharp, unsettling aroma of Silas's precise, antiseptic leather polish and highly engineered efficiency. I spent my mornings inside this massive, commanding space, the literal seat of the Northern Citadel's security, and yet, every time I sat down, I felt like I was wearing my mentor's oversized, slightly too-formal boots. I was the Chief of Security now, but I still half-expected Silas to materialize, adjust the precise angle of my papers, and demand an instant, non-verbal threat assessment.
