Noon light fell across the obsidian spires on Day 24.
A single shaft of grey daylight sliced through the arrow slit, illuminating the worn canvas of Kaelen Vance’s straw hat.
Kaelen pulled his down quilt up to his ears, intending to sleep until evening.
However, the three cultivators standing beside his divan had other plans.
Elder Sterling stood with his arms crossed, his weathered face carved with grim lines. Sera Thorne was pacing near the tea table, testing the edge of her bone dagger against a strip of leather. Mina Vance sat on the rug, her small hands resting on her knees as cold frost misted around her fingers.
“Young Master,” Sterling said, his voice deep and urgent. “You cannot stay on this divan.”
“The mattress is very comfortable,” Kaelen murmured from beneath the quilt. “The feathers are goose down. Why would I leave?”
“Because a Spirit Domain expert is coming here tomorrow,” Sterling said, stepping closer. “Lord Ignis does not inspect rooms like an ordinary magistrate. A Spirit Domain carries ten times Law Suppression.”
