Galen and Liam returned to the Tempest Palace roughly an hour after leaving Aeris. They could have arrived much sooner, but Galen deliberately delayed them with a few unnecessary stops—grabbing bites to eat and drinks along the way like he was on a casual stroll rather than returning from a classified sweep.
By the time they crossed the palace gates, word had already reached Queen Lucy about their arrival.
After Mabel reported that Galen had taken Liam out of the palace without formal notice, Lucy's patience wore thin. She knew Galen too well—if he took Liam along, it wasn't just for company. He'd let the boy fight. Which meant Liam had likely used his dark magic in open combat, making the risk of his true identity being exposed dangerously high.
