Mara stood at the edge of the table, no alarms, no panic, no obvious threat at the moment. Just that unnatural stillness, the kind that followed a scream no one else had heard.
Mara exhaled through her nose and turned from the table.
Behind her, Tristan was already waiting. He stood with perfect posture, arms behind his back, the glow from the nearby arcane lamps catching the silver trim on his coat.
"You've been out for a while."
"I know."
He didn't press. That's why she trusted him, not for his paperwork, not for his discipline, not even for his loyalty, although all of those mattered. She trusted him because he knew how to shut up when silence was doing the talking.
She got up and bowed slightly to the two figures that appeared from the shimmering gate that she built for convenience and practicality.
Victor, the Guildmaster of Shooting Star, and Shen, the Guildmaster of Argent Mirror.
