*Tristan*

A commotion outside causes me to pause with my coffee mug halfway to my mouth. I gaze over at Mark, who looks at me with a similarly perplexed gaze.

“What is happening out there? What’s that noise?” I ask as I strain my ears to listen to what a voice from outside is saying.

All I can make out is a female voice saying something about the capital. I put my mug down a little too hard and some coffee spills out. I don’t care about the mess and head out the ...