The night after the Council meeting was quiet.Too quiet....

Elder Thorne walked alone beneath the moonlight, his cloak pulled tight against the cold. His boots crunched softly over the frost-covered path that led away from the Council Hall and toward the Elder Quarters.

He paused at the door to Dorian’s home.

The lights inside were off. The windows dark. No sign of movement.

Thorne glanced over his shoulder, checking the empty street, then pushed open the door.

It wasn’t locked.

Inside, the ...