Lucien frowned, his eyes narrowed as his grip on his obsidian cane grew tighter.

The war council meeting was going on longer than he had expected.

Lucien sat silently in his stone-carved seat beside his brother, his brows furrowed as his mind strayed away from the purpose of the meeting.

His sharp, intense gaze wandered across the enclave as he watched them trade words and hurl insults at each other. One moment they debated strategies for the war and outlined countermeasures; the other, ...