Lucien frowned as he sat on his throne,

His grip tightened as the minutes passed and Elder Wren droned on with his reports.

After Aria had decided to clear her head in the garden for a while, he requested Elder Wren’s presence in his throne room. He needed to be debriefed about the workings of the clawhold.

That was a decision Lucien was beginning to regret, mainly, because all of it was so boring.

The clawhold was running as smoothly as it always had, the only piece of news that ...