The council chamber filled quickly.
Stone benches scraped. Heavy, fur-lined cloaks settled. Voices overlapped before the doors had even finished closing—fear sharpening every word, urgency turning manners brittle. Maps were unrolled. Ink pots rattled. The fire was stoked to create warmth. Someone knocked over a cup and did not bother to apologize.
Juno waited until they were all present.
Only then did he sit.
That, more than any call for silence, stilled the room.
Lord Harvek, a Lord from one of the older Houses, spoke first, as he always did when tension rose. "The borders must be reinforced immediately. Every pass, every river crossing. Double patrols—no, triple them."
"Agreed," Juno said at once. "Issue the order."
A murmur of approval rippled through the benches.
Lady Ysra leaned forward. "We should call the Northern Houses. All of them. Men, grain, coin. This cannot be handled by standing forces in Vetasta alone."
