The monumental doors of the hall remained open when Strax crossed the threshold without looking back. His footsteps echoed through the outer corridors with the same insolent calm as always, as if he were leaving a boring tavern and not the most powerful court on the continent. Scarlett walked beside him with a smile too satisfied to be discreet. Tiamat walked a few steps behind, laughing to herself at irregular intervals as she recalled each offended expression she had seen. Ouroboros, on the other hand, kept her hand on her forehead, already anticipating the political storm that lay behind them.
As the doors began to slowly close, the heavy sound of the structure sealing the hall seemed to release something that everyone present had been repressing since the arrival of that visitor. The controlled silence crumbled first in their gazes. Then in their postures. Then in their words.
Aelyra was the first to move.
