Cain closed the holocase with precise care, bowing once more before he withdrew. The chamber doors whispered shut behind him, leaving only the low thrum of conduits in the walls and the faint glow of the scarlet map still hovering in the air.
For a moment neither emperor nor empress spoke. Gabriel's eyes lingered on the red-saturated outline of Wrohan, the corners of his mouth faintly curved as though the map itself had answered every question the envoy had not dared to voice.
"They will take our hand," he said at last. "They may call it partnership, but they will not hesitate when the alternative is collapse."
Damian rose smoothly, the shift of his suit catching the muted light. He closed the map with a flick of his wrist, the projection folding into darkness, as final as the words he left behind. "Then Wrohan will learn what every neighbor has. Stability comes only through us."
"Mhmm… You sound like a tyrant when speaking like this."
