Lilith's lips curved faintly, but it wasn't a real smile. There was no warmth in it, just a sharp edge. "Predictable chaos," she murmured.
"It's still chaos. That's what makes him dangerous. Not patience. Not cleverness. Just the way he spreads rot faster than we can scrape it away."
The map on the table gave a faint stir, pulsing with a soft red glow along one of the traced routes.
Something moved far away, not close enough to touch them but near enough to be felt. The lines of light crawled slowly across the parchment like veins carrying blood.
Elowen's eyes followed the flicker. She didn't look surprised. "Then it begins already. His pawns move faster than expected."
"Pawns cut throats all the same," Lilith answered. Her voice had dropped lower, but there was no softness in it.
The chamber fell quiet again, though it wasn't the kind of quiet that came from nothing left to say.
