The Aura That Shook Their Hearts
Thick silence squeezed the wooden walls of the council room, as if even the air was not brave enough to intrude. Golden lamplight danced across armored faces, shadows spreading along the borders of the circular table where Leon's captains and advisors sat. Their breathing was even, but their hearts pounded; every man there knew it—the change, the burden of something so much larger than before.
"My Lord," Ronan's voice cut the quiet. Low, firm, laced with uncertainty. His scarred brow creased, shadows accentuating the jagged lines of his weathered face. "Excuse me if I trespass… but tell me—have you penetrated in cultivation?"
The question hung suspended like a knife poised in midair.
