The Third Option
"…you will need to choose sides far more carefully than you ever have."
The room went breathless.
Robert said nothing.
Smiled faintly.
And said in a voice only William could hear:
"You're enjoying this."
William didn't answer.
He only smiled back.
---
Silence sat heavy over the chamber, thick as wet velvet. The chandelier above flickered, and shadows twisted along the walls like listening creatures.
The nobles shifted in their seats.
No one wanted to be the first to speak.
But fear has a way of forcing voices out.
Renn broke.
"My Lord…" he said, swallowing hard. "You speak of choosing sides as if this were a game board. But this is our homeland. Our blood. Our lands."
Another noble, older, with shaking hands wrapped around his goblet, added quietly, "Leon's soldiers are already sleeping inside our capital. Their boots still smell of ash. We hear them at night."
A nervous chuckle escaped someone.
Renn broke.
