"Wait, you said Rank 4 Spark?" Henry Bates frowned and leaned in, eyes narrowing. "Did I hear that right?"
One of the City Managers spoke before anyone else. "Not Spark. Sparks. He said it in the plural. He has more than one."
Silence pressed over the table like a weight. In a region where holding a single Rank 4 Spark earned a title and the kind of respect that could move immortal armies, the idea of two cut clean through the room.
Doubt slipped away, first to surprise, then to something warmer. Pride rose into their features, softening jaws and brightening eyes as every gaze returned to Adyr.
He let the moment breathe. Then he glanced at the slim wrist device on his arm, watched the pale display tick forward, and matched it to the steady rhythm he kept in his head. "As of now, set your timers. In three hours, have all forces ready in the Velari Kingdom."
He lifted his chin and met each pair of eyes in turn. "Let this war herald the Human Race."
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