The Vernhardt siblings stood in a rigid semi-circle before their father's desk. Varon looked disheveled, his expensive silk cravat askew and his eyes bloodshot from a night spent screaming at the guards. Marien, always the most polished and arrogant of the sisters, stood with her chin high, her fingers white-knuckled as she gripped her lace fan. The twins, Rheo and Gheo, were uncharacteristically silent, their usual mischievous energy replaced by a heavy, stifling dread. Even Brion, the most stoic, kept his eyes fixed on the floorboards, refusing to look at the man in the high-backed chair.
Standing directly behind the Duke's chair was the Hooded Figure, a silent column of midnight-blue robes that seemed to drink the morning light. And beside him stood Liera.
