Uncle Malcolm POV
(The Night Before the Dawn)
Power has a smell.
Most people think it smells like gold. Or blood.
They are wrong.
Power smells like silence.
The kind of silence that settles after midnight, when the world sleeps and only the truly dangerous stay awake.
It was already past two in the morning when the knock came.
Soft. Careful. Respectful.
I smiled before I even opened the door.
"Isn't it too late for a visit, dear Elder?" I said calmly, leaning against the frame. "You know I just returned from my cousin's engagement party."
Elder Kevin stood outside, wrapped in his dark cloak. His face was tight. Nervous. Serious.
"I'm sorry, Malcolm," he said. "But we need to talk. I heard Logan still did not cancel the engagement."
I let out a slow sigh, as if disappointed.
"Yes. He didn't," I replied. "Logan is very stubborn."
I stepped aside and allowed him in.
The door closed behind us with a soft click.
Silence again.
