The command tent was larger than I expected.
Canvas walls stretched high above, held in place by thick wooden poles. A long table sat in the center, covered in maps and reports and small wooden pieces that marked troop movements. Oil lamps hung from the ceiling, casting warm light across the room.
Seraphina sat behind the table. Her black hair was pulled back from her face, and her blue eyes were fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
Beside her, leaning against a stack of crates, was Cassian Valerion. He was tossing a small mana-crystal into the air, his golden-blue eyes tracking me with the lazy curiosity of a predator that had already eaten.
"Sit down," Seraphina said.
I sat on the chair. It was hard and uncomfortable. I did not complain.
"Name," Seraphina said.
"Leo."
"Just Leo?" Cassian chimed in, his voice light but his eyes sharp. "No house name? No lineage for the boy who crawled out of a Grade 7 slaughter?"
