Arik returned to the private imperial wing shortly after sunrise.
He had not slept.
Eight people were dead, the last of the executions completed before dawn, and by the time Arik left the secured eastern compound, sealed reports were already moving toward every noble house important enough to understand why they had received one.
There was no public announcement.
Only evidence, names, sentences, and the clear conclusion that attempting to infiltrate the emperor's private office had been an exceptionally poor political strategy.
Severin had remained behind to supervise the final documentation. Mezos had gone directly to the security command center to make certain nobody connected to the dead attempted anything foolish in response.
Arik had gone home.
He wanted Liam.
