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“We should return to the matter at hand.” I guide the conversation back to what matters. “The Authority knows I escaped. The patrol we encountered knew my description. Sketches have been issued. That means someone higher up now knows I survived the tower, and walk free.”

“They will try to keep the information contained,” Telren says. “If word spreads to the common people, it might ignite rebellion, and they won’t want that.”

He spreads a map across the table. Patrol routes and checkpoints marked in red ink crisscross it. “They’ve doubled the security at all major crossings. Checkpoints fortified. Mountain passes are patrolled day and night.”

“The Lirien Spire is locked down,” Lisandra adds. “Our sources report Commander Sereven—” She cuts herself off, but it’s too late. The name hangs in the air like a drawn blade.

The architect of my imprisonment, standing at the head of those who saw my kind erased from existence.

A pulse of tension radiates outward. Even the Veinwardens who weren’t old enough to be part of the fight back then shift uneasily. Lisandra’s gaze moves to me, and stays there.

I move my gaze back to the map. “Continue.”

“But—”

“Isaidcontinue.”

She hesitates for a heartbeat, then exhales and steadies herself. “His most trusted commanders have been summoned back to Ashenvale.”

"They haven’t committed full resources yet. They're trying to conceal who escaped. That hesitation gives us a narrow window of opportunity."

“Opportunity forwhat?” Lorath asks.

“To reclaim what is mine.” The words are simple. The execution won’t be. “They expect me to hide. They won’t anticipate immediate offense.”

Telren shakes his head. “We lack the numbers for open warfare.”

“Where has hiding gotten you? You’ve survived, yes. But it hasn’t stopped their expansion.”

“What would you have us do?” Lisandra’s tone is neutral, but her eyes are sharp. “Launch attacks against superior forces?”

“No, but I need what they have. They will expect me to stay asfar from the Lirien Spire as possible.” I tap Ashenvale on the map. “Which makes this the last place they’ll look for me.”

Silence falls across the chamber as the implications of my statement register. Neris breaks it first, disbelief coloring his voice.

“You want to infiltrate Ashenvale?”

“I want to do more than infiltrate it. I intend to enter the Lirien Spire and take back what is mine. I will strike before they understand the shape of what’s coming.”

“Impossible!” Lorath snaps.

“What are you thinking?” Lisandra ignores her outburst.

“A targeted operation. Very small team, specific objective. In and out before they realize what’s happened.” I trace the routes on the map. “A blow that will send a message.”

For the next hour, we dismantle and rebuild possibilities. Authority defenses, Veinwarden capabilities, vulnerabilities woven into Ashenvale’s outer structures. The leaders who rose during my absence, and those who endured it, provide updates about things that have changed since I was last there.

Throughout, Ellie remains silent and still. She watches our interactions with keen attention, and more than once, her gaze finds mine across the table.

The broken lightstone has been swept away, but its destruction hangs over the proceedings. Several times, I catch Lisandra watching her from beneath lowered lashes, trying to fit this strange creature into a box that makes sense to her.

When the meeting ends, I issue orders to each member as they leave—assignments for intelligence gathering, resource shifts, thegroundwork for a strike that must succeed if it happens at all. One by one, the Veinwardens file out, the heavy door closing behind each departure until only Lisandra remains.

She waits, standing by the table, until we’re alone.

“You have something to say?”

She crosses her arms, her gaze fixing on me in a way that reminds me of when I was younger, and convinced my position was equal to experience.