Page 61 of Till Orc Do Us Part

I fold my hands atop the table. “Explain.”

Malkor leans back, voice like ice cracking. “Sentiment does not drive shareholder value.”

Anna’s gaze pins me. “Your stakeholders expect maximized returns. Your revision reduces net profit potential by 23.6%.”

I say nothing.

Anna continues. “Preserving these… ‘historical elements’ is a liability.”

“They are the identity of the space,” I reply.

“Identity does not appear in quarterly earnings.”

Ilyana’s gaze sharpens. “Drokhaz—this is not the firm we built. You taught us: Clarity. Precision. No weakness.”

I study her. “There is strength in purpose.”

“And there is ruin in distraction.”

The air tightens.

Anna leans forward. “One more delay on this project, and this board will move to restructure leadership.”

A line drawn in steel.

I meet her gaze, steady. “Understood.”

“Good.” She rises. “Meeting adjourned.”

The others file out, suits sharp as blades.

Only Ilyana remains.

She closes the door with a soft click, arms folding.

“You are risking everything,” she says quietly. “For sentiment.”

I glance toward the window—where the city gleams soulless beyond the glass.

I think of Rowan’s voice breaking when she thanked me. Of the way her hands lingered against mine. Of the lanterns swaying above a boardwalk built from more than wood.

“Because it matters.”

Ilyana’s eyes narrow. “You are at a crossroads.”

I nod once. “I know.”

Her voice softens. “Choose wisely, Drokhaz.”

She leaves.

I stand alone in the cold heart of the empire I forged. I want something no empire can buy.

And I will not let it go.

I do not return to my office.

Instead, I take the long way—through the quiet core of the building, lights dimmed to skeleton crews, the floor beneath me gleaming like water in the dark.