Thoren
By the time Kael arrived at the office, the castle had settled into the quieter rhythm that only came late in the evening, when most of the halls emptied and conversations lowered into distant murmurs instead of constant noise.
Salas was already inside waiting for us, leaning over the large map spread across the center table with several reports scattered around it. He glanced up the moment Kael stepped through the door, and although his expression stayed mostly neutral, I still caught the flicker of relief that slipped through before he buried it again.
“Well,” he muttered, leaning back slightly, “look who finally remembered where the office is.”
Kael rolled his eyes as he shut the door behind him.
“Don’t make it weird.”
“Too late for that.”
Despite the exchange, I noticed s
