{Lucien’s POV}

“Grand… just as I imagined.”

The day unfolded exactly as I had envisioned, yet there was a weight to it that pressed against my chest. Election day was finally here. It felt like a fever dream.

Especially how in hindsight most things had actually worked out in my favour. Even when there were temporary setbacks. They all served to boost another plan that came somewhere down the line.

Everything I had schemed, bent, and broken myself for had funneled into this morning.

The convoy slowed as we neared the venue, a vast marble hall seated upon stone steps that gleamed like polished bones under the sun.

All around...