POV: Caius

The second meeting is not held in a public hall. The envoy requests a private conversation under the formal protections of diplomatic observation, and refusing would only tell him we are already moving to a war footing. So we grant the room—neutral ground, one level below the main gathering floor, with guards outside and the four of us inside.

He arrives on time. The same dark mask. The same measured walk. He sits without being invited and rests his gloved hands on the table as if this is an ordinary negotiation between parties who share a language of mutual interest.

I take the seat across from him. Ryker...