FAZER LOGIN"You've rearranged this room four times," Lira said, standing in the doorway of what had once been an unused chamber near their own quarters, now steadily transforming into something considerably more purposeful."The crib needs to face the window," Kael said, adjusting it a fraction of an inch to the left for what appeared to be the third time that afternoon. "Morning light matters for infants. I read that somewhere.""You've been reading considerably more than any expectant father I've ever heard of.""There's a great deal to learn. I intend to actually learn it, rather than simply hoping instinct handles everything adequately."Lira crossed the room, gently taking his hands to still his restless adjusting. "Kael. The crib is fine exactly where it was an hour ago.""Is it?""It is."He exhaled slowly, some of the anxious energy visibly draining out of him. "I don't know why I can't seem to settle these past weeks. Every small detail feels enormously significant suddenly.""Because i
"We should discuss names," Kael said, sprawled across their bed with a considerable list already scrawled across a piece of parchment."You've already started a list.""I've started several lists.""Kael.""I like being prepared."Lira settled beside him, peering at the parchment with equal parts amusement and disbelief. "This is considerably longer than I expected.""I've had months to think about it.""Read me your favorites."He cleared his throat with mock formality. "If it's a girl, I was considering Elarian.""After my mother.""A variation of her name, yes. Elarian Voss, heir to two considerable legacies."Something warm settled in Lira's chest. "I love it.""You haven't heard the boy options yet.""Go on.""Corwin," he offered. "Or possibly Theron.""Those are considerably plain compared to Elarian.""I panicked slightly on the boy names," Kael admitted. "There was less emotional inspiration to work with."Lira laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder. "What about Dorian
"Absolutely not," Kael said, arms crossed, standing in the doorway like he genuinely believed that alone might stop her."Kael, it's a council session. Not a battlefield.""You fainted yesterday.""I stood up too fast. That's different.""The healer said—""The healer said to pace myself, not chain myself to a chair for six months."Ashen, seated at the war table pretending very hard not to referee this particular argument, cleared his throat. "For what it's worth, the council can absolutely convene without you present. I could deliver your notes myself.""See," Kael said. "Ashen agrees.""I didn't say I agreed," Ashen said quickly. "I said it was possible. There's a difference.""You're not helping," Lira said."I'm aggressively neutral," Ashen said. "It's a skill."Dorian, arriving late with considerably more amusement than the situation warranted, leaned against the doorframe. "Trouble in paradise?""He's trying to wrap me in wool and hide me in a closet until the baby arrives," Li
The Academy looked different in spring, Lira thought, standing at the same courtyard window where she'd once scrubbed floors before dawn, though she supposed everything looked different once you stopped viewing it through the narrow lens of survival alone."You're doing the thing again," Kael said, appearing beside her with two cups of tea, one of which he handed over without needing to ask."What thing?""Standing very still, looking very thoughtful, clearly composing something profound in your head that you'll eventually share whether I ask or not.""I resent that you know me this well.""You married me. That was rather the point."She laughed, accepting the tea, watching new servants move through the courtyard below, considerably better treated than she'd ever been, considerably more visible within an Academy that had spent the past year genuinely reckoning with exactly what its old caste divisions had cost."Wren's coordinating the new apprenticeship program," she said. "Servants
The Academy looked different in spring, Lira thought, standing at the same courtyard window where she'd once scrubbed floors before dawn, though she supposed everything looked different once you stopped viewing it through the narrow lens of survival alone."You're doing the thing again," Kael said, appearing beside her with two cups of tea, one of which he handed over without needing to ask."What thing?""Standing very still, looking very thoughtful, clearly composing something profound in your head that you'll eventually share whether I ask or not.""I resent that you know me this well.""You married me. That was rather the point."She laughed, accepting the tea, watching new servants move through the courtyard below, considerably better treated than she'd ever been, considerably more visible within an Academy that had spent the past year genuinely reckoning with exactly what its old caste divisions had cost."Wren's coordinating the new apprenticeship program," she said. "Servants
"I think I've got the sequence," Ashen said, spreading a newly reconstructed diagram across the war table, considerably more confident than his usual careful hedging."You said that about the last three theories," Dorian pointed out."This one has actual structural logic behind it, not just old fragments stitched together with hope.""Walk us through it," Lira said.Ashen traced the diagram carefully. "Four points, each corresponding to one House's bloodline. The original sealing required a representative from each line, present simultaneously, channeling their power toward a central anchor point. Based on cross referencing House Marrow's account with fragments from House Thorne's own archive, that anchor was likely a physical location, not simply symbolic.""Where," Rurik asked."I believe it's the same location the four Houses' original founding treaty was signed," Ashen said. "Which happens to be, rather conveniently or rather ominously depending on your perspective, the valley whe







