"And the Circle will speak to Lord Grey through my voice, so he is never juggling all of us. Analyst Sonoda, I'd like you to assist me."
Sonoda bowed to the High Shrine Maiden at an angle normally reserved for funerals.
"...It will be my honor," she said, in the steadiest voice of her career.
Her composure survived the assignment, the closing formalities, and the walk to the elevator, in that order.
...
The fireworks were still smoking over the taxiway when the motorcade carried Kaiden Grey's family out of the airfield, police outriders fore and aft. The city came out to watch it pass.
People lined the route all the way in, filling the overpasses, the station footbridges, and the office windows with the blinds hauled up.
The storefront screens were running the landing broadcast on loop, eleven seconds of handshake at a time.
Emily had her nose to the glass of the second car. "There are people on every bridge. Sarah. The bridges are full."
"I can see the bridges, Em."
