Theron stopped the Lord Chancellor in the corridor just outside the throne room, his cloak stirring in the cold autumn wind as he planted himself squarely in the other man's path.
The guards stiffened at once.
Kael emerged almost soundlessly from the shadows and took up position behind his prince, his presence so still and controlled that it made the surrounding courtiers withdraw without being told.
Curious officials who had been lingering near the hall subtly dispersed, each one suddenly finding an urgent reason to be elsewhere. The corridor emptied by degrees until only the two men remained, facing each other with all the pressure of a dispute the court would pretend not to hear.
"Release the cotton," Theron said.
His voice was level, but the rigid set of his shoulders gave him away. He had already tried diplomacy. He had tried agents, proxies, careful inquiries, and indirect pressure. Nothing had moved the noble houses an inch.
