Gwen emerged from her underground on a Wednesday, and the emergence had the quality of a woman who had been waiting for exactly the right moment and had decided, with the precise instinct of a long-game strategist, that this was it.
Harren's formal investigation was entering its second week. The Church review of the marriage registration had been answered by our corrected filing, but the review itself had not been formally closed, which meant it remained a live procedural question in the ecclesiastical record. Cassian had returned to the capital but had left behind the residue of his offer, which was still, technically, on the table. And the old faction was in the process of committing to the false opening we had shown them, which meant their next move was imminent.
