"Ma'am. I have brought the guest."
Marien's eyes flicked from Liora to the boy again, then back. Her stance sharpened.
"You brought the guest?" she asked, tone clipped.
Liora straightened. "Yes, ma'am. Mister Kael instructed me to monitor the Stabilization Wing and escort the guest here once the process was complete."
Marien blinked once. Slowly.
The guest.
This guest?
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she processed that. Kael hadn't mentioned anyone. No schedule alert. No protocol file. No clearance push from Dominic or the comms board. Nothing.
And yet, here stood this quiet, composed, barely-an-adult with war-caliber eyes and posture like he'd stepped out of a combat dossier.
Her gaze cut back to the room behind her. "Of course he did…"
The projection still flickered across the walls. Synth war drums rolled in the background. And Kael's voice drifted out, half-laughing.
"What are you guys talking about over there?"
