"Shall we begin our last council meeting?"
Silence settled over the room so thickly that everyone could almost hear each other's breathing. Except for the Cardinal and Iris, grim expressions marked every face at the table.
"For fuck's sake…" Draken suddenly reached up to his head. "That boy didn't have to…"
As he pushed himself upright, the cuffs around his ankle rattled. He squinted at the sound and realized one of his feet was shackled to the floor. A metal fixture had been bolted there, as if designed for this exact purpose.
"What the—" he shifted, only to freeze as awareness returned.
His hazy gaze landed on Marceline, slumped unconscious over the table.
"Mars—" He stopped when Atlas entered his peripheral vision. The moment Atlas's face came into focus, Draken's expression twisted. "This son of a bitch… I knew you were bad news the second I saw you."
Draken lunged forward, about to slam Atlas's skull against the table, when a voice echoed.
