The question still hung in the air like suspended lightning—what did David intend to do about Salomonis's detention? Before he could respond, Elara's composure finally fractured. The temperature in the laboratory spiked dramatically as flames erupted around her clenched fists, no longer mere flickers but roaring coronas of barely controlled power.
"What we're going to do," she declared, her voice carrying the unmistakable authority of an Archon, "is confront Duke Ephesians directly." Her crimson eyes glowed with internal fire, casting ruby reflections across the shattered glass that still littered portions of the floor. "I will not allow this thinly veiled assault on my county to proceed unchallenged."
The intensity of her pronouncement seemed to physically push against everyone present. Even Draven, whose armored form had witnessed countless battlefields, shifted his weight slightly in recognition of genuine power.
