Silence fell like a dropped sword.
Agnos was the first to break it. He set down his tea with the kind of grace that usually preceded very bad news. "I see…" he murmured, then leaned back, eyes half-lidded. After a slow, deliberate sip, he added, "I'll pass. Best of luck with the breaking-in part."
What.
"I just remembered," Jiuge chimed in, her tone suddenly a few shades too bright, "I haven't checked on my realm in... oh, a few centuries? Terribly irresponsible of me, really." She started pretending to pack things on her desk that didn't exist, tails flicking so anxiously that one nearly toppled her chair.
My head swiveled to Heim, who met my gaze with all the expression of someone watching a doomed ship drift into a storm. Without a word, he swung his warhammer into the dummy—still adorned with my face—and sent it crashing across the room.
"I'm with Agnos," he said simply.
I blinked at the three of them. "Seriously?"
