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    Third person POV


    The Silver Fang packhouse was quieter than usual that morning. The council chambers were empty, and the usual rush of staff in the halls had dulled to a steady hum. Outside, a gray mist hung low over the woods, swallowing the horizon.


    Lance knocked once before stepping into Nn''s office. It was more warning than he normally gave.


    His brother was at his desk, half-hidden behind a stack of reports. The circles under his eyes told the story of another sleepless night. A mug of coffee sat untouched beside his elbow, long since gone cold.


    "Morning," Lance said.


    Nn looked up, startled for half a second before his expression softened. "You''re up early."


    "Could say the same about you,” Lance replied, crossing the room. "Though judging by that coffee, you''ve been up all night."


    Nn gave a faint, wry smile. "You learn to live with less sleep in this job."


    Lance snorted. "I prefer to live with less responsibility and more rest.”


    That earned the smallest chuckle from Nn, and for a moment, the air between them lightened.


    Lance leaned against the edge of the desk. “I met her,” he said after a pause.


    Nn blinked. "Met who?"


    "My fiancée,” Lance said. "Or, I guess, the woman everyone expects to be my fiancée. I of Crescent River."


    That got Nn''s attention. "How did that happen?”


    "She crashed a party I was throwingst night. Said her curiosity about me finally got the better of her."


    Nn set down his pen and sat back. "And?"


    "And she''s... something else," Lance admitted with a smallugh. "Smart, bold, impossible to intimidate. She''s not what I expected."


    "I take it you didn''t hate her, then," Nn said, a teasing glint flickering through the fatigue in his eyes.


    "Quite the opposite," Lance said. "But I came here because-well, I figured you should know."


    Nn tilted his head. "Know what?"


    "That I''m not doing this just because you, or anyone else, think it''s good politics," Lance said. “If I go through with it, it''ll be because I want to. Because I actually like her."


    Nn studied him for a moment, then said quietly, "You don''t have to go through with it at all."


    Lance blinked. "What?"


    “I mean it,” Nn said. “I shouldn''t have let the council pressure you into that alliance. It was..... wrong of me." He rubbed a hand over his face, sighing. "I was thinking like a leader, not a brother."


    Lance stared at him, surprised into silence. "Did you just apologize?"


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    Nn gave a dryugh. "Don''t sound so shocked."


    "I am shocked," Lance said, half-smiling. "You don''t exactly have a reputation for saying you''re sorry.''


    "Maybe that''s something I need to change,” Nn admitted.


    The easy grin faded from Lance''s face. "You really mean that?"


    Nn met his gaze. "I do."


    For a long moment, neither spoke. The quiet between them wasn''t heavy this time,


    it felt like breathing room.


    Lance broke it with a sigh. "You look awful, by the way.''


    "Thank you," Nn said wryly. "Rogues don''t seem to care about my beauty sleep." “You''ve been tracking the mercenaries?"


    "Trying to," Nn said. "There''s movement near the western border. Someone''s paying them to stir chaos, I''m sure of it. I can''t see any reason they would mobilize like this on their own. But they''re careful. Too careful. I think Felicity''s involved, but I can''t prove it yet."


    "You think this is connected to that attack a while back?"


    "And to the attack on Ellie," Nn said, running a hand through his hair. "I''m convinced that it''s all part of some n she''s hatched. I just can''t piece it together.”


    Lance frowned. “You think she''s still operating from outside the borders?"


    "I don''t think she''s in the rogunds. I''m sure that our patrols would have found some sign of her if she were."


    “That''s concerning,” Lance said softly. "Where the hell is she then? Everyone knows what happened, and that she''s dangerous."


    "Which is why I feel like I''m losing my mind,” Nn pped his hand down on the stack of patrol reports. Someone is harboring her."


    ((


    "Why?" Lance asked, his concern growing.


    "I think she''s waiting," Nn said. "Watching. She knows exactly how to get under my skin. I don''t know exactly what she thinks she can aplish with this, but maybe it''s a simple as revenge."


    "Well, she was never the most cautious or considerate person. Especially when it came to you. She was always... possessive."


    "I know..." He leaned back, eyes drifting toward the window. "It worries me. I''m


    doing everything I can to be on top of the situation. Still, I can''t focus the way I used to. Every time I close my eyes, I see them."


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