The room was quiet.
Damian was looking at the table.
Silas had turned from the window.
Even Damon had uncrossed his arms.
Eve thought about her father sitting alone in the throne room because it felt like the right size. She thought about her mother laughing too loud at a Conclave function. She thought about what they had been trying to build and what had been done to stop them and how long it had taken and what it had cost to get to this room.
"There are conditions," Eve said.
"Of course," Katerina said.
"The reform process has to be collaborative," Eve said. "I'm not inheriting my father's exact platform and implementing it unchanged. The world is different than it was sixty years ago. The reform needs to reflect that." She paused. "Which means I need Military faction commanders in the room when we're building it. Not rubber stamping decisions after the fact. Actually in the room."
Katerina looked at her.
"My commanders don't usually do committee work," she said.
