The three heirs had watched the separation they chose meet a tradition older than their arguments and survive it — barely, and at a cost that still sat in ribs and graves and the public record of a bloodline that no longer voted as one.
Thorne slept in short stretches under the watch of Tuva's quiet presence. Lila sat late with the narrowed statements of the day and the knowledge that consistency was not the same as clean. Elara lay awake listening to the dens' altered talk and to Felix's steady breathing beside her.
The Moot still had days left.
The board had already changed.
The Moot dissolved on a morning that smelled of wet ash and departing horses.
There was no final grand session. The remaining open matters were entered as unresolved or referred to the next gathering in the old formula that meant no one had won enough ground to force a permanent line.
