"How about we start the meeting with that?"

Ashley’s gaze settled on Gustav and Lukas, seated in the middle section of the table.

Both men looked back at her with quiet surprise.

It was the first time either of them had seen anger on her face — real anger. They were used to Ashley being ridiculous, unpredictable, impossible to take seriously. Seeing her stare at them with cold, sharp eyes made them go still.

She was angry. But not at them.

Even with everything she had reason to hold against them — Lukas especially — her fury wasn’t directed their way at all. It was on the cuffs around their wrists and ankles, pinning them in place like convicted men. And on the people who had put them there.

Gustav drew a slow breath and lowered his head. Lukas could only stare at her as if he were seeing her for the first time.

Ashley exhaled quietly and arched a brow at the men around the table. "Well?"

"Madam, even though the elder said we’re only just beginning, the agenda for today’s emergency meeting has already been discussed."

Ashley shifted her gaze to the man who’d spoken. He was younger than the others, but she knew him — she knew all of them. In her first life, these were the same men who had risen to power after Lucian was ambushed and injured.

"That isn’t an answer to my question." She tilted her head. "My question is: how could you seat those two in the middle of this table and let me walk in to see it?"

She paused. "It feels like a message — that the High Chamber wasn’t expecting me here at all. Am I not included in this meeting?"

"Madam," Frank cleared his throat and held his smile carefully in place. "Please do not make assumptions yet."

This was not what any of them had anticipated. He hadn’t expected Ashley to come in asking pointed questions with no easy answers. One wrong word, and she’d have every justification to turn this room into a bloodbath.

"I apologize." He dipped his head. "On behalf of this council, I sincerely apologize."

He raised his eyes. "You are, of course, included. However, we were told you wouldn’t be able to attend. Even so, it was our error to place Gustav and Lukas in that position."

"I hope you’ll understand," he added, his tone measured, "that emotions have been running high since the news about the master reached us. We acted as best we could under the circumstances."

With that, Frank gestured to Jony to release them.

Jony’s frown cut deep. He looked from the white-haired elder to Ashley, and when his gaze landed on Gustav, the vein at his temple surfaced at the sight of Gustav’s smirk.

Lukas, for his part, hadn’t moved. He was still watching Ashley as if in a daze.

Reluctantly, Jony passed the order. Another man crossed the room swiftly and silently, crouching to unlock the cuffs. The moment the restraints fell away, Lukas seemed to come back to himself.

"Uh..." He stared down at his wrists, then at his ankles, then turned to find Gustav already on his feet.

Gustav didn’t linger. He walked straight toward Ashley and stopped a few paces from her.

"I’m sorry you had to see that," he said — firm, quiet, unhurried.

Ashley looked him over carefully, checking for any sign of injury. Finding none, she gave a single nod without a word. There were many reasons to say nothing, and she chose all of them.

Gustav nodded back, glanced once at Lukas, and turned to walk out of the middle section. But he didn’t leave. Instead, he circled around and came to stand directly behind her — as if the past hour hadn’t happened, as if he hadn’t just been sitting in chains. He stood tall, jaw set, the air around him composed and unhurried.

Lukas hesitated. But given the room and the situation, there was no space to process his feelings. He moved to stand beside Gustav, behind Ashley.

Ashley nodded, satisfied.

"Forgiven," she said. Then: "And I apologize as well."

The frowns around the table deepened in unison.

"Just like you, my emotions have been running high since my husband collapsed," she explained. "So when I arrived and was met at the door, I made a certain decision in the interest of not being late to my first meeting with the High Chamber."

She smiled, and the confusion in the room thickened. Even the men behind her exchanged glances.

"Don’t worry." She waved a hand, almost breezily. "No one’s dead. Not yet, anyway. We just... hurt them a little."

The men in tactical gear looked at one another.

Hurt was doing some work in that sentence. The people who had tried to stop them from entering the grounds had been shot — legs, arms, nothing vital, but enough to put them down. The odds of any one of them bleeding out, however, were not negligible.

Silence settled over the room like a weight.

The men’s expressions darkened, but no one reached for another careless remark. These weren’t reckless people. Most of them had only spoken freely because they hadn’t expected Ashley to be the kind of person who would use their own words against them.

Now they understood.

This was going to be a problem.

She was going to be a problem, a real pain in the ass.

"Anyway," Ashley tapped a finger on the armrest. "You mentioned the agenda has already been covered. Would someone care to fill me in?"

Silence answered her.

She glanced at Gustav.

He stepped forward without hesitation and bent to speak quietly into her ear. Lukas watched, saying nothing, until Gustav straightened and she gave a small nod.

"Interesting. A vote on who assumes my husband’s position, custody of my son, and what this council intends to do with the two of you." Ashley turned back to the table, and her smile spread slowly, corner to corner. "Let’s."

She pulled her chair forward and rested both arms on the table.

"We’ll start with who takes over the Black Dragon’s seat while he recovers." She raised her hand. "I nominate myself as my husband’s proxy. All in favor?"

The moment the words left her mouth, every man in tactical gear snapped their hand into the air — as though they’d been waiting for the cue, as though their votes counted.