Silence.

Not the ordinary silence of an empty room, but the weighted, deliberate stillness of held breath.

A circle of masked figures lined the chamber—some seated on high-backed chairs, others standing rigid along the walls. At the centre, a long table carved from dark wood stretched toward a raised dais, where a single throne-like chair sat empty.

And somewhere among the younger ranks—among the figures who shifted uneasily in their seats—a pair of dark eyes followed every movement y/n made.