The Cold Sovereign

The summons came at dawn.

Not a request. Not a polite inquiry through the proper channels. A summons — delivered by a royal attendant in the black-and-silver livery of the Queen's personal household, stamped with Ravena's crescent moon seal, requiring the Shadow Regent's presence in the Queen's solar at the first bell.

Silas had not been summoned in months. He had been consulted, briefed, informed, and occasionally asked. But summoned — the word that meant you will come because I tell you to come, not because I invite you — that had not happened since before the Accord. The Accord had elevated Silas from servant to architect, from tool to system builder. And in the six months since, the relationship between the Shadow Regent and the Queen had settled into a professional equilibrium: Silas managed the system, Ravena authorized the decisions, and the two operated in parallel rather than in hierarchy.