"News?" Lucas spoke to his underlings.
His office sat deeper in Red Sun territory, far enough from the guild's louder halls that the only sound you usually heard was paper moving and the faint hum of people pretending they weren't nervous around him.
Tonight, that silence had teeth. The lamps burned steady, but Lucas' patience didn't. He stood behind his desk instead of sitting, an old habit when he was waiting on something important, like sitting down would admit he had time to spare.
The underlings had lined up the way people line up for judgement. Not shoulder to shoulder, no one was that stupid, but close enough to look like a group, and far enough to dodge if his mood turned into violence.
"Nothing yet, he has yet to exit the third stage."
Lucas' eyes narrowed as if he could squeeze a different answer out of the air. He didn't speak for a beat, just stared, letting the silence become pressure.
