Morgana vanished without a sound.
No flash. No ripple. Just absence.
The kind that made the air feel thinner afterward, like even the oxygen wasn't sure it should still be here.
Orrin leaned back in his chair.
He didn't say anything right away.
Neither did the others.
Ren was staring at the spot where she'd stood, hands laced tight in front of him. Veren had gone stiff, fingers curled near the edge of the flame-control panel like he was deciding whether to re-light the hearth or leave it dead on principle.
'She didn't come here to ask anything.'
Orrin rubbed his thumb against his ring, slow. The iron band hummed faintly with containment wards, passive, quiet. Not active.
He hadn't needed it.
But something about the room felt off now. Like the wards woven into the Council Hall were still recovering from having her inside them.
Veren finally broke the silence. "She should've gone through Safety Command."
Ren didn't look at him. "Would they have acted faster?"
