After staying a little longer at the gathering, once everything began dying down and people began leaving to go to their homes since it was getting late, Nova greeted Theron as well as thanked him, and then they left the building.
The palace doors closed behind them with a soft clang, muffled by the late-night breeze and guards patrolled the grounds like they were waiting for someone to make a move.
Nova and Kiros walked in silence down the lantern-lit road, their steps steady, but their minds racing. The evening had gone far deeper than either expected. Between the hidden affiliations, the noble exchanges, the whispers about the Creed, and Theron's quiet guidance, it had all become more than a simple infiltration and they managed to gain the trust of some of those they met, all except one.
