"Enter."
A guard stepped inside.
"Morning report."
Raj accepted the documents.
The guard left.
Alice immediately tried peeking over her shoulder.
Raj shoved her face away.
"Read your own copy."
"I don't have one."
"Exactly."
Raj continued reading.
The refugee situation had worsened.
More people arriving.
More villages reporting demon sightings.
Food consumption increasing.
Housing becoming strained.
Repair costs climbing.
The city was stable.
For now.
But only barely.
Alice eventually stopped joking.
Something she only did when things became serious.
"How bad?"
Raj flipped another page.
"Manageable."
Alice nodded.
That meant bad.
Not catastrophic.
But bad.
The Queen leaned back in her chair.
Staring toward the massive windows overlooking Asphyxia.
The colorful lights.
The crowds.
The markets.
The people.
Everything she was trying to protect.
"You know."
Raj immediately regretted hearing those words.
Whenever Alice started with "you know," something annoying followed.
"What."
"I miss when my biggest problem was deciding lunch."
Raj paused.
"Your biggest problem yesterday was deciding lunch."
"Fair."
The office door opened again.
This time another figure entered.
Tall.
Broad shouldered.
Military uniform.
Short dark hair.