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Hector sifted through the drawers beneath the sink, hoping for a razor to shave his head with, but he only found an assortment of soaps, shampoos, and extra towels. He considered trying to shave his head with materialized metal but soon decided against it.

“So, um... what’s gonna happen now? I mean, uh, is Atreya safe from Abolish?”

‘For the time being, it is,’ said Garovel. ‘The Queen’s been busy trying to make sure things stay that way. Well, she’s just been busy in general, really.’

Hector turned on the shower and pulled his shirt off. “What about the war with Rendon?”

The reaper phased through the wall and gave him his privacy. ‘It’s been averted.’

‘Just like that?’ said Hector, stretching while he waited for the water to warm up. It didn’t take nearly as long as he thought it would.

‘I suppose it sounds simpler than it was. Less than a day after finally returning here to Sescoria, the Queen went to Rendon--against pretty much everyone’s advice, mind you. But she knew what she was doing. Peace negotiations are now underway. And the Atreyan soldiers whom Rendon had taken into custody, she brought them home safely, too.’

He lowered his brow and chuckled. ‘How’d she pull that off?’

‘I didn’t go with her to Rendon, obviously, but I’m sure it was the spectacle of it all that made it possible. First thing she did when she got back? Appeared before the press, right out there on the front steps of the royal palace. She hadn’t even made it inside the building yet. She ensured they’d be here waiting for her as soon as she arrived. And of course, this was gigantic news, so the whole country knew about it in a matter of hours. Then she and the King jumped on a plane and went straight to Rendon. They took Lynn and Roman along in case things went south, but it seems to have gone smoothly. I suppose Rendon didn’t really want to go to war, and with all of the insanely good press that the Queen’s gotten, she was able to offer their parliament an easy way out of a terrible situation.’