Brice leaned back in the plush seat of his hover car, his elbows resting on the armrests as he stared out at the city beyond the tinted windows.
The lights of Paris stretched endlessly, veins of neon and steel cutting through the ancient bones of a city that had once been ruled by kings and emperors. Now it was ruled by committees, corporations, and men like him—bureaucrats balancing their power on fragile webs of alliances and decisions.
He should feel something about Jean-Claude's offer. Anger? Resentment? Fear? Maybe all those things were simmering somewhere beneath the surface, but for now, all he felt was exhaustion. The world or his brother. That's what it boiled down to.
