The room fell silent at her question. Why, indeed, did we have to worry about the empire?
I glanced at Fyren, finding him leaning back in his chair, utterly unconcerned with the discussion. Elise had vocalized the same approach, and I could hear her reasoning behind it. Hadn't we already done enough? By destroying Brithlite, we'd broken the church's stronghold in the northern continent. We'd defeated the dragons and negotiated a peaceful surrender for most survivors. What more do we need to give to a world that had taken everything from us?
"Connor caused this," R'lissea said quietly. "I tried to stop him, but I wasn't strong enough. One of the things I saw when I touched you, Xiviyah, was what happened because I failed. If we don't do something, the Empire won't be able to stop him, either."
"But he's only eighth-level," Elise protested. "How could the empire not handle that?"
