Arthur’s POV
The storm struck the kingdom like a living beast.
Thunder roared so loudly it shook the stone beneath my boots, and lightning split the sky again and again, turning night into brief flashes of white fire.
The palace lamps flickered, then died one after another, leaving the corridors swallowed by darkness. Servants shouted in panic. Somewhere below, water rushed through the lower halls as the rain overwhelmed the drains.
I was in the strategy chamber when a guard burst in, soaked and breathless.
“Your Highness, the eastern hall has collapsed. Several passages are blocked.”
My first thought was not the council. Not the nobles.
It was Daniel.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
The guard hesitated. “Last seen near the herb wing, Your Highness. The flooding cut off the route.”
I
