KIA
I know how to play my cards…
The room reeked of sweat, burnt candles, and schemes. My men bent over the table, eyes fixed on the map I had drawn across the surface. Every mark, every smudge, every circle represented a possibility, a trap, a move against Cardan… against the empire that had buried my father.
I pointed toward the eastern boundary. “The guards rotate at dawn and dusk. If we move the supply routes through the river banks, we’ll have a clear passage by the time the Alpha returns.”
One of them, a stocky warrior named Ren, scratched his chin. “And the council? They still believe you’re acting under the Alpha’s order?”
I smiled, slow and sharp. “They believe whatever I tell them.”
A knock slammed through the door before I could continue. Then the door burst open.
Junie s
