Chapter 36: Alric’s Breaking Point
The storm had not broken yet, but it hovered—thick, electric, waiting. The entire palace seemed to hold its breath beneath the weight of something inevitable. Alric strode down the west wing corridor, boots thudding against polished stone, his mind ablaze with things unsaid, with truths festering just beneath the surface.
He’d just left the Temple Library, where Cassian’s ghost had spoken to Eira. Alric hadn’t seen the spirit himself, but her trembling had told him all he needed. Whatever Cassian had revealed, it was enough to splinter the fragile hope they’d built between them.
He paused before the heavy double doors of the council chamber. His guards bowed, but he waved them off with a terse nod. Inside, King Theodric and the High Council debated the
