Chapter 45: The Shadow
The darkness that swallowed the Great Hall was absolute.
It was not merely the absence of light. It was a physical weight that pressed against the eyes and suffocated the senses. The heavy oak doors at the far end of the hall had been smashed inward. The cold mountain wind howled through the breach and carried with it the scent of snow and ancient pine.
But beneath the smell of the storm lay something far more terrifying.
It was the scent of a predator that had forgotten how to be a man.
Panic erupted in the room instantly. The elite guards shouted orders that were swallowed by the confusion. The Rogue Kings roared for light. The sound of weapons being c****d echoed off the stone walls like crickets in a graveyard.
Garrett gripped the chain of my collar. His ha
