"Richter laughs coldly, telling them their insatiable greed made them the perfect pawns for his grand design."
The echo of his laughter died away in the cold, cavernous space of the safehouse, leaving behind only the sound of ragged breathing. Vanya, Beatrice, Cassandra, and Diana stood huddled together, a quartet of broken queens who had finally seen the king of their destruction face to face. Richter did not wait for their retort. He did not care for their tears or their pathetic, hollow threats of retribution. He adjusted his cufflink, his face settling into a neutral, businesslike mask, and turned toward the exit. He had a final appointment, one that had been months in the making.
He stepped out into the night air of Aethelgard, a city he had systematically dismantled brick by bri
