Chapter 36:
Shadows Beneath the Throne
Andrew’s POV
I watched the flicker of candlelight dance across the ornate table. The council had long since disbanded, leaving behind half-finished drinks, cold cigars, and the stench of stale ambition. But I remained, alone, seated at the head of a table where loyalty was always conditional and silence more dangerous than screams.
The whiskey in my glass had gone warm, but I didn’t care. My fingers tightened around the crystal, knuckles whitening. There was a pressure behind my eyes, an ache I couldn’t name. Maybe it was her silence. Maybe it was the storm I knew was brewing.
Maybe it was both.
I hadn’t seen Mary in nearly forty-eight hours. Not properly. Not outside of a surveillance feed, where she sat too still on the edge of the bed or sta
