RAIDEN
The cold evening air clung to my skin as I made my way back to the castle. The trail of footprints leading to tire tracks at the border played over in my mind, along with the shredded guards left in their wake. The scene had been gruesome, a testament to an attack far more calculated than any rogue ambush.
Still, I’d ordered the cleanup and reinforced the border, ensuring the guards’ deaths wouldn’t cause a stir. I didn’t need my father seeing this as another failure. The scent of power and judgment lingered in the halls even before I reached the castle gates, a reminder of the man who awaited me.
Maddox Gray.
The guards opened the heavy oak doors without a word, their eyes fixed on the ground. They must have sensed the storm brewing. I stepped into the grand hall, its polish
