Kael's POV
The high council chamber smelled like old power and older lies.
Kael sat inside it.
Four hours of carefully worded accusations dressed as concern, political maneuvering disguised as protocol, and six senior council members taking turns presenting their case against Elira with the practiced patience of men who had been building toward this moment for significantly longer than anyone in Blackthorn had realized.
He said very little.
Kael Draven learned early that the most dangerous thing a powerful man could do in a room full of political predators was speak before he fully understood the terrain. So he listened. He absorbed every word, every implication, every carefully placed pause, and he filed it all away behind an expression that gave them absolutely nothing to work with.
