Morning came slowly to House Varyn. The estate stood on the western edge of the capital, surrounded by stone walls and old cedar trees that had grown there for generations. Servants moved quietly through the halls, unaware that the air itself carried tension like a distant storm.
Inside his private chamber, Kael’s mother sat at a writing desk near the window.
Lady Seris Varyn had not slept. She held a sealed letter in her hand, turning it slowly between her fingers as sunlight crept across the wooden floor. The wax bore the unmistakable crest of the Church.
She already knew what it contained. She had known the moment the messenger arrived at dawn. A soft knock came at the door. “Enter,” she said.
A steward stepped inside and bowed. “My lady, Church officials have arrived at the outer g
