Under the blazing sun of a cloudless day, the Council of Sanguival convened within the high-vaulted chambers of Blood Castle. The cold marble floors reflected the glint of sunlight pouring in through crimson-stained windows, but despite the castle's imposing grandeur, something felt... wrong.
For the first time in two thousand years, the King was absent.
The nobles murmured uneasily. Never had he missed a single Council meeting—not in plague, not in war, not even in mourning. A few delegates hurried away to check his royal chambers, but returned moments later, pale and bewildered. He was nowhere to be found.
Tension crackled through the air like a gathering storm. Then—the great doors opened.
Prince Adeodatus entered, robed in royal black and crimson, the air around him noble and solem
