Before sunrise, someone found the body.
There it was, hanging from the old willow in the eastern courtyard. The wind rocked it gently, making the whole scene look eerily deliberate—like death itself had left its signature.
The servant who stumbled on it couldn’t stop screaming.
Those screams ripped through the palace, waking everyone. Windows flew open. Doors slammed. Footsteps pounded the halls.
In no time, soldiers swarmed the courtyard. Nobles followed, then other servants, and finally—fear. Plain, raw fear. The kind that’s impossible to hide.
Because everyone saw the truth at once:
The enemy had hit again.
This time, they made sure nobody missed it.
Nyra showed up right after, Kael beside her. The sight twisted her stomach into knots.
The dead servant hung way above the ground
