The silence hung for three heartbeats, sharp and cold.
Then Kael laughed.
It crashed through the hall—loud, raw, impossible to mistake for joy. No one in the room heard humor. There was no happiness behind it. This was the kind of laughter that spits in your face; the sound you make when the world gets so ridiculous, you can only mock it. Anger twisted into something darker.
Nobles shrank. Servants stared at the floor. Ryker’s jaw stiffened.
Because underneath that laughter, everyone caught it—raw contempt. Like a knife, but colder.
Kael tilted his head back, letting the sound ricochet off marble and gold before it finally died away.
When he looked back at Ryker, his golden eyes were nothing but ice.
Nyra swore she felt the temperature drop. Maybe the walls turned to stone and she j
