The first noble broke before dawn.
No screaming. No begging. He just fell apart.
Kael set a bloody ledger on the interrogation table, and that was it. The man’s confidence just cracked, like something brittle dropped from too high up.
Sweat rolled down his face.
His hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
He couldn’t catch his breath.
Right then, Kael understood. The network was real.
That knowledge settled over him—heavy and cold.
The enemy wasn’t lurking outside. They were here. Inside the palace walls.
He’d suspected as much for weeks. Little details, small cracks in the routine, kept tugging at him.
Reports missing.
Guard patrols switched for no good reason.
Servants vanishing with nobody noticing.
Doors opening when they shouldn’t.
Secrets spreading faster than they should.
Alone,
