Someone tried to poison Nyra inside the most protected part of the kingdom. Kael didn’t see it as just a break in protocol, or some political move—it got under his skin in a way that felt primal. To him, there wasn’t any line between justice and consequence anymore. There was only the certainty that paying in blood was the only way to set things right.
The palace, usually bustling, felt strangled by silence. Not the kind that comes after a problem's solved, but that tight, anxious hush right after disaster strikes, when every hallway and chamber seems frozen—bracing for something worse.
Kael stood in the inner hall where Nyra had collapsed hours ago. His face gave nothing away, but you could sense the storm gathering behind his calm. Once someone stands that still, you know it’s only a m
