"A kingdom is not destroyed by war alone. It is undone by whispers, by secrets that fester beneath the surface. And today, I uncovered a wound that might never heal."
The Fractured Kingdom
Verauno was not at peace.
The battle had been won, the invaders pushed back, and the rebels crushed. But the kingdom had never been more divided.
Some called me a savior, a warrior queen who had saved Verauno from ruin. Others saw me as something far worse—a threat to everything they knew.
It didn’t matter that I had fought for them.
It didn’t matter that I had bled for them.
What mattered was that I was different. That I wielded power beyond their understanding.
And power like mine?
It frightened them.
I stood at the palace balcony, watching the streets below. The murmurs of unrest, of fear, d
