“The wolves in this room are far more dangerous than the ones beyond our gates.”
The words left my lips before I could stop them, slicing through the tension like a blade. The noble houses gathered in the council chamber fell silent, their whispered plots and underhanded alliances momentarily halted by my challenge.
I stood at the head of the long oak table, my gaze sweeping across the room. These were not rebels or soldiers but men and women wrapped in silks and power, their ambitions cloaked behind polite smiles. Yet their claws were sharp, and their motives even sharper. This wasn’t a battlefield of swords—it was a battlefield of words. And I intended to win.
Asher sat beside me, his presence a steadying force, though I could feel the tension radiating off him. He was holding back, b
