“Loyalty is a coin easily spent and rarely earned.”
The words slipped from my lips as I studied the parchment in front of me, its surface littered with names and alliances drawn like veins across Verauno’s sprawling map. Asher stood beside me, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the same document. His jaw was tight, the tension radiating from him as palpable as the scent of rain in the air.
“Loyalty is also fickle,” he muttered, his voice low. “It bends to pressure, to fear, to opportunity.”
“To survive,” I added quietly, meeting his gaze. “These alliances were forged in desperation, not trust. It’s no wonder they’re crumbling now that the tides are shifting.”
“They’re not just crumbling,” he said, pacing the length of the war room. “They’re breaking. Grevyn’s defection was only the beginn
