The night after the council chamber confrontation felt heavier than the days that had come before it. The assassin had been dealt with swiftly, his betrayal more than an attempted assassination—it had been a warning. And the message was clear: Varis was not done. Far from it.
Kael sat in his private study, staring at the flickering candlelight, lost in thought. The weight of the empire was pressing down on him in a way he had never felt before. He had always been the heir, the one who would inherit the throne. But now, after the Soul-Oath, after everything that had happened, the reality of his future felt far less certain. He was no longer just fighting for the empire's survival—he was fighting for himself, for Selene, and for the truth that had been hidden beneath layers of lies and mani
