Chapter 111 Shadows Of Temptation

• The forest bordering the Crescent territory remained dark despite the storm's passing, ancient trees casting shadows that swallowed moonlight and muffled sound. Corvin moved through undergrowth with familiarity born from weeks of nocturnal wandering, seeking solitude that palace walls couldn't provide.
• Grief remained his constant companion, raw and bleeding despite time's passage. His family's faces haunted every quiet moment—mother's smile, father's laugh, and sister's teasing that had annoyed him until silence replaced it permanently. Royal forces had taken everything, justified by orders and duty and political necessity that meant nothing to the dead.
• The clearing materialized from darkness like a stage set prepared for tragedy. Corvin entered slowly, heart hammering with a mixture of anticipation and dread. He'd received the message three days ago, slipped beneath his door with precision that suggested intimate knowledge of palace security. A meeting. Answers to questions that tormented his sleepless nights. Justice, perhaps, or at least information about who'd given orders that destroyed his world.