Chapter 28 The Contingency Crown

• There is no throne in a rebellion. Only the weight of those who carried it before you.
• The war table in Caelon’s primary command hall had seen every kind of meeting: strategy briefings, surrender demands, victory celebrations. But this was different. This was succession. And it wasn’t clean.
• Peaceborn stood at the head of the table, his posture perfect, his voice silent for now. Layla flanked him on the left. Gavik sat across from the western commanders, eyes narrowed, hand resting near his sidearm.