Chapter 29 The Queen Must Bleed

• Whispers filled the corridors of Cindermarch like smoke creeping beneath closed doors. Courtiers murmured of strange behavior, conflicting orders, and sudden firings from the Queen’s closest circle. Some insisted they’d seen her twice in one day. Others claimed she’d punished a general, then praised him hours later.
• In the council chamber, the confusion came to a head.
• Duke Harrow slammed his palm on the long obsidian table. “Your Majesty, with all due respect, your directives are contradicting themselves.”