Chapter 983 On Thin Ice

• Night fell in a single, wintry sweep. A savage north wind clawed across the citadel, its sub-zero breath slicing through ramparts and battlements.
• Inside the grand audience hall—a cavern of gilded arches and crystal chandeliers that spilled molten light over every polished column—the cold was kept outside, yet the atmosphere remained brittle with unspoken dread.
• Cedric, Ozias, Graham, Virian, Galen, Brick, Bryce, and Daelmen formed a tight circle around Finneas. Voices overlapped, each carrying its own brand of fear, all begging him to reconsider.