Chapter 14 Blood And Promises

• The hidden chamber beneath the throne room had been built for exactly this kind of clandestine gathering—warded against magical surveillance, acoustically isolated from the rest of the castle, and equipped with the arcane infrastructure necessary for powerful magical workings. As the seven of us descended the concealed staircase, I reflected on how my mother had likely used this same space for her own preparations years earlier.
• Prince Aldric arrived first, followed by Lady Lydia, both moving with the careful awareness of people who understood they were risking their lives just by attending. Master Dorian had been waiting when I arrived, the various components for the oath-swearing ritual already prepared and arranged with military precision.
• Matthias, Captain Marcus, and Elena completed our gathering, each carrying the grim determination of people who'd already lost too much to the cult's activities. Together, we represented nobility, military, scholarly, and practical expertise—exactly the combination my mother had identified as necessary for success.