Chapter 7 Night Revelations

• The great hall felt different with torches burning at midnight, shadows dancing across ancient tapestries like ghosts of forgotten battles. I'd chosen this setting deliberately—somewhere formal enough to maintain proper protocol, but private enough for the kind of conversation that might end in bloodshed.
• The Mourning Blade rested across my knees as I sat in the throne usually reserved for my father, its dark metal reflecting the flickering flames. I'd dismissed the usual retinue of courtiers and servants, leaving only Captain Aldwin and four of his most trusted guards positioned at strategic points around the chamber.
• When the great doors opened to admit Prince Aldric, my first thought was that the portraits hadn't done him justice. The second was that someone who looked that exhausted and genuinely concerned was either an exceptional actor or telling the truth about recent hardships.