Chapter 23

• JAX
• I lean back in my leather chair, savoring the expensive whiskey as I review the latest reports from my spies scattered throughout the kingdom. The amber liquid burns pleasantly down my throat while I study the carefully detailed accounts of fear and chaos my network has been sowing. Three villages reporting strange disappearances, livestock found mutilated in ritualistic patterns, families fleeing their homes in terror—all exactly as planned.
• My lips curve into a satisfied smile as I trace the red marks on the map spread across my mahogany desk. Each mark represents another step toward destabilizing Knox's future kingdom, another crack in the foundation of royal authority. The people are beginning to lose faith in their precious crown prince's ability to protect them. Soon, they'll be desperate for a new leader—someone strong enough to restore order to the chaos.