Chapter 68

• KNOX
• I stand in the castle's shattered courtyard, surveying the devastation with grim determination. Broken stone and pools of blood stain the ground where enemy forces breached our defenses. The metallic scent of wolf poison hangs heavy in the smoke-filled air, and around me, guards work to clear debris while tending to the wounded.
• The weight of impending leadership settles on my shoulders—not because my father lacked strength, but because he's gone and the kingdom needs stability. I channel my anguish into action, the way he would have.