Chapter 37 Release The Priest

• The golden torches of the King’s Hall burned high, their flickering light painting shadows along the towering marble columns. The chamber smelled faintly of frankincense and steel—a deliberate choice by King Tharion, for both holiness and fear. Tonight, the scent carried heavier weight than ever.
• Word of Cazien’s arrest had spread through the streets of Dellwyn like wildfire. Whispers filled the city of Ozile, echoing in alleys, and even the palace guards exchanged uneasy glances. It had been centuries since a High Priest of the Kingdom of Thorns had been placed in chains, and the shock rippled through every corner of the realm.
• Now, in the throne room, the Council of Thorn—twelve men and women adorned in crimson and obsidian robes gathered in a wide semicircle before the elevated throne. Their murmurs bounced off the vaulted ceilings, their voices low and sharp, like swords drawn but not yet swung.