Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty Five

• Silence gripped the throne room like a vice.
• Kael stood frozen beside Harond, still clutching his sleeve as though it were the only thing anchoring him to the earth. His heart pounded loudly in his ears, drowning out the heavy breath of Dareth still held in place by the throne’s ancient seal. The king's ultimatum echoed in the air like a final drumbeat of war: Kael lives, but he must be silenced.
• Harond's jaw tightened. His eyes scanned the faces of the council—some aghast, some nodding in reluctant agreement, and others, like Dareth’s supporters, brimming with quiet fury.