The Sovereign’s POVThe chamber throbbed with noise, voices droning, self-important, like gnats that refused to die.I drummed my fingers on the ledger, the parchment crisp under my touch, listening without listening. The merchant across from me spewed numbers… taxes, shipments, routes, while the others just nodded, but their nasal tone clattered against my skull like rusted coins in a tin cup.Words. Nothing but words.What I craved was silence. Silence and obedience.The door did not grant me either.It burst open with a crash.Lucien staggered inside, his body collapsing under its own weight, knees cracking against marble. The thud rang out, sharp, final, echoing through the vaulted chamber. Blood smeared his once-immaculate shirt, his chest heaving as though each breath scraped raw against his lungs.I rose slowly, my chair scraping stone. The merchants froze mid-word, their lips twitching like trapped insects. They glanced at me for instruction, whether to grovel, flee, or preten
Last Updated : 2025-10-28 Read more