Seraphine POVI could have sworn that the council chamber had been moments away from passing judgment.I had felt it in the air like the stillness before a storm. The elders had been leaning forward, the council table heavy with old authority and older grudges, their voices tightening around the words that would determine Darius’s fate.And then the doors had burst open.Now the entire chamber stood frozen in a stunned silence so complete it almost rang in my ears.Darius stood at the threshold like something carved out of shadow and steel. Like I said dust clung to the hem of his dark cloak, his boots still carrying the grit of a long ride, but none of that diminished the weight of his presence. If anything, it sharpened it.Every eye in the room turned towards him.For a heartbeat, no one moved.Then the murmurs began.“He has returned?”“When did he..”The sound rolled through the chamber like rising wind, growing louder, more frantic, the disbelief spreading from one council sea
Last Updated : 2026-03-12 Read more