ASHERI reached the throne room at a dead run, Maya right behind me.Erik stood on the raised platform, a blade pressed to the throat of a young servant girl. Three other hostages knelt before him, hands bound."Finally," Erik said calmly. "I was beginning to think you would not come.""Let them go," I commanded, my voice echoing through the vast chamber. "Your quarrel is with me, not them.""My quarrel is with the corruption you represent. A Lycan king who betrayed his own kind for a wolf." Erik's eyes found Maya. "For an abomination that should have been eliminated at birth.""You murdered my mother," I said, forcing my voice to stay level. "Poisoned her while pretending to heal her. Made me watch her die.""I saved you," Erik corrected. "Elara would have poisoned your mind against your own people. Would have made you weak, just as you are now.""She loved me. That is not weakness.""Love is exactly weakness. It clouds judgment. Makes you vulnerable." He pressed the blade harder aga
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