VALERIA.I sat perfectly still in the high-backed velvet chair beside the grand, arched window of my private chambers.Outside, the Vanguard estate was a miserable, muddy grey, still aggressively reeling from the bloody chaos of Thorne’s failed mutiny.Inside, however, the air was suffocatingly warm, heavy with the rich, crackling scent of burning cedarwood from the hearth.I kept my silver gaze fixed on the jagged mountain horizon, maintaining a completely unbothered, statuesque posture as I listened to the report.Standing a few feet behind me, nervously wringing her hands against her crisp white apron, was Mara.She was one of the few trusted, senior housemaids I had explicitly put in charge of monitoring the lower sectors.I had given her one highly specific task: keep a watchful, unblinking eye on Julian and Elara down in the beast pits."They are completely breaking under the strain, Luna," Mara informed me, her voice dropping into a respectful murmur."I observed them closely d
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