Chapter 11 - The Shadow of the Council
The ink on Sera Rowe’s royal pardon was barely dry, yet the political shockwaves of Regent Malrec’s treason were already reverberating through every corridor of the citadel. While the morning sun bathed the northern peaks in gold, the grand council chambers were shrouded in tense, anxious silence.
King Rhys sat at the head of the long obsidian table, his fingers steepened beneath his chin, his dark eyes fixed on the heavy double doors. Princess Amara sat to his right, her posture immaculate, wearing a simple blue velvet gown that contrasted sharply with the extravagant pearl-stitched monstrosity Sera had worn to the altar.
Sera stood near the back of the chamber, her traveling bundle resting against her boot. She had intended to leave at dawn, but Rhys had explicitly requested her presence at the inquiry.
“The provincial governors are panicking,” whispered Lord Vane, a veteran commander of the northern border forces, leaning over his parchment. “With Malrec exposed and arrested, the western territories are effectively leaderless. If we do not install a reliable magistrate immediately, local lords loyal to Malrec’s faction will attempt a coup.”
Rhys didn’t blink. “Let them try. Their supply lines have been seized, and their secret communications with the southern mercenaries are currently sitting in my desk drawer.”
Amara turned her head toward the back of the room, her hazel eyes locking onto Sera. “And what of the capital from which you dragged me, Sera? The court that condemned you based on a fabricated charge by Duke Carrow?”
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Sera’s jaw tightened. The name Carrow was like salt on a fresh wound. “Duke Carrow is still sitting comfortably in his estate, surrounded by his bought-and-paid-for noblemen, believing I am rotting in a shallow grave beneath the gallows.”
Rhys slowly lowered his hands, a dark, calculating smile touching the corners of his mouth. “Then perhaps it is time we paid the Duke a royal visit. Not as executioners in the dark, but as a unified delegation representing a brand-new alliance.”
