Seven days of worsening chaos had stripped much of the old certainty from Leonora.
From the highest tower of the capital, Velrion stood beside an open crystal archway and looked across the kingdom below.
The city that once moved with elegant rhythm now carried tension in every street. Defensive wards shimmered above rooftops in faint layers. Messenger lights crossed the sky at all hours. Patrol formations moved through avenues that had once belonged only to merchants and scholars.
Beside him stood the king of Leonora.
The ruler wore ceremonial robes beneath a hastily fastened mantle, yet the dignity of the crown could not hide the strain on his face.
His brows remained drawn tight and deep worry sat in his eyes as he stared over his capital.
"For all my years on this throne," the king said quietly, "I feared war from rival kingdoms, famine from failed harvests, rebellion from greedy nobles. But those were dangers a normal human could understand."
