Sebastian~
Three days had crawled by since Zane and Natalie turned the kingdom's hall of justice into something straight out of a dark legend—a stage for vengeance, a theater of reckoning. I hadn't been there to watch it unfold. Cassandra and I had kept to our estate in Vereth, far from the storm. But distance didn't matter. Zane's late-night mindlink call carried the fire straight to me.
His voice—usually calm, measured, untouchable—broke in places I wasn't used to hearing. Rage clashed with relief as he painted the scene for me: Darius cast out in disgrace, Nathan dragged down from his pedestal, celestial chains biting into his traitorous skin and a shock collar around his neck. Also, Nora and Charlie getting the pariah marks. Justice, carved in lightning.
"It's done, Seb," he said, and I could feel the relief and also hear the sadness in his voice even through the link. The weight of kingship, of carrying an entire world on your shoulders. "The monsters are caged."
