"The deadliest rival is not the one who stands before you blade in hand, but the one who lingers in whispers, unseen, and yet reshapes the hearts of kings."
3RD POV
Seraphine sat beneath the carved arch of her council room, her gown spilling across the floor like a river of wine. Before her, the polished oak table bore only a single scroll and the heavy silence of her Elite Guard waiting at the edge of the room.
The scroll carried two seals: one of Chancellor Maelis Crane, the other of Commander Tovik Draemir, head of the Silver Guard. Both had written of a stranger a name already rolling like storm-thunder through the halls of power. Elias Blackthorne's name rang so true, and Seraphine let the parchment fall closed, her fingertips still resting lightly on its edge. She did not speak at once. She preferred silence, as silence made men and women restless, forced them to reveal themselves before she did. But tonight, it was not courtiers or rivals before her.
