"Power doesn't always clash with steel or shatter with fury sometimes, it collides with laughter, with love, with the sharp edges of loyalty and longing all crowded into one room. That is the kind of chaos kingdoms are built upon."
The corridors of the East Chamber Quarters always carried a hush about them, a kind of ancient solemnity that pressed into the walls like old secrets. Tonight, though, the hush seemed to hum with anticipation. My boots echoed against marble as I strode forward, Marcus just half a step behind, with Captain Thorne Rell, Sir Gavriel Thorne, and Lord Rivan Ostel flanking us like shadows cut from iron. It would have been a scene of perfect severity, the kind a king would want to present, but then again, my company was far from ordinary tonight.
