"A kingdom does not crumble when enemies strike from without; it falls when secrets roar from beneath its very bones."
Alaric's POV
The air in the Eastern Chambers still trembled with the echo of that second roar. My wolf, Vayne, paced inside me, hackles raised, claws itching to rip apart whatever dared disturb our ground. However, the sound had not been entirely a threat. No, it was a summons. A declaration. And the kingdom had heard it, and the scent of fear, shock, and awe clung to the corridor. Every soldier, assassin, and guard was staring at Elias as though he had sprouted a second moon above his head. And Elias, with Black radiating power from beneath his skin, was holding the weight of every eye as though it meant nothing.
But I had no time to let the moment breathe, and power without control was chaos. And I could feel, beneath the stone and shadow of this cursed castle, that the roar had not belonged to Elias alone, and Niko was right, Elias's twin was in the castle.
