"Not all wars are fought on the battlefield as some are waged in the shadows, where truth itself becomes a weapon."
MARCUS POV
The moment the iron grate clanged shut over the cistern tunnel, a sound that signalled the King's silent disappearance, the weight of the Law settled onto my shoulders. It was a suffocating, terrifying pressure. Alaric was gone, hunting a secret heir, while the Keep remained on a knife's edge, reeling from a devastating breach. My duty was no longer defence; it was the absolute, perfect maintenance of a lie. I returned to the royal chambers, the tension in the air thick and bitter, like old blood. Silas, pale but composed, was already at the central map, directing the deployment of the decoy force southward. His facade of strategic focus was chillingly good.
