The smoke still clung to the air like a ghost, acrid and heavy.
Alaric's voice cut through it. "Lock up the palace! "No one comes in, no one goes out!
The knights scattered immediately, shouting orders down the corridors
Daphne clutched her chest, coughing softly. The sting of the smoke burned her throat. "He...he's gone," she managed, her eyes darting toward the shattered window the impostor must have escaped through.
"Ric, he was right here."
"I know." Alaric's voice was controlled, but his eyes still burned.
He turned toward the nearest captain. "Double the guard at every gate and every tower. If anyone even breathes without a sigil pass, I want them detained."
The captain saluted and bolted.
Katherine was pale and trembling. "Heavens...What just happened?"
Daphne responded. "It wasn't the Emperor. It was him, the Architect. He was pretending to be the Emperor."
The words hit the room like thunder.
