The news spread through the kingdom faster than wildfire carried by a dry wind.
By the time the sun rose the following morning, the deaths of Lord Damien and Lord Valor had already traveled far beyond the palace gates.
Servants whispered it to merchants in the market square, guards repeated the story to travelers at the city gates, and before noon even the smallest taverns in the outer districts were murmuring about the shocking fall of two of the most powerful men in the royal council.
No one spoke of anything else.
Inside the capital city, speculation grew louder with every passing hour.
Some people believed the king had executed them for treason, others believed an assassin had struck them down in secret.
A few claimed darker rumors that the palace itself had become cursed by bloodshed and betrayal but the truth was far more complicated than any of them imagined.
Within the walls of the royal palace, tension had settled like a storm waiting to break.
