The Archduchy of Valen had officially been conquered, not by ice or steel, but by the sheer, undeniable superiority of the Sovereign of the North.
The heavy, iron doors of the private guest chambers in the Verdant Reach clicked shut, leaving behind a sudden, sweeping silence that felt almost unnatural in the notoriously boisterous fortress.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Seraphina von Nacht was alone.
Duke Kaelus, despite his overwhelming desire to remain permanently attached to his daughter's side like a shadow, had been summoned to the central war room.
Archduke Leonidas Valen had insisted loudly and repeatedly that they review the troop deployments along the Southern border, a matter of Imperial security that even Kaelus couldn't delegate to his knights.
