Taymer Palace.
The afternoon light filtered lazily through the tall, floor-to-ceiling windows of the drawing room, casting warm, golden patches across the dark oak floor and the heavy brocade rug.
Count Laura sat across from Murphy in a large armchair, his posture relaxed yet maintaining a proper decorum.
Although his daughter, Alina, had married into the Monte Clan and become Kaiden's wife, making them in-laws and collaborators, Count Laura's gaze and demeanor showed no less respect for the Legend of the Northern Territory sitting before him in a wheelchair.
