"Silence!" Alaric thundered again, his voice cutting through the stunned silence that had fallen over the execution grounds. His chest heaved with barely restrained fury as he cradled Amaris closer, her unconscious form resting heavily in his arms. The warmth of her body against his own only seemed to heighten the storm of emotions swirling within him.
"You will answer for your actions," he snarled, his voice dropping low but filled with deadly intent. "Every. Single. One. Of. You."
For the first time, those present saw something in their king they had never expected-- desperation. Alaric, who had been groomed from childhood to be heartless, indifferent, and cruel, now stood disheveled and on the edge of losing control. His eyes, usually cold and calculating, now blazed with unrestrained
