Dad wasn't alone, I could tell even as I passed through the doors to his throne room others lingered with him. The echoing sounds of voices carried, as low as they were and I identified three familiar forms as my feet carried me forward, toward them. But it wasn't just the sound of them speaking in the pale gloom. Their emotional unrest woke the mist and Chaos herself as I strode with what I hoped looked like firm purpose toward the throne dais.
Kael stood with Dad. And, with him, the only angel of Death who ever showed me kindness, though from the concern on Nero's face as I drew near, he wasn't so sympathetic now. I'd almost ended our father's reign with his near extinction, after all, an act that far surpassed my failures of the past. It hurt to know Nero no longer felt kindness toward
