The coronation was still fresh in the air, its golden echoes reverberating in the halls of the new High Keep. Yet even as the scent of flowers lingered and cheers still echoed faintly from the surrounding villages, Kaelin felt the heaviness of rule settle over her shoulders like a mantle woven from stone.
Theron stood beside her now not just as a king, but as her equal—not in dominance, not in fate-bound fantasy, but in chosen partnership. The people had begun to believe. But with belief came expectation, and with unity came the shadows of those who wished to tear it down.
The rogues had not all scattered. Some had vanished into the eastern ravines, forming new alliances. Some whispered of a new warlord rising in the ruins of the old world. A blood-born Alpha known only as Dakor, the Cri
