Chapter 40: Blades Beneath the Feast
The Hall of Concord had fallen into a heavy, uneasy silence when Headmistress Aragona stepped down from the dais.
Her words — a rallying cry for unity and a warning of the gathering dark — still lingered like smoke above the heads of every king, queen, and high envoy present. The torches that lined the marble pillars flickered and hissed, their flames swaying to a wind that wasn’t there. It felt as though the very walls of the hall held their breath, waiting to see which way the tide would turn.
And then, the silence fractured.
“This is madness,” barked one of the ministers from Regulus Kingdom, his voice cutting through the stillness like a blade. He rose from his seat, his silk robes flowing behind him, and jabbed a jeweled finger in the Headmistr
