Lucas remained where he was, the noise of the camp fading into something distant and muted as his thoughts turned inward, each possibility unfolding slowly and painfully in his mind. Betrayal did not happen in a vacuum, he knew that much, because it required access, trust, proximity, and time, and whoever had done this had possessed all three long before the army ever marched. He replayed every conversation from Valerion, every council meeting, every quiet exchange that had seemed harmless at the time, searching for the moment where intent might have slipped through unnoticed.
"If the usurpers were ready," he thought quietly, "then the information was never delayed. It was delivered cleanly, confidently, and without hesitation."
