The room fell into a suffocating silence, the atmosphere turning dense and heavy.
Elder Raegon's staff creaked beneath the pressure of his tightening grip. This new revelation sat poorly with all of them—a young ruler who had killed his own father to seize power. Cruel. Ruthless.
That sounded like the perfect recipe for a catastrophe.
For reasons he couldn't quite name, Raegon found his gaze drifting toward Kael.
Like the others, Kael sat in silence. But his stillness felt different. It felt less rooted in shock, more rooted in calculation.
It was as if he were turning the pieces over in his mind, fitting them into some larger design.
Raegon studied him, searching for a crack. But Kael's expression remained unreadable.
"There's also something else we witnessed," Thran continued, his voice cutting through the lingering hush.
"More?!" one of the wolf-kin blurted out, his voice cracking with disbelief.
