The silence that stretched across the throne room was palpable.
Jack's hand rose in a gesture that seemed almost casual, yet carried the weight of absolute authority.
A portal manifested before him. The gateway opened, a rift in space that served a singular purpose. Brutus proceeded through the portal.
The minotaur was massive. His eyes sparked with red lightning. His horns caught the light, their surface smooth, despite bearing the scars of a thousand battles.
He walked toward King Maelor with the steady pace of someone who understood exactly what he was doing.
The guards reacted to this immediately, now that they could breathe.
Their weapons came up not from fear, but from protocol. A creature approaching the throne without permission, regardless of what had summoned it, was a threat that had to be neutralized.
Three guards rushed forward simultaneously, their spears and swords moving with the precision of soldiers who had spent centuries perfecting their craft.
