[Thalryn Empire — The Next Morning — Veyrhold House]
"What?!" Duke Aren shot to his feet so abruptly that the chair nearly toppled backward. "The Serpent Knights withdrew?"
Disbelief echoed throughout the chamber; the captain of House Veyrhold immediately bowed as his voice remained steady.
"Yes, Your Grace. Their camps were dismantled before dawn; our scouts confirmed it personally, and the armies of Zahryssar have already begun marching back toward their empire."
Silence, a long silence. Duke Aren slowly lowered himself back into his chair, his brows furrowed deeply because this made no sense.
Absolutely no sense. Across from him, Zyvera folded her arms, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"That is strange. That bastard—" COUGH!
She immediately covered her mouth, then corrected herself. "That highly respected and completely reasonable Malik of Zahryssar."
The captain blinked. Duke Aren looked at her. Zyvera rolled her eyes.
