A Broken House Still Standing
That's what happened during the warrior king Willmot's era, when his brothers banded together to fight him, but in the end he took the throne for himself, and killed all the opposition.
History in this kingdom was not something written with ink.
It was carved with blood.
Every ruler that sat upon the throne of Skyfall carried that same silent understanding—power was never simply inherited. It was taken, defended, and sometimes… stained.
Lane had learned that early.
Victor had made sure of it.
"Never trust a throne that looks peaceful," he once said casually, leaning against a wall with that calm, unreadable expression of his. "It just means the blood hasn't dried yet."
At the time, she thought he was exaggerating.
Now—
Standing in front of the remnants of a fallen noble family…
She understood exactly what he meant.
