Chapter 68 — The Traitor's Return
The Obsidian Throne had never felt more vulnerable.
Even after the purges and the costly victory at Broken Ridge, the fortress still bore the scars of war like an old soldier. Cracks ran through its obsidian walls like veins of lightning frozen in stone. The air carried a permanent undertone of blood, smoke, and incense that never quite masked the smell of death. Yet the court tried to project strength — banners flew high, guards patrolled in doubled shifts, and the Veilheart Keystone's twilight glow could be seen from the highest towers, a beacon of fragile hope in a kingdom still bleeding from within.
Cairis and Liora had just returned from a long strategy meeting when the first warning came.
