Lord Mordyn made two mistakes. The first was threatening Kael with a speech that had a preamble. The second was assuming Kael would wait for it to finish.
"You will surrender the vessel or face the consequences outlined in Section Fourteen of the accords," Lord Mordyn ordered. "The penalty for interference with Eclipse Court property is death by consumption. Your blood and your flame would be drained while your heart still beats. Your dragon would be extracted and mounted. Your name would be struck from every—"
Kael's blade moved.
The stroke was so fast it left an afterimage in the bioluminescent light. One motion. Clean. Committed. The blade entered the space between Mordyn's fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae and exited through the opposite side of his neck effortlessly.
