The silence of the master bedroom was a stark contrast to the chaotic aftermath of the ballroom below. For five years, this sprawling, opulent suite had been Seraphina’s prison. Kaelen had decorated it in dark, heavy tones—obsidian marble, charcoal silks, and silver accents—all designed to reflect h

The heavy, armored wheels of the royal transport hummed a low, steady rhythm against the pristine obsidian-paved roads of the Royal Realm. Outside the tinted, bulletproof windows, the dense, untamed wilderness of the outer territories gave way to towering silverwoods and ancient, glowing flora. They

The rain in the lawless outer territories didn’t fall so much as it spat—a cold, relentless drizzle that turned the hard-packed dirt of the rogue settlements into a thick, putrid sludge.

Kaelen Cross grunted, his boots sinking ankle-deep into the mud as he hoisted a massive, rusted crate of scrap