Inside the emperor's private study, the air was thick with tension. The heavy velvet curtains allowed only slivers of pale moonlight to slip through, casting ghostly shadows across the room.
The faint crackling of the hearth was the only sound as Crown Prince Izan stood before his father, the weight of the revelations he was about to deliver hanging like a noose around his neck.
Dillion stood at Izan's side, silent but resolute. His presence was steady, though his expression betrayed the storm of emotions swirling within him. He knew the horrors they had uncovered, but now they had to present it to the one person who would be most affected, the emperor.
The man who had trusted his family and had no idea how deep the betrayal ran.
