KAEL POV
The war council chamber felt too small for the rage filling it.
"We should burn Veridia to the ground!" Lord Vaerix slammed his massive claw against the stone table, cracking it down the middle. "They send prisoners to infiltrate us, they escape from our dungeons, and now they threaten us with impossible choices? Enough!"
"That's exactly what the Architect wants," I said, forcing my voice to stay level even though everything in me wanted to roar. "They want us to act rashly. To give them an excuse to turn this into open war."
"Then what do you suggest, my king?" Lady Serath's silver scales gleamed in the torchlight. Her voice was calmer than Vaerix's, but I could hear the edge beneath it. "We sit here and do nothing while traitors run free?"
The council chamber was packed. Every major dragon lord from the twelve clans had come, along with fae advisors, witch representatives, and my own inner circle. All of them looking to me for answers I didn't have.
