POV: KAEL
The crowd was growing.
What had started as twenty or thirty people around Corvin's body had swelled to over a hundred in the time it took guards to arrive. More kept coming, drawn by the commotion, by the scent of blood and vengeance in the air.
Reborn. Humans who'd lost family to Purist attacks. Dragons who'd watched their bonded partners die. All united by trauma and rage.
I'd faced armies. Had stared down enemies who wanted to kill me for eight hundred years. But this was different. These weren't enemies.
These were the people I was supposed to protect. The people I was trying to lead toward a better future.
And they were looking at me with fury and betrayal.
"Corvin's death isn't enough!" a man shouted from the crowd. His arm was wrapped in bandages—cathedral survivor, probably. "There are thousands of Purists still out there! In both kingdoms! Walking free!"
"We should kill them all!" another voice agreed. "Root them out! Make them pay for what they've done!"
