KELLY THOMPSON'S POV

The grand hall, usually a place of revelry and celebration, was draped in an uncharacteristic pall of solemnity. Shadows clung to the stone walls, the torches flickering as if hesitant to disturb the grave silence that had befallen the room. Council members, figures of immense power within their own right, sat with brows furrowed and lips pressed into thin lines of concern. Their eyes, usually bright with strategy and command, were dimmed now by the weight of impending ...