POV: Lucien

The search started long before I admitted it to anyone. I felt it in the way reports stopped making sense. Patrol routes crossed when they should not. Supplies arrived late without a reason. Guards swore they followed my orders, yet the results said otherwise. Fear does not shout at first. It whispers. And I had learned long ago to listen.

I spent three nights awake, moving through Bloodmoon without escort. I wanted to see what my title hid from me. I listened at doors. I watched ...