POV: Kael

“Power always demands an audience.”

“You will not see my son.” The words left my mouth steady, measured, stripped of threat, yet the council chamber reacted as if I had drawn a blade, stone groaning beneath ancient feet. The braziers lining the circular hall flared, then dimmed, their fire bowing instinctively to tension older than politics even the mountain seemed to inhale.

For a heartbeat, no one spoke.

I stood at the center of the council ring, cloak heavy on my shoulders, ...