POV: Prospero

The standoff held for exactly thirty seconds before backup arrived.

Six Council enforcers materialized around us, their power signatures announcing them as elite warriors. Behind them came someone I'd hoped never to see again.

King Alexander of the Southern Alliance. Ferdinand's father. The man who'd personally led the assault that killed my wife.

"Prospero." His voice carried amusement rather than concern. "Still hiding behind threats and blackmail. Some things never ...