The throne hall dropped into suffocating silence. Ava’s fate was sealed. But Gavriel wasn’t done. Not yet.

He had one last message, one last warning, before he delivered judgment. He looked down at Ava, and his voice was calm enough to terrify.

“When I return,” Gavriel said, voice cold enough to freeze bone, “we will finish this. Consider yourself fortunate, Ava. I will not end your life now with my own hands the way I ended Cara’s. I am being lenient only because of the years you ...