Malrik POV

Tavian hesitated a beat too long before he answered.

“The Mancinis,” he said at last, voice thick. “With Xerion Halston, Kaelith McCrae, and Oberon Pike.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Of course.

Two old families clinging to power like rot-clinging ivy, one ambitious opportunist with grander designs than sense, and a family head so gullible he’d swallow any polished title and fake smile. Perfect. Exactly the kind of trouble I needed this morning.

“They tried to push ...