The cold grey light of dawn cut across the jagged peaks of the Shadowfall Domain, turning the frost on the high stone battlements into a shimmering sheet of silver. Inside the Citadel’s upper strategy hall, the air was thick with the scent of melted candle wax, cold coffee, and the sharp, metallic tang of nervous anticipation.
There were one hundred and fifty-three chapters remaining until the final ratification of the continental treaties—a milestone that would either cement the Neutral Alliance as the beacon of a new era or leave it shattered beneath the weight of old imperial grudges. But right now, the grand arc of history felt distant, compressed into the suffocating intensity of a single room.
I stood before the massive, slate-inlaid map table, my fingers resting lightly against th
