Markus possessed a special ability to detect dishonesty, a gift he had never shared with anyone, not even his family. As a child, he used it to get out of trouble and later decided to keep it to himself. He never imagined he would need to use it on his own mother. Stinger howled in anger inside him, but Markus urged him to stay calm. “We will get to the bottom of this. For now, we have dinner to attend and a mother to question. We will get to the bottom of this no matter what.”
Determined, Markus made his way toward the dining hall, his mind set on uncovering the truth.
As he entered the dining hall, the clatter of silverware and muted conversation filled the room. The royal family and some of the council members were gathered, along with a few prominent guests. Queen Tonya sat at the ta
