The Weight of the Crown The days that followed were the hardest of Rhaena’s life. She woke before dawn, as she had done for twenty years, but instead of bread and flour, she found reports and petitions and letters. The lords wanted favors. The merchants wanted contracts. The priests wanted temples. The people wanted food. … Read more
The Dawn of a New Age The sun rose over Kingsfall like a promise. Rhaena stood at the window of her father’s chambers, watching the light spread across the city. The streets were empty, the markets were closed, the temples were silent. The people were hiding, uncertain, afraid. They had heard that the usurper was … Read more
The First Night The castle was quieter than it had been in twenty years. The torches burned low in their sconces, casting soft shadows on the stone walls. The servants moved through the corridors in silence, their faces pale, their eyes wide. They had spent two decades serving a tyrant. They did not know how … Read more
The Crown’s Weight The great hall was silent. The bodies of the guards lay where they had fallen, their blood already drying on the black and white stone. The torches flickered in their iron sconces, casting long shadows that seemed to move on their own. The golden throne loomed behind Rhaena, its jewels glittering in … Read more
The Blade of Mercy The swords clashed again. Theron was not a young man. His burned hands were stiff, his scarred face was numb, his leg ached from the old wound that had never healed properly. But he had been a knight once. A knight of the old king. A knight who had sworn to … Read more
The Usurper The throne room erupted into chaos. Corin moved first, his sword already in his hand, his body already in motion. He cut down the nearest guard before the man could raise his weapon, then pivoted toward the next, his blade singing through the air. Blood sprayed across the white and black stone. Theron … Read more
The Throne Room The great hall of Kingsfall had not changed. Rhaena stood in the shadows of the gallery, looking down at the room where she had played as a child. The tapestries were the same — faded now, threadbare in places, but depicting the same scenes of battle and triumph that had hung on … Read more
The Chapel of Forgotten Gods The stairs were narrow and steep, cut from the living rock of the mountain, worn smooth by centuries of feet that had long since turned to dust. Rhaena climbed with her hand on the cold stone wall, counting each step, measuring each breath. The torchlight flickered, casting shadows that seemed … Read more
The Crypt of Kings The door opened into darkness. Not the darkness of the tunnels — a different darkness. Older. Colder. The darkness of a place that had not seen light in twenty years. The darkness of a tomb. Rhaena stepped through. The air was thick and still, heavy with the smell of dust and … Read more
The Tunnels Beneath The entrance to the tunnels was hidden beneath the old chapel. Rhaegar led them through the crumbling stone archway, past rows of broken pews and shattered stained glass, to a door that looked like nothing more than a storage closet. He pressed his hand against the wood, pushed, and the door swung … Read more
