His gaze swept across the room. "There will be no peace until this throne is feared again."
No one could breathe.
Then, as if the room hadn't already sunk into dread, Damien's eyes burned brighter. "Pray that you are not standing in my way when that time comes."
"Your highness." Lord Mason said. "The verdict remains. The child cannot live—whether the Queen is in Blood City or not."
For a heartbeat, Damien stood frozen. Then, in the blink of an eye, his fury surged, molten and unstoppable. His fangs ached to descend. In that breathless instant, he breezed forward, his hand shot forward, iron-strong fingers clamping around Mason's throat. The sound was primal—the wet gasp of air cut off, the subtle grind of bone under the unrelenting force of a vampire king's wrath. Mason's eyes bulged, and a faint crack echoed through the chamber.
Every member of the council recoiled.
