Slap!
The sharp crack echoed through the chamber.
The siblings flinched. And guards stiffened as the door to the room closed. The sound carried like a lash, landing squarely across the cheek of a prince.
Moments before this, the King of Silvara had returned in haste. He had received the alarming reports, but nothing prepared him for the sight before him.
The palace was in disarray, which was an understatement, really. Whispers ran through the halls, well, of what remained of them. And here, in the heart of it all, was his family, waiting with downcast eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?" His voice thundered. Yet when he demanded answers, no one dared to be direct. His adult children avoided his gaze, their silence more telling than words.
It was only when his eyes fell upon his wife and eldest son that he began to piece together the truth—or at least the truth as it was given.
