"When the Law bends to listen and the Anchor dares to speak, the Kingdom breathes again."
Alaric finally confessed everything, and the torrent of secrets the Genesis Mage's territorial command, the psychic war Rell and Gavriel were fighting for Riven's soul, Master Elion's systemic betrayal, and the horrifying reality of the Omega-neutralizing compound rotting the Ironwood defences of the Keep poured out of him. He spoke with the clipped, urgent intensity of the Law, laying out the five simultaneous crises on the table before me.
He finished, resting his weight on his hands against the desk, his massive frame vibrating with adrenaline and exhaustion. His scent, the sharp, pure essence of the Alpha King, was tainted with the metallic tang of self-reproach.
