His fist slammed onto the desk, quills and parchments scattering like fallen soldiers.
The room rattled with the force of his fury.
A guttural roar tore from his throat, shaking the walls of his decaying empire.
Beside him, Lord Winston lurched to his feet, his bloated body swaying precariously, his jowls quivering as if the foundations of his world had been uprooted.
His voice rose in blind panic, full of rage and disbelief.
“How!”he bellowed, his spittle flying into the stagnant air.“How did this happen?”
The servant, already trembling beneath their scrutiny, stammered through his panic, his forehead slick with sweat.
“They were caught off guard, my lord,” he stuttered.“The attackers knew precisely where to strike… The men who stood watch—perished.Every last one of them.There was no one left alive.”
The room thickened with silence.
Death had come for them, swift and absolute.
A cruel satisfaction twisted deep in my gut.
My men had done their work.
Ruthless.Precise.Efficient.
Lord Alexander’s breathing came heavy, his nostrils flaring like a beast poised to charge.
Then, he faced me, his eyes frigid and unflinching, slicing through the tension like steel.
“Lord Hassan, I must leave,” he muttered, his tone all edges and finality.
He turned, boots striking the stone.
“Phineas.With me.”
His cloak billowed behind him, his movements driven by fury and desperation, the wretched bulk of Lord Winston tottering in his wake.
And just like that?—
They were gone.
Alone at last, I allowed myself a moment of grim pleasure.
Their empire was crumbling—brick by venom-soaked brick.
And I had laid the foundation for its ruin.
But I had no time to relish their downfall.
Now, I needed to slip away.
I must secure the Noctyss flower from Elizabeth’s alchemy cottage—before she unknowingly placed a dagger at her throat.
Before her poison could find its way into mine.
A brush with death by her hand was a fate I intended to avoid at all costs.
Without a backward glance, I strode from the room, my boots soundless against the plush carpet.The hunt had begun.
