Chapter Four: Two Orders, One Expendable Prince

The Royal Council had forty-seven chairs. When Lain entered the White Radiance Hall, servants were carrying in a forty-eighth. It was an old wooden stool without a back, placed between the Red and Frost factions. Whoever sat there would expose himself to both sides. “Perfect for me,” Lain said. The servant did not dare laugh. Serena set down her files. “Three thousand Red Dragon soldiers left the eastern camp last night. The Frost Legion has crossed the northern foot of White Ridge. Both sides claim to be escorting envoys.” “Three thousand envoys. How courteous.” The system had revealed the movements, not where the armies would meet. A deduction needed causal anchors, and military orders were sealed with dragonfire.