Chapter 496 - CH 496 — The Empty Throne

By half past ten, the Grand Council Chamber had ceased to resemble a place where law was spoken and had become instead a theatre in which every silence carried a price. Morning light entered through the tall arched windows of Royal Avenue, falling in pale shafts across the black stone floor, yet the chamber seemed colder than the winter streets beyond it. Alessandro stood before the Council's raised platform with his hands resting loosely at his sides, though the slight tension in his fingers betrayed the effort required to remain still. Beside him, Elara watched the assembled Alphas and elders without lowering her gaze, her composure graceful enough to appear effortless, though Alessandro knew the faint tightening around her mouth meant she understood precisely how dangerous the morning had become.