"Drop those iron bars right now!" Leo's shout cut across the crowded market square like thunder as crates smashed against stone.Dozens of men were brawling in front of the grain stalls, swinging heavy clubs, kitchen knives, and shattered wooden boards into one another.Two young apprentices lay bleeding against the stone fountain, while terrified mothers pulled their crying children behind overturned vegetable carts."They set fire to my flour cart!" an older grain seller screamed, pointing a bloody hand at three men wearing dark red tunics. "Leo's guards started this fight!"Leo rushed between the two clashing mobs, catching a descending iron pipe on his armored forearm before it could crack an old baker's skull.He did not draw his broadsword to kill; he planted his boots and shoved both lines apart with raw, immovable force."Stand back, all of you!" Leo commanded, his chest heaving as he held the two bleeding groups apart with his bare hands. "Put down your weapons!""Why should

"I will not point a sword at any of my own brothers without proof," Leo said, leaning over the wooden table in the quiet back room of the clinic.Victoria set down a bowl of clean water, her dark eyes looking at him with deep concern. "If the Iron Banner has ears inside our walls, Leo, we cannot afford to look away.""That is why we test the waters first," Leo replied, dipping his quill into fresh black ink. "We give three different stories to three people, and we see which story reaches the street."Leo wrote three small notes on scrap parchment. To Ethan, he whispered that a shipment of steel shields was arriving at the southern gate.To Master Alden, he claimed he was meeting an imperial clerk behind the old library at noon.To Julian, who had been working tirelessly to rebuild the damaged market stalls, Leo said he was inspecting an old grain cellar near the western wall at dusk.Two hours before sunset, Ethan slipped through the back door, his face tight and pale. "Leo, an Iron B

"Did you truly believe a prince could wash away ten years of blood, little bird?" a cold, smooth voice whispered from the mist.Mira froze beside the stone well in the backyard, the wooden bucket slipping from her fingers and splashing water into the grass. She spun around, drawing two iron throwing spikes from her belt in a heartbeat.A tall woman stepped out from the shadow of the tall pine trees, wrapped in an elegant cloak of midnight black velvet. Her silver hair was tied in a tight braid, and two curved daggers rested openly at her waist."Teresa," Mira gasped, her breath catching in her throat as her knuckles turned white around the cold iron."You dropped your guard, Mira," Teresa said, taking a slow, graceful step across the damp stones. "I taught you never to let a bucket fall with a splash.""What are you doing here?" Mira demanded, her voice shaking despite her best effort to stay calm. "Get away from this house."Teresa stopped five paces away, a faint, pitying smile curl

"Look me in the eye, Father, and tell me the truth," Leo demanded, his voice cracking with twenty years of buried pain. "Is my mother alive?"Thomas stood with his head bowed under the broken stone archway, his scarred hands trembling against his rough coat. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a dry, broken rasp came out."I cannot give you a certain answer, Leo," Thomas whispered, tears wetting his blind eyes. "I wish to the stars I could, but I cannot."Lady Elora stepped between them, her faded grey shawl slipping from her thin shoulders as she placed a frail hand on Leo's arm. "Your father is telling you the truth, child.""Then tell me what happened in that northern snow!" Leo pleaded, his heart pounding hard against his ribs. "Tell me why nobody knows!""When the capital fell, the syndicate wolves hunted your carriage to the edge of the northern cliffs," Lady Elora explained softly. "Queen Vivienne placed you in Thomas's arms and ordered him to run into the salt caves.""And

"We cannot storm the capital and point our swords at the high ministers," Leo said, his voice firm as he helped Lord Raymond into a private room inside the Oakhaven town hall. "Accusing the imperial court without hard proof will only make us look like rebels."Lord Raymond sank into a wooden chair, holding his bruised ribs with a groan. "I am not asking you to start a rebellion, Prince Leo. I am giving you the proof you need."The envoy reached deep inside the torn lining of his velvet coat, pulling out a small folded parchment stained with river water. He placed it carefully on the round table in front of Leo."I pulled this from the coat of the mercenary captain before he dragged me onto that barge," Raymond whispered, catching his breath. "It contains names, payment numbers, and orders stamped with court ink."Leo picked up the damp paper, his brow furrowing as he studied the strange text. The parchment was covered in bizarre geometric shapes, scattered numbers, and broken words th