An exiled lord wins his first battle—then a Dragon Knight points her sword at the Fallen ally beside him, and he steps between them without flinching. The Pale Lord arrives, leaves behind a warning that it's still not enough, and vanishes into the mist. Called south for his father's funeral, he finds his brother already crowned, his best friend poisoned at the royal dinner, and his allied house wiped out. He storms the capital, breaks into the family archive, and exposes his brother's private purge order and poison records before the entire house—then runs him through. The Empress lets him go north with a warning: come south under arms again, and he won't leave twice. But in the northern mist, a second shadow is already rising.
