C256 BEFORE THE THRONE COLLIDE

The torches did not burn randomly.

They were spaced.

Evenly.

Along the ridge line that divided mortal farmland from Blood-Fed patrol territory.

Aria saw them from the palace balcony.

One. Then two. Then five.

By nightfall, there were more than a dozen.

The Young Prince stepped beside her.

“That’s not panic,” he said.

“No,” she replied. “That’s coordination.”

Behind them