SERVING ANOTHER ROUND of tea for herself, Tori continued. "Deny Tessa. But the catch is bigger this time. Face your brother's faction heads on. You will shift the blame to them. Tessa will live but she will probably be exiled to a foreign country. The point is she will live. But you can't guarantee for how long since you will face the faction earlier than expected. I told you, you would choose the first one."

His face was torn between his mother and the woman he loved. "What can you do for me? You swore your allegiance to me, so I am asking you, what will you do for me?"...