Chapter : The High Syndicate’s Warning

When I woke up, the scent of ash clung to my skin like a second layer. My ears still rang from the blast—no, not a blast… the flashbang. The memory came rushing back in fragments. Marcus. The masked woman. Her voice, low and chilling.

“The Kingmaker was just the beginning.”

I sat upright, my head swimming.

The room was unfamiliar—clean, sterile, with chrome walls and too-white lighting. It felt like a hidden facility, not a hospital. No windows, no sound from outside. I swung my legs over the edge of the cot and nearly collapsed.

Lucien caught me before I could hit the floor....