“So… the Faceless King is already coming for me?” I asked quietly.

“Yes,” my father replied. The finality in his voice left no doubt… it was over for me.

Then, almost as if thinking aloud, my father spoke again.

“I remember the former King, King Harmony,” he said softly. “Just like his name, he was a man of peace and unity. If he had been the one in this case, he would have spared you after hearing your reason for giving the information away to protect your family.”

His white eyes grew distant, lost in memory.

“He was exceptionally strong. Fierce. The kind of king who avenged those who had...