A Queen's Mercy

simply held it firmer against his lips, his golden eyes flashing with quiet defiance. The fragile, tense moment was entirely shattered the second the crunch of expensive boots against the blood-soaked dirt echoed across the clearing.

"Apologies for our tardiness, your Grace," Victor Croft spoke nonchalantly, his voice slicing through the heavy, metallic stench of death. The negligent ministers f