BOOM!!!
The massive iron doors slammed against the stone walls with a violent BOOM that echoed across the vast hall.
Everyone in the chamber — the shadowed elders, the watching envoys, even Aurelian Dorne himself — turned sharply toward the entrance.
Hutton's pulse froze mid-beat.
Heavy footsteps approached.
Two figures were shoved inside by Dorne family guards — pushed so hard they stumbled across the polished floor and nearly fell face-first beneath the harsh white spotlight.
Hutton's eyes widened.
His breath hitched.
His body went numb.
Timothy.
And Hughes.
Both looked like broken animals.
Timothy's clothes were shredded, his left eye bruised shut, his once-orderly hair matted with dried blood.
Hughes was worse — limping, his shoulder dislocated, his face gaunt from days of interrogation and fear.
The guards shoved them to their knees.
Aurelian's voice sliced through the air:
"Bring in the natural traitors."
Timothy lifted his head slowly… painfully…
