The shattering of the mirrors was not merely a physical destruction; it was a symbolic death of the reflection Gwen had held of herself. In the jagged shards scattered across the marble floor of the Solar Dining Room, the image of the Sun-Queen was fractured, replaced by the looming shadow of the man who had haunted her every step.
Viper stood beside Grand Duke Thorne, his presence radiating a cold, serpentine authority that seemed to eclipse the old man's weathered power. The "High Advisor" was no longer a shadowy figure in a forest cabin; he was the architect of the room's atmosphere.
"You look confused, Gwendolyn," Viper said, his voice a smooth, velvet caress that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. "You look at me and see a monster. You look at the Duke and see a grandfather. But in the South, the lines of blood are rarely so straight."
***
