"There is one more thing," Harold said, his voice steady. "The Saint has confirmed that Orion maintains an avatar within the Stoneheart Horde's territory. Who, then, is the most suitable emissary for our kingdom to send with congratulations?"
He paused, letting the question hang in the air before answering it himself. "It is my thought that Prince Theodore should go. And he should take Kronos with him."
The images of the two Grand Dukes in the mirror fell silent. Sending Prince Theodore, who was of sufficient rank and already familiar with the Horde, was a logical choice. But to send the boy, Kronos… that was a gamble of a different order.
For years, Princess Ava had lived in her comfortable seclusion at Rose Manor, but her movements, and especially those of her son, were always under the watchful eye of the empire's highest echelons.
