Chapter 212

• Alaric’s POV
• Work never ends in this life. The early morning hours, the quiet hum of the house, none of it gave me peace anymore. Not with everything we were juggling—alliances, threats, Alonso. It was like balancing on a knife’s edge, and if I tipped too far in any direction, the whole operation would come crashing down.
• I stood by the window in my study, a glass of whiskey in hand. It was too early for this, but it was the only thing keeping me from grinding my teeth down to dust. Allesio had been quiet for the last ten minutes, flipping through reports at my desk. His silence was unusual, but I didn’t press. Not yet.