King Hector stood alone atop the central tower, his grim face pale in the moonlight. It would have been barely less so were it lit by a flame, for the barrier had been breached. Even now, he could hear the screams of his people as the Amahdin wraiths flooded in. There was naught to be done now, for they were immortal at night. Come dawn, the city would be utterly vacant, as was every other that had stood in the way of Balthaz’ conquest.

His brooding was interrupted by a shriek from the stairway behind him, not that it slowed the spymaster’s approach. Queen Rinn in tow, Kyrn set his grey eyes on his king’s before pushing his captive forward. “As requested, Your Majesty.” Without another word, he retreated into the staircase and closed the door behind himself.

Rinn seemed about to scold once again, as had been her way of late, but the cries of agony from below must have pierced through her arrogance enough to hold her tongue. Hector stared calmly at her a moment in silence, then turned to stare down toward the dwindling city below. “Aye, you hear what your lover has sent in, and, aye, I knew about that as well.”

The queen turned her gaze toward the city below. The torches that kept the streets lit were, one by one, snuffed out as the wraiths made their way inward. To her credit, she seemed to have the mettle to set aside what shame she might have had, and she turned her defiant eyes toward her husband. “Balthaz treated me better than you have in ages. At least he took the time to meet with me now and again.”

Hector nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving the dimming city. “That he did, whilst I was busy trying to keep his bloodthirsty hordes in check. Did he tell you, during your tryst in Calamn last fall, that I was even then trying to repel him before he could claim the western glades?”

Her silence was answer enough, so the king pressed on. “Didn’t think so. I failed, of course, and they took the whole. All lives lost to your lover, including your family.”

At this, she stammered, “I, I thought-”

“-that Kyrn was not intercepting your mail? Of course he was. Always has done, but he never blocked a thing. You should be honored, though. Balthaz came and did them personally.” Hector’s green eyes now turned to meet her blue. “But I suppose he didn’t tell you.”

Stone though her visage was, there were cracks in the queen’s armor. Tears seeped from her eyes, but her lips remained stiff. “Nor did you, oh husband of mine.”

The corners of his mouth twitched upward, but his eyes were as hard as the stone of the tower. “I saved it for this moment.” Hector slowly let out his breath as if he had been holding it for some time, and his broad shoulders slowly lowered. “The wraiths will come soon. Death at their hand is painful. You must brace yourself, though it will not help.”

At this, Rinn’s eyes sparkled. “You needn’t worry about me. Cruel though he may be, Balthaz did grant me one trinket.” Her hand lifted to toy with the amulet that adorned her neck. The onyx orb it bore glimmered in the moonlight. Her laughter, though tainted by the anguish she kept masked, rang out.

Hector stared silently at her for a few seconds before chuckling, himself. “Told you that would keep them at bay, did he? It seems we have both been betrayed.” He pointed to the gem with a wagging finger. “That’s wraith bait.”

A baleful shriek echoed up the staircase, as if to punctuate his sentence. Rinn’s face was suddenly as pale as Hector’s.

With a sigh, Hector turned toward the door. “You may think me many things, dear one, but an oathbreaker I am not. I swore when we wed that we’d be together until death, and here we are.”

The door itself dissolved into shadow before their eyes.

“And there it is.”