As for the Demigods, they cared little which ram led the herd. They were content to sit on the fence, watching the livestock headbutt each other to death.
Unfortunately for Kaelen, he was living inside that pen.
"Mother, I have to go. This is the opening I've been waiting for."
High atop the ramparts of Gossamer Reach, Sophia stood beside her son, listening to the wind howl against the stone. Since the Dark Butterfly clan had seized this stronghold, Kaelen had developed a habit of standing here, staring out at the horizon.
Sophia knew that look. It was the look of a man whose ambition was too large for the cage he was born into.
The problem was simple: Kaelen was not yet an Arch Lord.
Ever since they took the Reach, Sophia had been the anchor holding him back. It wasn't that she—or their race—lacked the thirst for expansion. As a Broodmother, the drive to claim more territory and resources was woven into her DNA. She wanted it more than anyone.
But fear was a powerful tether.
