The fire of retribution… what had it truly given her in the end?
Once, she had stood like a queen above queens, commanding armies with whispers, moving men like pieces on a board, weaving fates with the certainty of one who knew she would win. She had plotted and schemed for decades, stacking the stones of her vengeance so high that even the gods might have paused to look.
She had believed herself untouchable.
But now, in the cold hush of her chambers, with the night pressing against the windows like a waiting beast, she asked herself: Where was she now?
Her sons were gone.
The one she had loved most was buried.
And the one she had hated most was rising higher than she had ever dreamed.
