Gregoris did not belong at parties.
He had stood in the ashes of rebellion and the shadows of palaces older than most bloodlines in the Empire. He had slit throats in silence and ended traitors before they could speak a word. He was a commander of the Shadows—the commander, in truth, though ranks among them were more practical than symbolic—and he had long since outgrown the need for ballroom assignments.
And yet, here he was. Escorting the imperial couple.
But because tonight mattered.
Tonight was not just another diplomatic dance. It was the first public appearance of the Emperor's mate.
Gabriel von Jaunez—clever, poised, and far too dangerous to be underestimated.
Gregoris had known of him before all of this, of course. He had read the dossiers. He had seen the files from Ashmont and the carefully redacted sections others weren't trusted to see. He had known the von Jaunez name, the political storm it had once been tethered to, and the fire it had walked through.
