---
Darius bowed slightly. "Confusion of the battle. There was so much dust and falling rock… it must have seemed blocked…"
Kai stepped close. "You also left with most of the mined star crystals." He opened his pack, withdrew a single piece. "We recovered only a loose piece."
Darius's pupils shrank. Councilors whispered again, first threads of doubt weaving through the room. "Did he betray his team members? What should we do? This is very complicated." One of the elders asked the other elders.
Before questions could explode, twin doors swung wide and Princess Mia entered. Her aura stilled every tongue. She moved to the dais, her red eyes bright yet unreadable.
The vaulted ceilings of the War Hall echoed with hushed murmurs. Glittering torches set in gilded sconces cast long, wavering shadows across the polished marble floor. Little motes of dust drifted in the golden light, swirling like silent watchers of the great injustice about to unfold.
