The Boundless Continent was in chaos.

  The Trial of Kings had begun, and already, Lords were falling.

  Some had overreached, claiming lands they could not hold.

  Some had hesitated, waiting too long to act.

  And some—like Duskwind and Fenric—had sealed their own fates.

  Now, Selene stood at the center of it all, watching as the first true battles for dominion unfolded.

  And as she had predicted, most of them were already lost.

  ---

  Reports flooded the Verdant Nexus.

  Foxes delivered them with barely concealed amusement, his golden eyes gleaming as he listed the names of those who had fallen.

  “Lord Callion is done,” he said, flicking through his gathered intelligence. “His forces were overextended, and his neighbors carved him apart before he even had time to consolidate.”

  Selene barely reacted.

  She had known he would fall the moment he claimed too much.

  Foxes continued.

  “Lord Vargis remains under your rule. His men have already begun swearing loyalty, but they’re slow to integrate.”

  Selene nodded. That was expected.

  Ironveil had required a transition period before it fully settled under her control.

  Vargis’s lands would be no different.

  She would allow them time—but not too much.

  Then Foxes’s tone shifted.

  “This one’s interesting,” he mused.

  Selene glanced at him.

  “Lord Estara.”

  Her fingers tapped lightly against the table.

  “She was the cautious one.”

  Foxes nodded. “Claimed only three territories. Played it safe.”

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  Selene exhaled. “And yet?”

  Foxes grinned. “She’s already at war.”

  ---

  Lord Estara’s mistake had not been ambition.

  It had been underestimating the desperation of others.

  While she had taken only three territories, she had bordered Lords who had taken more.

  And now, with their territories crumbling, they had turned to hers.

  Selene studied the map, watching the shifting battle lines.

  Estara had been a planner.

  A pragmatist.

  She had not expanded recklessly, but she had also not expected the Trial to create such immediate conflict.

  And that had cost her.

  ---

  Foxes leaned forward.

  “She’s still holding, for now. But it won’t last.”

  Selene considered this.

  “Who is attacking her?”

  Foxes smirked. “Three different Lords, all of whom are on the verge of collapse themselves. They don’t have the numbers to take her, but they’re fighting like they have no other option.”

  Selene understood.

  These were Lords who had claimed too much.

  They had stretched their resources.

  They had lost control.

  And now, rather than accept their fates, they had thrown themselves at the nearest target in desperation.

  They weren’t fighting to win.

  They were fighting to drag someone down with them.

  ---

  Selene’s decision was swift.

  “We will intervene.”

  Strategy tilted their head. “To claim her lands?”

  Selene shook her head.

  “To claim her.”

  Estara had been a measured ruler.

  She had made one mistake, but she had not been weak.

  Selene did not seek to erase competence.

  She sought to absorb it.

  She would take what was valuable.

  And Estara was valuable.

  ---

  The response was quick and efficient.

  The Fae Lords moved as shadows and storms, slipping through the war-torn borders of Estara’s lands with effortless precision.

  By the time they reached her capital stronghold, it was already under siege.

  Selene stood at the edge of the battlefield, watching as desperate men fought a losing war.

  The Lords attacking Estara were not strategists.

  They were men clawing for survival.

  And they had already lost.

  Selene lifted a hand.

  Her Fae moved.

  The battle lasted minutes.

  The Lords who had attacked collapsed under overwhelming force.

  The soldiers who had followed them threw down their weapons.

  And when Selene finally entered Estara’s keep, she found the woman standing at the center of it all, blade in hand, ready for what she thought was her final stand.

  She had expected her enemies.

  She had not expected Selene.

  ---

  Estara’s eyes flickered with calculation.

  She did not falter.

  She did not plead.

  She only watched.

  Selene admired that.

  “You fought well,” Selene said simply.

  Estara’s grip on her weapon did not ease. “And yet, I have lost.”

  Selene smiled slightly.

  “Have you?”

  A pause.

  Estara narrowed her eyes.

  “I do not take prisoners,” Selene continued. “I will not demand submission from you.”

  She stepped forward.

  “However, I will only take those who understand what is coming.”

  Another pause.

  Then—

  Estara exhaled.

  And slowly, she lowered her blade.

  “I see,” she murmured.

  Selene watched her.

  “You understand, then?”

  Estara nodded.

  “I do.”

  Selene extended a hand.

  Estara looked at it for only a moment before taking it.

  A ruler did not bend.

  A ruler did not submit.

  A ruler acknowledged power.

  And now, Estara acknowledged hers.

  ---

  The first Kings had fallen.

  Callion was gone.

  Vargis had surrendered.

  Estara had been claimed.

  And as Selene returned to the Verdant Nexus, the world continued to shift.

  She looked over the map once more.

  The game was narrowing.

  Fewer pieces remained.

  The Trial of Kings within her region had begun with hundreds.

  Now, only dozens remained.

  And soon, there would be only one.

  Her.