Page 160 of Warlord's Plaything

Kaelith doesn’t flinch.

Doesn’t move.

But I see the twitch in his fingers.

The way his jaw tightens.

The way he’s losing control.

"This is nonsense."Kaelith’s voice is smooth, the way poison is smooth before it kills you."I have done nothing but lead you to victory. You think I would throw that away?"

But the orcs aren’t listening.

The false letters, the whispers in the dark, the doubts planted deep. They’ve done their work.

"You wanted us gone."

Another war chief steps forward, his face twisted in fury.

"You called us pawns."

The words are spat like venom.

Like a death sentence.

Kaelith finally looks unsure.

Finally sees the monster he thought he leashed turning its fangs on him.

He shifts, his eyes flicking toward his guards.

Toward his own people.

And I see it?—

They aren’t with him.

Not fully.

Not enough.

The council has already been divided.

Kaelith has no one left.

This is how he dies.

"You fools."

Kaelith’s voice is no longer smooth.

It’s cold.

Final.

Like a man who knows he has no way out.

"You want war?"

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