Chapter 24: Trials of the Crown

Laila stood at the balcony of her private quarters, gazing out at the distant northern mountains where the Iron Claw, a rogue faction, waged its war against her father’s forces. The sky was tinged with the purples and reds of the setting sun, but the beauty of the horizon did little to ease the weight pressing on her heart. The Iron Claw was growing more aggressive, testing the kingdom’s strength at its borders, and while her father, King Khalid, had dispatched Malik and his elite forces to defend the northern region, the conflict felt far from contained.