Chapter 17
Venn's Emergency Crown
Venn placed a forged crown on his own head and discovered too late that the system did not distinguish ruler from fuel.
Memories poured out of him: bribes, altered orders, the night Elara's mother begged him to stop. The city saw them in every oathstone surface.
He cut the crown away and blamed Elara's sabotage.
She could have let it kill him. Instead she ordered the witnesses to close the stones, preserving him for trial.
Her mercy cost strategic advantage. Alive, Venn still commanded the Fifth Guard.
He used that command to seize the coronation hall and fill it with the families of every witness.