Jayden's POV
The throne room felt like a battlefield the moment I crossed the threshold. Every pair of eyes in the chamber turned toward me with calculated coldness, their gazes sharp as blades. These were the same men who had made my youth a living nightmare, and there in their center sat Principal Caesar, his predatory stare tracking my every movement.
The memory of his years-long hatred toward Jasmine burned fresh in my mind. That twisted smirk playing across his lips now made rage simmer beneath my skin.
Palmer positioned himself at my left shoulder, his posture deceptively relaxed with hands buried deep in his pockets. But I caught the telltale tension in his jaw as his eyes swept the hostile assembly.
Inside my chest, Abner paced like a caged beast, his restlessness bleeding into my consciousness.
My father occupied his throne with unnerving calm. "What brings you here, Jayden?"
The question hung in the air while the elders leaned forward, hungry for my response.
