Before nightfall, the news had already spread across the capital.
It moved through the kingdom like wildfire, passing from the palace servants to the noble houses, from the training grounds to the taverns, from whisper to rumor and rumor to fact until there was hardly a soul in the city who had not heard it.
Prince Enzo had challenged Crown Prince Adrian to a duel at dawn.
The news came as both a shock and a strange relief to the people.
A shock because no one had expected things to escalate so quickly between the two royal brothers, not publicly, not to the point of a formal challenge before the entire kingdom. But it was also a relief to some, because deep down, many of them believed this confrontation was long overdue.
The crown prince had bitten off more than he could chew, and everyone knew it.
Stealing another man's mate was not a small offense among Lycans.
