#Chapter 135: Us and You

Lauren The Rogue King’s laugh boomed over the battlefield like a war drum, sharp and guttural, dripping with triumph. I’d heard a lot of cruel sounds in my life—snarls, screams, the wet snap of bone—but this laugh was different. The paw, his paw, pressed harder against my skull. The earth beneath my cheek was wet, warm with blood—mine, maybe. Or someone else’s. I couldn’t tell anymore. I could hear the way my breathing rasped, the choke in my throat from dirt and pain, the terrified pounding of my heart. But louder than all of it—was that laugh. The Rogue King, GrimMaw, stood above me like a mountain cloaked in shadow, towering, monstrous, and victorious. The sound of a man who believed he had already won. Across the square, Alexander was fighting like a man possessed, his roars shaking the trees—but the chains around him were glowing, biting into his skin with every move. His claws sparked against the metal as he tried to rip them off, his voice ragged as he bellowed— “L