Choice

He slipped the letter into an envelope and sealed it with wax.

Michael took it and set it on the edge of the table.

"It sounds like you're telling the Reeves Family to give up, not asking them for help."

"Levis took most of the Family's wealth and strength with him. His two older sisters can't be in a good position." Annan had impersonated Levis because he had no choice. There was no need to drag the entire Reeves Family into the abyss with him.

Annan had learned a little about the King of the Northern Frontier from Michael—Lady Fine Wine had refused to answer because the question left her speechless. Broadly speaking, the Twelve Kings of the North were the Northern Frontier's foundation.

In the distant past, those twelve legends had held back the Corruption of Chaos in the North.

But no reign lasted forever. The Reeves Family, one of the Twelve Kings of the North, had gradually declined. Levis had carried the Family's hopes and even changed his name to its surname—only to meet with sudden catastrophe.

Now only Levis's two older sisters remained of the Reeves Family.

Michael was still getting used to Annan's strange habit of speaking about himself in the third person when he heard him continue:

"Will this letter reach the Reeves Family intact?"

"The killer won't let it get there... but you'll know whether it did." Michael didn't sound hopeful. "You'll receive news of the courier's death."

"It sounds like they're about to be in danger..." Annan began to wonder whether there was any point sending someone on a journey certain to end badly. "And will his sisters believe what the letter says?"

"That doesn't matter. Once they know you're alive, they'll do everything they can to verify it."

"I'm not... All right.