The Sovereign Return

A severe winter blizzard had swept down from the Bohemian Alps, howling across the Wachau Valley and blanketing the steep granite cliffs in four feet of powdery snow. Inside the cliffside library salon of Castle Schwanstein, Malachi Drake stood before the towering arched windows, watching the dark, churning waters of the Danube disappear into the whiteout. He held a crystal tumbler of aged Wachau brandy, dressed in a simple charcoal…