Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
PHOENIX
Today, the auditorium is quiet. Well, as quiet as it can ever be considering nobles yap as if their lives depend on it. But at least there’s no shouting or arguing. Well…not yet.
I toss one leg over the other as I settle in my iron throne. No matter which way I twist or turn, it’s cold and uncomfortable. More so than usual today.
Noire at my right, chatting with two Ezkai, offers me little comfort. Same for Ezkai Emil and Ezkai Bjorn, who stand on each side of my throne without their masks on.
When Ezkai Emil meets my eyes, a hint of a smirk appears on his lips and he slightly dips his chin. A small gesture meant to offer some sort of assurance. It kind of does.
I’m surprised by that, but I guess it’s only natural. They spend almost all my waking hours with me, guarding me with their lives. How could I not get used to their presence, find comfort in them having my back? At least giving me the illusion they have my back.
Amongst the Ezkai lining the walls next to the entrance, I find Bloom and Fern. They stand shoulder to shoulder, eyes trained on the nobles in the auditorium.
When Noire finishes the conversation with the Ezkai, they leave, and he comes to stand by me.
I ask without looking at him, “Is everything set?”
“Yes, General.”
Right then, the double door swings open and those same two Ezkai return. This time, they’re not alone. Jax trails after them, the heavy iron chains that bind his wrists and ankles dragging loudly on the stone floor.
My stomach drops at the sight.
His white shirt is dirty, torn. His loose linen pants have seen better days. It breaks my heart to see his eyes cast down, shoulders slumped. But what makes my blood boil with rage are the fresh bruises on his neck and face.
I grip the iron arms of my chair and whip my head towards Noire. “What the fuck? Why are there bruises, fresh bruises, on him?”
Noire looks apologetic. “Unfortunately, he was attacked during dinner yesterday.”
I inhale sharply, following Jax’s movements until he stands in the center of the room. The Ezkai who brought him here step away from him immediately. I could kill someone right about now, that’s how furious I am at the corruption that runs deep in my Order.
All those emotions evaporate in the blink of an eye when Jax lifts his head just high enough to look at me for the briefest moment. The emptiness in his dark gaze robs me out of breath.
It hits me then.
Jax doesn’t expect to be saved.
He isn’t waiting for mercy.
He’s waiting for the end.
I tear my gaze away before I lose myself in the grief. The attention in the room has shifted. I don’t have to open my senses to read the room.
House Dzuni smell the blood in the water.
And they’re ravenous.
I lift my chin and in a voice so cold I barely recognize it, say, “Ekios demands judgment. Let it be given.”
Noire pulls out a parchment roll from his robes and steps forward. His shadows swirl around his neck and wrists in anticipation.
“Noble House Dzuni,” Noire says, his voice carrying easily through the tribunal, “you stand convened under the ancient laws of Ekios to hear judgment for a crime without pardon.”
My pulse races. The urge to fidget is irresistible, but somehow I manage to remain still as a statue carved from coldest marble.
Noire unfurls the parchment with deliberate care.
“Jax Kregger of Emera stands accused of the highest crime known to our land.”
Noire’s gaze flicks briefly to Jax, then back to nobles. Jax doesn’t stir. He’s so still I’m not even sure he’s breathing.
“The willful assassination of the Ezkai General Kitajo Hiromasa, a life bound to the spirits of the gods, chosen through the ancient trials, and sworn to serve and protect people of Ekios.”
A heavy pause.
I watch the faces of the nobles seated in the auditorium. Some look on with frowns between their eyebrows, with sad eyes. Some have their lips curled in snarls, and others are impossible to read.
Like Nobleman Uringi.
I’m aware he dislikes me, was never fond of supporting a human Decarios as his Ezkai General. But he’s one of Vera’s loyal noble circle. Noire assured me he’d vote in our favor.
“By committing an assassination, the accused did not merely take a life. He severed a divine bond, disrupted sacred succession, and cast Ekios into sanctioned chaos.”
Noire’s shadows at his neck flicker. I hope it’s only for the show, and not a sign of something bad.
Noire lowers the parchment and levels his gaze at the nobles. “The punishment Ekios laws demand is not vengeance. It is restitution. A life must answer for a life taken as our tradition calls.”
I let the silence settle before I speak.
“Thank you, Taaslord,” I say. “Jax Kregger owes Ekios a life. And he will deliver it.”
My eyes sweep over the nobles in auditorium.
“As ancient law dictates, a willing life may be bound to that of the Ezkai General as restitution.”
Hushed chatter ripples through the chamber.
I brace myself.
My voice doesn’t waver. “Jax Kregger has consented to bind his life to mine, as punishment for the unforgivable crime he has committed.”
That’s when the floodgate opens.
Shouts bounce off the dark stone walls and tall, dome-shaped ceilings. Some of the nobles rise from their seats, waving their hands in the air in protest. Others remain seated while arguing with their fellow nobles.
I don’t move, show no reaction. My exterior is ice, even though inside I’m simmering with rage at this spectacle.
I allow them a few minutes of indulgence. Then, without a word, I raise my hand in the air to silence them.
For a heartbeat, terror’s cold fingers grip me. What if they don’t listen?
But the moment my hand lifts, one by one the nobles fall silent.
“The punishment is not up for debate,” I say, voice cold. “Your duty is to vote. Those in favor, say ‘aye’ and raise your hands.”
Immediately, a forest of hands shoot into the air. Some familiar faces like Noblewoman Genji. I have no clue what sort of relationship Jax has with her, or what he did to win such loyalty from the beautiful fae, but once she votes in our favor so do the nobles around her.
Noire counts the votes out loud.
A hundred and thirty noble houses. What we need is sixty-six votes. My heart hammers in my chest, and sweat trickles down my spine.
Every single hand in Vera’s loyal noble circle rises.
Except for one.
Twenty-nine.
Nobleman Uringi sits with his arms crossed across his chest, ignoring the nobles that sit around him.
That fucking bastard.
His vote matters. It’s one I was counting on. If he doesn’t vote…
I should have known that one day he would find a way to rebel against me. I just didn’t think it would be this day.
Panic seizes my lungs. I struggle to get a breath down.
But Noire doesn’t pause as he goes through the hands in the air.
Forty-nine.
We have forty-nine votes.
My gaze snaps to Nobleman Juti on the left side of the auditorium. He isn’t raising his hand.
I’m about to lose my shit, gripping the arms of my iron throne so hard my knuckles are white…but then Nobleman Juti meets my gaze.
Slowly he inclines his head, and with a pronounced “aye,” he raises his hand. I almost slide out of my seat from relief.
The rest of his noble youth cast their votes in our favor, too.
Sixty-five.
Noire stops the count.
No.
It’s a tie?
I look from one noble to the other, trying to find one who may be willing to change their mind.
What happens if it’s a tie?
One hand rises then. Angelic face, blond curls. Nobleman Yoni. The Caligos bastard who fought me on passing Vera’s law.
“Aye,” he says with a soft smile.
Surprised, I blink at him.
Apparently, I’m not the only one thrown off by his decision. A few heads whip his way, but he ignores the stares.
“Under one condition, General,” he adds.
My heart sinks.
It takes everything in me to control my voice. “Speak your mind, Nobleman.”
“If Jax Kregger of Emera is to bind his life to yours as his punishment, it must happen here and now. So the spirits of the gods, the Order of Ezkai, and House Dzuni bear witness to justice being served,” Nobleman Yoni says.
That’s…oddly harmless. Right? Unless I’m missing something.
Noire glances at me and nods. That puts me at ease.
“Acceptable terms,” Noire says. “Sixty-six votes in favor.”
Hushed conversation passes amongst some of the nobles. I’m tense as a bowstring, so it takes me a moment to register that the vote has passed and we have won.
Noire’s looking at me. Waiting.
I clear my throat. “Bring the monks. We’ll serve the punishment now.”
Nobleman Yoni’s lips curl into a satisfied smirk.
I feel like I’m missing something.
Why would a Caligos supporter vote in my favor?
But there’s no time.
The door swings open again and four monks dressed in red robes enter.