Chapter 15 #2
It’s utter chaos. Not just from the leaders of Hell, but the other rulers as well.
Somehow, in the thirty minutes it took me to get here, every single one of them has already gathered.
The air thrums with anger and fear. Every gaze in the room swings to me—some frantic, some sharp with disappointment.
“Where’s Daisy?” Sariya asks, concern laced thick in her tone.
“She’s…” I pause. I can’t let them see her as fragile again. Not here. Not now when things are going so very wrong. “Busy. She’ll join us when she can.”
I hold her gaze, silently asking for her trust. Much to my relief, she inclines her head once in understanding. “Please. Sit.”
I take my place at the head of the table, facing the sea of rulers.
Sariya, Elyistria, Maelkar, Kaelith, Virena, Vor’Khar, Lucifer, and Vailith.
Even Kayron and Victor, lower counsellors from Sovarith are here—all waiting, all watching.
To no surprise, the leaders of House Nytherian from Nox’Thraxis are nowhere to be seen.
Typical. I know they keep to themselves in their own dominion of Hell, and even rule and govern differently to how their queen does, but we need everyone here.
Their lack of involvement is starting to irritate me.
“Thank you for assembling so quickly,” I begin, my voice low but carrying. “Today, while Daisy toured the dominions, Cinderspine was attacked.”
The room erupts into mutters, tension coiling thick around us.
I lift a hand in a gesture for them to be quiet, and resume on.
“Not long after we returned, I was informed that the Council Spires were attacked as well. I haven’t yet had full reports, so I’ll defer to those who were present.
” I turn to Kayron and Victor. “Tell us what happened.”
Karyon rises, tall and commanding in his black and gold robes, his white horns gleaming faintly in the dim light, blending into his silver hair.
His pale pink-violet eyes sweep the table before he speaks.
“We received word of Cinderspine’s destruction almost immediately, and dispatched scribes to record the events.
But it soon became clear Cinderspine was a distraction.
Whoever orchestrated this, knew precisely where Daisy would be, and when. ”
My pulse quickens almost instantly. “What proof do you have?”
“The scribes log every event with precise timing,” Kayron explains in a monotone voice as if he were reading from a script.
“One recorded yours and Daisy’s arrival at Cinderspine at twelve twenty-five p.m. At twelve thirty-six, the first guards at Sovarith were slain.
Quietly and efficiently. Their throats were cut. ”
Suspicion sharpens Sariya’s tone as she stares the council member down. “And they’re certain of the timing?”
Victor rises, the opposite of Kayron in every way—smaller, darker, his robes nearly swallowing him.
His grey eyes glint beneath his dark lashes that match his jet-black hair and horns.
“We are trained to be certain. It is our duty in the Spires to observe, to know the shape of events down to the breath.”
Kayron continues, “Your departures were logged at one seventeen p.m. At one nineteen, the larger strike hit the Spires. Chambers destroyed and safes breached. Scrolls and documents were stolen. The targets were precise: texts on Dasmyrin’s reign, and archives on Hell’s old resources—weapons, magic, creatures long outlawed or extinct. ”
Lucifer exhales a sharp curse. “Shit.”
“Do we know who the attackers were?” Kaelith asks, his usually smooth expression shadowed with unease.
Both counsellors shake their heads, solemn expressions across both of their faces. I swear I see a hint of disappointment on their faces. As if them not knowing every single detail is eating them alive.
I incline my head. “Thank you. If you need to return to Sovarith, go. Soldiers will be dispatched to aid you—”
Victor cuts in. “No. The Spires are sacred. Outsiders have no place within its walls. We’ll update you when we know more.”
I don’t push against him. I don’t have the energy, if I’m truthfully honest. If even now, when their sacred spires have been attacked, they don’t want help… then so be it. They both bow stiffly and take their leave, their robes billowing behind them.
Kaelith leans forward, his voice tight. “So… someone breached the wards?”
“No,” I answer flatly. “They remain untouched. Not a single ripple of interference.”
Elyistria’s soft voice carries a razor edge. “Then how?”
Lucifer snarls, the veneer of charm stripped back. “Traitors. It’s the only answer. We’ve got fucking rats.”
I rest my elbows on the table, steepling my fingers before my face.
The weight of every gaze presses in on me, heavy as stone.
“Yes,” I murmur. “Traitors. And if they’ve already infiltrated Sovarith…
then none of us are safe. Not in our homes.
Not in our strongholds. Gods only knows how many The Divine Six have already claimed. ”
The silence that follows is worse than the shouting. Several minutes pass before Elyistria breaks the silence, her voice quiet but ringing like a bell. “Aran. You need to bring her in here. Let her explain the gravity of this.”
My heart seizes, time seeming to slow. I know exactly who she means. I know exactly who she wants me to bring into this room.
“No.” The word scrapes from my throat. “Elyistria, no.” It’s more of a plea than a statement.
Virena’s voice sounds, drawing my attention to her mis-matched storm-grey eyes that are narrowed directly at me. “Bring who?”
I don’t answer. I can’t. Dragging Velentha into this chamber of wolves, expecting them to treat her with anything but cruelty? I’d sooner slit their throats myself. If they so much as looked at her wrong, I fear I would kill them all, despite their power outranking mine in every way possible.
“Daisy can tell them whatever they need to know,” I snap, anger rising hot in my chest. “She doesn’t need to be involved.”
Sariya leans forward, her deep bronze hands braced against the table. Her tone is soft, but cutting through me all the same. “We can’t protect her if most of this council still sees her as the enemy. The only way to silence the doubt, is for her to speak.”
Panic coils tight in my gut. “Please,” I whisper, my voice breaking despite myself. “Don’t ask this of me. Don’t make me—”
Elyistria’s eyes are unyielding, and I know I’ve lost a battle that’s barely even begun. “It’s time, Aran. Either you bring her, or we will tell them ourselves.”
My hands tremble with a mixture of fear and fury.
How dare they corner me like this? They know damn well I have no real power against them.
They know they’ve left me with no choice.
They act like they are doing me a favour, allowing me to be the one to bring her here.
But they are putting my sole reason for existing in harm’s way by asking me to do this.
“Fine,” I grit out, my jaw aching from the force of it. My voice drops to a growl as I glare around the table. “But if any one of you even so much as tries to harm her, I swear to every god that’s listening, I will not be held responsible for how quickly I end you.”
The room stills, the only noise being Lucifer’s scoff as everybody else goes silent. Kaelith mutters under his breath, “What the fuck…” as I leave, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the stone, storming out with my pulse thundering in my ears.