Chapter 99 – Dain
DAIN
It started like any other day. Azaria stood in the middle of the common room, pulling her hair back into a rough braid, coat thrown over her arm. “If I see one more procurement form, I’ll set Tywin’s desk on fire.”
Kael, lounging with his boots up, grinned. “Do it. Give the scribes something to gossip about.”
Azaria shot him a look, lips twitching. “You volunteering to handle the paperwork fallout?”
“Stars above, no!” Kael held up his hands, already backing away.
I watched her stuff reports into her satchel, still muttering. “Lunch with Elaria. I’ll be back before two.” Kalias stood by the door, already in his human skin, giving her that long-suffering look he reserved for when she tried to go anywhere unaccompanied.
“You sure you don’t need three guards and a flaming sword?” he deadpanned.
Azaria rolled her eyes and shoved him ahead of her. “Come on, before you make us late. Try not to scare Elaria this time.”
Reyna called from her seat by the window. “Bring us back something edible, Captain. If you leave me with Zeph’s mystery stew again, I’ll mutiny.”
Azaria waved over her shoulder. “No promises!”
No one worried. Nothing in the air suggested trouble.
The day passed in a familiar routine. I sat at the desk with patrol ledgers; Kael slouched across from me, scowling as he counted rations.
“We’re short on volunteers for the east watch again,” Kael complained. “Either everyone’s skiving, or someone forgot to update the rota.”
I didn’t look up. “Or you swapped the patrol shifts last night and forgot to tell anyone. Again.”
He huffed. “I have a system.”
“Is that what you call it?” I smirked.
Across the room, Quin set down a mug and stretched. “Anyone up for a spar? I’ve got half an hour before paperwork catches up with me.”
“Careful,” Zeph called. “He’s in a mood. Let him win once, or he’ll sulk all week.”
Quin grinned. “No promises.”
There was laughter. The easy kind that comes when you think you’re safe. The summons shattered it.
A runner appeared in the doorway, breathless. “High Lord Tywin requests your presence. Immediately. You and your entire squad.”
Heads turned to me. I nodded. “Let’s go.”
“What about Azaria and Kalias?” Reyna asked, voice edged with concern.
I shook my head. “I’ll tell her myself. Move.”
She’d been gone for two hours when we reached Tywin’s chambers.
Tywin’s chamber was already crowded with every captain and the full squad. Tywin stood at the head of the long table, face drawn, knuckles white where he gripped a memory crystal.
He cleared his throat, voice clipped. “This was delivered to my desk fifteen minutes ago. Along with a note from Torven Kaelor.” His gaze swept the room. “He asked that I ensure everyone is present to witness this.”
Torven’s name. Ice settled in my chest. Three weeks of silence, and now this?
Tywin looked around. “Where are Azaria and Kalias?”
“Lunch with her sister,” Reyna answered. “Kalias was with them.”
Veshar, all clipped impatience, snapped. “She can catch up. Start the damned crystal, Tywin.”
Tywin hesitated only a moment before setting the crystal in the runed slot at the center of the table.
Sharp magic hummed through the air. I heard Lirael’s shaky breath, felt Quin tense beside me.
My heartbeat thudded in my ears. The moment the projection flickered to life, icy terror filled my lungs.
Azaria appeared, slumped against a crumbling post, hands bound behind her. Bruises stood out stark on her skin, blood at the corner of her mouth. The ruins around her—old stones, collapsed arches. Thalor?
My chest tightened.
“Wake up.” Torven’s voice sneered through the projection. He slapped her hard. Azaria groaned, her eyes fluttered open.
“Kidnapping me again…” Her voice was hoarse but steady. “Did Dain teach you nothing from your last attempt?”
Pride cut through the horror. Brief, but there.
She scanned the five men surrounding her, narrowing her eyes. “You needed five people to intercept one woman? Gods, Torven, you’re getting weak.”
Torven smirked, unbothered. “I severely underestimated Virellan’s tracking skills last time. But I’ve learned. Nobody’s coming for you this time. My friends are here to ensure that.”
There were five aura suppressors, creating negative space—concealment beyond anything we could detect. Total entrapment.
My nails bit into my palms.
Torven circled her, voice full of mock amusement. “The story you spun last time… meeting nobles in Thalor? Did I treat you too harshly, that you went into hiding for a week?” He crouched, getting in her face.
“What the fuck is he talking about?” Zeph whispered.
I forced the words out. “Torven abducted Azaria the morning after the ball. I found her in time.”
Reyna’s glare was razor-sharp. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Torven was arrested and tried in secret. Azaria was recovering.” My voice sounded hollow.
In the projection, Azaria raised her head, blood streaking her teeth.
“You slipped away during the ball. I had to be creative. But I must say—Callan Silvaris… did you fuck him after? You always had a particular taste for darkness and shadows.”
Azaria’s eyes flashed. “I may have. What’s it to you who I sleep with? Are you jealous?”
Torven grabbed her face, squeezing hard. “You forget about our little bargain, Captain.”
Beside me, Reyna’s breath hitched.
Azaria’s reply was a growl. “There is no bargain. My debt is paid.”
Torven’s grip tightened. “The bargain is over when I say it’s over. I took every precaution when I created that spell, but I never suspected Dain Virellan, the most powerful bender on the continent, would join your pathetic little team.”
Azaria spat in his face. Torven backhanded her. The sound echoed through the chamber.
Reyna flinched. Kael’s hand clamped hard on her shoulder.
Torven leaned close. “Dain might have limited my ability to experience pleasure from your company, but there are other ways I can enjoy you.”
“Fuck you,” Azaria hissed. “Oh, but I forgot… you have no dick to stick anywhere.”
A shocked bark of laughter broke from Kael despite the horror.
Torven’s voice dropped. “So angry. Did you spread your legs for Dain too? Such a little whore, you are.”
Reyna’s knuckles went white. Lirael’s eyes shone with angry tears.
I wanted to reach through the projection. End him.
Azaria’s glare was fire. “You seem really obsessed with my sex life, Torven.”
He shrugged, almost casually. “Let’s say the men you take to your bed stick their noses where they shouldn’t. Callan was clever, very clever, until he decided to stick his cock inside your little cunt. He was getting too close to uncovering my secrets, so I had to remove him.”
Azaria’s jaw went slack. “You what?”
“My allies made sure Callan was relocated. Permanently. No more chances of sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“You fucking bastard,” Azaria snarled.
Torven waved it off. “That language does not belong to a captain such as yourself.”
Rylen’s voice was quiet but deadly. “Callan is still alive. I know that much.”
My chest ached.
Azaria drew a shaky breath. “What the fuck do you want, Torven? I’ve done your dirty work. If you wanted me gone, you had plenty of chances.”
Torven circled. “Unfortunately, after I got you out of the camps, I was assigned to Solmarin, which complicated my plans. Then you snuck into Tempest, and that idiot Tywin named you captain. I had to get creative, especially with Virellan playing your loyal guard dog.”
Azaria’s voice was iron. “Get to the point.”
“Instead of doing the job myself, I decided the best way to kill you was… for you to do it yourself.”
Azaria frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You really have a gift for attracting strong people. Especially that husband of yours.”
My heart nearly stopped.
Azaria’s eyes went wide. “What?”
“Oh yes. Eris Teylan—exceptionally powerful water mage. With a few more years, he could have reached Rylen’s level. Perhaps even surpassed him.”
“Do not speak his name, you fucking prick,” Azaria spat.
“Eris wasn’t just powerful. He was an excellent tactician. He managed to work out my connections to Dravareth. I couldn’t let it go unpunished. Surely you remember how he died?”
Azaria was trembling now.
“I got myself assigned to the Koulan council first, so I could keep an eye on both of you. The pieces were in place. I only had to wait for an opportunity.”
Azaria’s voice dropped to a whisper. “What are you talking about?”
“That group of scouts from Dravareth… eager idiots, but useful. I equipped them with artifacts and weapons laced with abyssal magic. Ordered them to strike down every water mage until they found Eris. They killed fifteen until they finally found him.” He looked down at her.
“I ordered the murder of your husband, Eris Teylan.”
Azaria’s body went still. Utterly, completely still.
The projection didn’t freeze, but she did, like every part of her had stopped functioning. In the chamber, no one breathed.
My chest felt like it split wide open. The force of it punched the air from my lungs. Reyna made a raw, broken sound, and Kael’s arm clamped around her shoulders hard enough to whiten his knuckles. Even Veshar had gone pale, his whole body shaking with rage.
Eris. My brother. Not by blood, but in every way that mattered.
Torven kept talking. “I knew his passing would destroy you. You’d end up dead in a ditch somewhere.
It almost worked—you drank yourself to death every night.
Those bounties and side jobs I pushed your way…
you nearly lost your life twice, but that bastard Shadow wouldn’t leave you alone. So I had to change tactics.”
Azaria’s head hung. Her shoulders shook. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely a whisper.
“You sold my every move to Dravareth for years.”
“Yes. Lord Draeven wanted you dead. I couldn’t kill you outright—that would raise too many questions. I had to make it look like a death in service. An unfortunate accident. But since you’re still alive, I guess I have to do it myself.”
Azaria’s head lolled, chin dripping blood, breaths thin and wheezing.