CHAPTER 19
IN THE COUNCIL’S HALLS
Any person found to have aided or abetted a traitor to the realm may be subject to the same penalties as the traitor themselves.
– Vallennan Law, Statute XVII
Alaric Hale remained in Vallenna City in the days since Karalynna had left, awaiting word of his daughter’s mission. Eliyana had been furious with him for letting her go. Their only daughter, sent to hunt down a traitor. He’d told her duty came first.
It hadn’t helped his wife sleep any better.
The message from Henry Caldris had arrived that afternoon – delivered to Galen by wind magic.
Kara had done it.
The Thorne heir was under, bound, and secure.
All three Shards in their possession. They would begin their journey back to the City tomorrow.
But tonight they would rest. It had been a long few days.
For everyone. Alaric hadn’t been surprised – Kara had the power, the skill.
But he’d worried, only a little, that sentiment might cloud her judgment.
She’d known the boy after all. But Henry’s steadying influence had kept her on task.
Just as Alaric had known it would. They were a good match.
Only hours after Henry’s message, whilst he prepared valerian root to brew a sleeping draft for Eliyana, the summons came.
The messenger’s face was pale, words clipped. “The Council requests your presence, milord. Urgently.”
Alaric expected a border report. More flooding in Navyr, or another hurricane in Hale.
The third Shard theft had been grim news, but at least the Shards were no longer in Sebastian Thorne’s hands.
What he did not expect was Galen Caldris waiting outside the chamber doors, arms folded, his expression carved as if from stone.
“What’s all this about?” Alaric asked.
A muscle jumped in Galen’s cheek. “A message from my son.”
The hairs on the back of Alaric’s neck prickled at the words. “About Sebastian Thorne?”
“He says your daughter set him free. Is now travelling with him.” He paused, deliberate and cutting. “Helping him.” He spat the last two words.
Alaric didn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t have heard the words right. When he found his voice, he could only deny it.
“No,” he said weakly. “That’s not – there must be some mistake–”
“They took the Shards, tied my son, and left him there,” he said venomously. “Whilst your daughter rode off with the traitor. Henry is lucky he wasn’t killed.”
The blood drained from Alaric’s face. His hands began to shake. His mind desperately tried to grasp Galen’s words, searching for an explanation.
Karalynna couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
Execution. That was the path that laid before Sebastian Thorne, whatever his motives.
And if Karalynna stayed with him, tangled her fate with his...
then what? The Council wouldn’t show mercy for her anymore than it would the Thorne traitor.
She’d be dragged down with him. He could see it already.
The scaffold. The fire. The thought made his stomach turn.
Karalynna... what in Gods’ names are you doing?
“The others are expecting you,” Galen said icily, walking on ahead. “There is a great deal to discuss.”
Alaric followed in tense silence to the Council chamber, mind reeling, but as soon as they entered, he was met with a wall of noise. The rest of the Council were in uproar, still seated around the long table, but panicked voices were shouting over each other.
“–three Shards in less than a week. Fatàn shields bypassed–” Merrick Durent was saying.
“Our lands are in turmoil,” Simone Navyr snapped over him. “The sea won’t answer us. My fleet are forced to shore.”
“And now,” Evelyn Sorrel cried, “The woman we sent to bring the traitor back has joined him!”
Every gaze turned to Alaric. He had no words.
His Karalynna, the daughter who had never once defied him, who had sworn so young to heal and never to harm...
now accused of aiding a traitor. He had tried to teach her detachment, compassion without entanglement.
A Healer who tied herself too tightly to the wounded bled with them when they died.
He’d wanted to spare her that grief. But she was too much her mother’s daughter – always heart first. The Lyran in her too hard to train out.
And now it seemed she had chosen the opposite of all they stood for.
It doesn’t make sense.
He glanced to Tobias Thorne. The man sat rigid, candlelight catching the silver that now threaded through his once dark hair, hands clasped tightly on the table. He held the look of a man on the brink of war.
Alaric found his voice at last. “No.” The word came out harder than intended. “This cannot be her choice. Karalynna is dutiful, she has never once strayed from her oaths. If she walks beside him now...” He looked directly at Tobias. “Then Sebastian Thorne forced her hand. Twisted her somehow.”
It was the only explanation he could bear.
Tobias stiffened. “My son may be reckless. Stubborn beyond reason.” His voice dropped low, clearly affronted. “But he would never threaten a woman. Never. That is not the Thorne way.”
“Not the Thorne way?” Simone gave a mirthless laugh. “He has already drowned one of my ships, Tobias. Fifty men sank with it. Fifty. Do you truly think someone capable of that would balk at bending one girl to his will? Use whatever leverage he could?”
“She is not ‘one girl,’” Alaric snapped, heat rising in his face. “She is my daughter. She was raised to heal, to obey the Council’s call. If she’s with him now, there must be coercion.”
Galen’s expression was cold and pitiless. “Henry saw no sign of that. When he returned to camp, Sebastian was unbound. Your daughter stood with him, not against him. She made her choice, Alaric.”
Alaric closed his eyes briefly. If that were true–
Then she’s no daughter of mine.
“Perhaps we don’t yet know the full story,” Evelyn interjected. “Words can wound as sharply as any blade. He could have slipped his bonds, threatened her life. Or Henry’s. Even the strongest falter under pressure.”
Alaric’s hands clenched against the table. He wanted – needed – to believe it. That Karalynna had been overpowered, not that she had willingly abandoned everything he had taught her. But the doubt remained.
Merrick’s voice cut through the room like a hammer. “Whether she went freely or not, the fact remains – the daughter of Hale rides beside the traitor of Thorne. Do you know how that looks to the people? To every House in Vallenna? It reeks of betrayal.”
At that, Elias Lyra stirred, his quiet voice somehow carrying. “I felt doubt in her when we sent her.”
Every head turned.
Alaric felt like someone had doused him in ice water. “Why did you say nothing?”
“I thought...” Elias faltered, looking regretful. “I thought she doubted herself. Her ability to capture him. Not the mission itself. Not her loyalty.”
“But you should have–” Alaric began.
“I made a mistake.” Elias met his gaze. “I’m sorry, Alaric.”
The silence that followed felt louder than shouting. Alaric could feel the weight of every eye in the chamber. Judging. Calculating. Wondering if House Hale also had a traitor in their midst.
“Whatever else Sebastian has done, I will not believe he took her by force,” Tobias said vehemently.
Galen slammed his goblet down. “Then she is a traitor too!”
Merrick rose. “Tobias,” he boomed. “The time has come for action. We should have sent your soldiers from the start.”
Tobias’ gaze was frost. “I would not risk giving an order that killed my son before we knew his reasons. He was to be taken without violence.”
“That plan is gone,” Galen said sharply. “Your son now has three Shards. My son was left bound in nightshade. Hale’s skies are tearing themselves apart – gales ripping through villages. A Navyrian ship lies at the bottom of the sea. How many more lives will you gamble to save one?”
A rumble of agreement rose around the table, nods, grunts, fists banging on wood. Tobias didn’t answer. Didn’t even flinch.
“What happens if he gets the final Shard?” Merrick demanded. The room quieted a fraction. “You all remember Fatàn’s words. What was Written. When the Arcanth is whole... Draknor will rise.”
The words hung heavy in the air.
Alaric’s jaw clenched, his breath coming fast. “Where are they now?”
Galen answered, “Henry believes they are heading for the Fire Shard. Into Fatàn territory. They took the Hale valmares.”
There was a beat of silence before Simone spoke again. “Tobias. You have a duty to protect Vallenna. To protect every House. Your son’s life is not worth more than the thousands at risk.”
Tobias’s mouth thinned. For a long moment, he didn’t speak, just stared at the map spread before them – the marked territories where the Shards had already fallen.
Finally, he said, “If Thorne soldiers go in... I know my son. He’ll fight. They’ll kill him before we can question–”
“The time for talking is over, Thorne!” Merrick yelled, frustrated.
Evelyn placed a hand on Tobias’s shoulder. “I understand he’s your son, Tobias.”
He glanced at her and for a moment, pain flashed on his face. Evelyn continued, “Send enough men after him that he has no choice but to surrender. A whole battalion if you must. But we cannot wait any longer. You know we can’t.”
Tobias looked around the table and Alaric saw the conflict, the battle raging inside him. Every face watching, demanding. The weight of the realm pressing down upon him.
He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, the father was gone. Only the Lord of Thorne remained. “I’ll give the order,” he said.
The whole chamber exhaled. Evelyn sat back, looking relieved. She’d been demanding further action for days. And now, she had what she wanted – the full force of Thorne at their disposal.
Alaric’s thoughts turned to Eliyana. How could he tell her that their daughter was now marked as the traitor she’d been sent to capture?
Tobias looked to Alaric, and through their shared gaze, he saw the same terror. In that moment they were not High Council members or heads of House. They were just fathers. Their children were out there, and the Council had now unleashed the storm that might destroy them.
And they were powerless to stop it.