B4 - Prologue (Part 2)

The lips of the woman from the Velmark Kingdom curled in disdain. "You are simply too blind to—"

"Bredgit. That is enough," Lurs said, interrupting her.

"No," Bredgit said, brushing him off without so much as a glance. She leaned over the polished mahogany bench, and her icy eyes bored into Elena.

"Explain something to me. How does a man who butchered hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers without taking a single prisoner—aside from the sister of a confirmed traitor who nearly caused the death of two NEVAK officers—qualify as someone with a 'good heart'?"

Elena cleared any unnecessary thoughts and kept her words as accurate as possible. "He did it to send a message," she answered. "He wanted to shatter the enemy's will to fight and force them to surrender. In doing so, he believed he could save lives on both sides." She held the woman's gaze. "His methods can be ruthless, but every decision he makes is driven by justice and the desire to protect innocent people."

The representative from the Aelmyra Empire shifted in his seat, the emerald scales along his jaw catching the light. His slit amber eyes were locked onto Elena.

"She speaks the truth." His forked tongue flicked out as he paused. "One does not get called the People's Champion by the sole act of slaughtering their enemies. Every report gathered so far supports her statement. His actions consistently targeted those he deems guilty, while his primary objective remained the protection of the weak and the innocent."

"That," the slender elf woman from the Republic of Eryndor added in a smooth and melodic voice, "and his relentless desire to grow stronger."

Bredgit turned toward the elf with a stern expression. "He will drown in that ambition. Like his father."

"That depends entirely on who you ask," the broad-shouldered northman rumbled from the far right.

Bredgit shot the arctic warrior a sharp glare. "You northmen never miss an opportunity to defend Ulric Elrod, even a decade later. The man was a zealot who branded anyone who disagreed with him an enemy."

Before the northman could answer, the dwarf from the Kravess Union slammed his thick palm onto the mahogany bench.

"Can we wrap this up?" he grumbled. "We're wasting our time here. The boy obviously lied to his comrades to keep their hands clean and avoid dragging them into his mess."

Elena remained silent, her expression perfectly neutral.

In her mind it was undoubtedly what Seth had done. He had lied to all of them to protect them from this exact situation—and to prevent his actions from jeopardizing Kastal's recognition as an independent republic.

The moment the realization surged in her mind, Elena seized it and buried it as deeply as she could, forcing it into the darkest corner of her consciousness.

Don't think about it. Don't think about Seth. Keep your mind blank. Think about Father and Mother. About Brandon. About all the issues in Kastal that need to be fixed.

Lurs shifted ever so slightly in his seat, and his violent eyes narrowed again into twin slits.

Elena felt another bead of cold sweat slide down her spine.

"Do you believe that is something he would do?" the man asked.

The direct question left her no room to evade.

"Yes," Elena answered. "It is. As I said before... he wants to protect people around him."

Lurs leaned forward, studying her face with an unnerving gaze. The pressure across the chamber and on Elena's shoulder abruptly intensified.

"Is there something you're hiding from us?"

Elena suppressed her initial panic and regulated her breathing once more, locking every stray thought behind an iron wall.

"No."

Lurs stared at her in silence for a heartbeat. "You are lying." His tone was calm, almost conversational. "Again."

Elena's throat tightened. "It has nothing to do with the NEVAK or these proceedings."

"It is not for you to decide what is relevant," Bredgit retorted from her elevated seat. She turned toward the man beside her. "Look into her memories, Lurs."

A quiet sigh escaped the man's lips.

For just an instant, reluctance flickered across his face, then Lurs rose.

His chair scraped softly against the floor as he stepped away from the bench and descended the mahogany steps of the dais. His dark violet robes swept across the polished stone as he made his way toward Elena.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Her heart pounded against her ribs. Each measured footstep of the man made it beat faster.

She shot a glance over her shoulder.

The runic barrier and the two Low-Diamond guards standing motionless before it blocked any possibility of fleeing.

She was trapped.

Lurs stopped directly in front of the wooden stand and slowly raised a weathered hand toward her temple.

Elena squeezed her eyes shut. She desperately flooded the surface of her mind with meaningless memories: the river where she had nearly drowned as a child, the market in Orwen where she used to shop with her mother, the scent of fresh bread, the sound of rain against her bedroom window.

Anything. Anything that wasn't about Seth or his Legacy.

I cannot let him down. I have to—

A deafening boom shattered the silence.

The giant doors had slammed open, crashing against the stone walls.

Every head in the chamber turned as a woman strode inside.

She appeared to be in her mid-forties, and her presence sliced through the very air like a honed sword. The right side of her head was shaved close, revealing a burn scar that traced a path from her temple to her jaw. In contrast, the hair on the left had been left long, cascading over her shoulder in black waves.

She sported a dark-blue shirt buttoned to the collar and black trousers tucked into military boots while wearing nothing to mark her rank. But she didn't need to.

Authority radiated from every single step she took.

A hooded figure followed a pace behind the scarred woman. Layers of dark fabric concealed every inch of that person's body, with not even a sliver of skin visible. Judging by the respectful posture, Elena guessed that person was likely the woman's servant or something like that.

The two Diamond guards stationed beside the entrance shifted into defensive stances, lowering their heavy spears toward the intruder.

The scarred woman didn't even slow her stride and walked straight into the translucent barrier.

Arcs of aether erupted across its surface, lashing at her like bolts of lightning. Yet the instant the energy entered the space surrounding her body, it ignited and disintegrated into drifting ash before it could so much as brush her clothes.

The hooded figure remained outside the barrier, clearly unable to replicate the feat.

Ahead, one of the Diamond guards surged forward, thrusting his spear toward the scarred woman in a threatening display as she kept walking.

Yet before the weapon's tip could come within a foot of her, the steel glowed red and liquefied into molten metal that splattered across the flagstones.

Elena's eyes widened.

Bredgit slammed both palms onto the mahogany desk and shot to her feet, fury twisting her features. "You have no right to—"

"Keep your mouth shut," the scarred woman cut in, her voice carrying effortlessly through the chamber.

An overwhelming aura exploded from her body and seized the entire place.

The air itself became unbearable, crushing the breath from Elena's lungs. The arbiters stiffened in their seats as the pressure crashed over them. Only one on the council remained unaffected: the elf from the Republic of Eryndor.

A moment later, a soft aura blossomed around her and expanded outward into a calm wave that held the crushing force at bay.

The two women locked eyes.

Silence descended over the chamber.

For several agonizing heartbeats, neither of them moved, nor did they even blink.

It was as if each of them was weighing the price of unleashing their full power and reducing the jade parliament to little more than smoldering ruins.

The elf was the one who finally broke the standoff. "Ayleen Velarys... to what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

The name echoed through Elena's mind. Velarys.

Her mind flew back to the neutral zone, when the colossal wyvern had sworn its allegiance to Seth. LikeClarissa Velarys. Seth's mother.

Ayleen broke eye contact with the elf and looked at Elena instead. "Why were they about to search your memories, Elena?"

Elena blinked. She knows my name. Did Seth speak about me to her?

"I lied to them," she admitted after regaining her composure. "I tried to conceal something personal about Seth. But it has no connection to the attack on the NEVAK officers or to Kastal's recognition as a republic."

Ayleen turned her scarred face toward the purple-eyed Earl, who had instinctively taken a step back from Elena. "Is she lying?"

Lurs slowly shook his head. "No."

"Then there is no reason to continue this interrogation." Ayleen turned away as if the matter had already been settled.

Bredgit rose from her chair, her face flushing red. "Why should we let you decide—"

"I told you to keep your mouth shut," Ayleen's voice rippled through the chamber, and a second wave of energy burst from her.

This one carried heat.

The temperature inside the amphitheater spiked; the polished wood beneath Elena's hands became too hot to touch, while the air itself around her shimmered. Sweat beaded across her forehead despite standing well outside the woman's focus.

Elena couldn't even imagine what it felt like for the ones who were closer.

Before the oppressive heat could ignite the wooden furniture, a pulse of emerald-green energy erupted from the elf's seat. The cold wave swept across the flagstones, collided with Ayleen's aura, and snuffed out the thermal surge.

"Enough," the elf's voice rang through the chamber.

Lurs quietly returned to his seat behind the mahogany bench, smoothing the folds of his dark violet robes. The man then looked at the five arbiters around him. "Those in favor of concluding this interrogation."

The elf was the first to raise her slender hand. She clearly had no desire to let the confrontation escalate, and Elena couldn't blame her.

To the left, the broad-shouldered northman also lifted his armored hand. At the opposite end of the bench, the dwarf from the Kravess Union and the reptilian delegate from the Aelmyra Empire did the same.

Bredgit remained seated with her arms tightly crossed, glaring at Ayleen with undisguised hatred.

"Four votes to one," Lurs declared. "The interrogation is hereby concluded."

The elf lowered her hand, though her gaze remained fixed on the woman next to Elena.

"Ayleen." A brief silence followed. "Why do you care about this young woman or the Kingdom of Kastal at all? Why lend your name to their recognition as a republic and support their formal separation from your homeland?"

Elena frowned. Her homeland.

Pieces clicked into place, and Elena's eyes widened.

This woman was from Volantis, the eastern nation that had kept King Theron on a leash for decades. The whole time, he had crippled his own nation for their benefit.

This means Seth's mother came from there too.

Ayleen's lips curled into a faint, humorless smile. "You already know how much I despise my country, Chaenath."

The elf tilted her head ever so slightly, though her expression remained unreadable. "Is that your only reason?"

"No, there's another."

Ayleen's gaze flicked briefly to Lurs, as if to make sure he was listening not only to her words but to her thoughts as well.

Then she looked at Elena, and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"I'm taking on Miss Surani here as my new disciple."