Chapter 47: War Room

"Cousin."

Cassian’s voice broke the silence of the war room as he stepped through the entrance.

The war room of Shadow’s Edge was a cavernous chamber dominated by a massive stone table carved with the topography of the Panther Kingdom. Maps and parchments were scattered across its surface, held down by paperweights.

The walls of the room were covered with weapons and battle standards, relics of centuries of conflict.

But Cassian’s attention was fixed entirely on the figure standing at the head of the table.

The panther king.

And he looked deranged.

"Leonidas," Cassian spoke quietly, sauntering further into the room. "You look terrible. Have you been brooding again? It’s not a good look on you. Though, to be fair, nothing really is."

Leonidas’s head snapped up. "Cassian. Shut your mouth and sit down."

"Ouch. So hostile." Cassian placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. "And here I thought you summoned me because you missed my charming company."

"I summoned you because there’s a plague ravaging our lands," Leonidas snarled, slamming his fist against the stone table. "Not because I wanted to hear your insufferable voice."

"Fine, fine," Cassian said, dropping into one of the heavy wooden chairs. He gestured lazily for Nalani to stand by the door, and she obeyed without a word. "Let’s talk about the plague. I assume you have something useful to share, or did you drag me here just to yell at me?"

Leonidas gritted his teeth. He looked like he wanted to throw something at his cousin’s head, but he forced himself to take a deep inhale.

"The healers found something," Leonidas stated. "A servant in the lower city reported seeing a cloaked noble purchasing herbs from an apothecary. They couldn’t identify the buyer, but they remembered the transaction because of the quantity."

Cassian leaned forward. "What kind of herbs? I asked for the physicians to get a list of—"

"That won’t be necessary." Leonidas interrupted him, gesturing to a parchment on the table. "I made my findings as well."

Cassian tsked before rising and moving closer to scan the list.

"Nightshade," Cassian murmured. "Black lotus extract. Wyvern bile. Hemlock root. Slivers Brok. Loth lix. Yes I saw this in my list. But if someone is selling them, why—"

"It gets worse," Leonidas interrupted. He shoved another parchment toward Cassian. "The healers managed to acquire a sample of the mixture. They combined small quantities of the ingredients one by one, and the resulting reaction..."

Cassian’s eyes scanned the report. His blood froze.

"Potent smell," he read aloud. "Identical to the pheromones emitted by feral panthers. Which means—"

"Which means someone is synthesizing the plague," Leonidas finished, his voice dark. "It’s not a natural sickness. It’s a weapon. Someone is deliberately creating it."

For a long moment, neither spoke.

Cassian was the first to break the silence. "Can a cure be reversed from it?"

Leonidas nodded slowly. "The healers are working on it. They believe they can synthesize an antidote if they can identify the exact proportions of the mixture. But it will take time."

"Good," Cassian said. "That’s good."

Leonidas stared at his cousin. "I wasn’t aware you cared about my kingdom."

Cassian’s smirk returned, but it was subdued. "I don’t. But the plague has spread to my borders as well. I can not afford to have my subjects turning into mindless beasts."

Leonidas huffed, turning back to the maps on the table. "Once the cure is found, I want you to leave."

Cassian tilted his head, a flicker of amusement crossing his features. "Wouldn’t dream of extending my stay."

"Really?" Leonidas’s voice was sharp. "Not even for the Empress?"

Cassian’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes flickered.

Leonidas pressed on. "I have seen the way you look at her. The way you defended her against Drystan. Don’t think I haven’t noticed, cousin."

Cassian walked around the table, closing the distance between them until he was standing directly in front of Leonidas. Their faces were mere inches apart.

"Are you scared, Leonidas?" Cassian whispered. "Scared I’ll somehow take her away from you? Like I took your father?"

Leonidas’s face went pale, then flushed with rage. His fists clenched at his sides, and for a moment, Cassian thought he was going to give him a punch.

But before Leonidas could react, a servant’s voice echoed from the doorway.

"All hail Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Karina of Zyleria!"

Both men froze.

The heavy doors swung open, and Karina swept into the war room like a storm cloud descending on a battlefield.

Behind her came Valen, his small hand clasped tightly in hers. The six-year-old’s eyes bore the look of suspicion, and they darted around. Lady Sophie followed close behind, while General Aldric brought up the rear.

Oh...she had summoned them.

"Your Imperial Majesty," Leonidas started, his anger at Cassian forgotten. "What’s wrong? Did something happen?"

Karina didn’t bother with pleasantries. She marched straight to the center of the room, her gaze sweeping over the two men.

"Someone tried to poison Valen," Karina announced, her voice cold as a frozen lake.

Cassian couldn’t believe his ears.

"What?" he breathed.

Leonidas’s face drained of all color. He stumbled around the table, his eyes fixed on his son. "Valen—are you hurt? Are you—"

"I am fine," Valen stated quietly, betraying no emotions. "I didn’t drink it. I smelled something wrong."

Leonidas stepped closer to his son, his hands hovering over the boy’s shoulders as if afraid to touch him. "What happened? Tell me everything."

Karina kept her voice calm, even though she felt nothing similar inside. "A goblet was left on his vanity. It was filled with a pink liquid that smelled like berries and cream. But when Valen tested it on the floor, it burned through stone."

Cassian felt the blood in his veins freeze.

Someone had tried to poison the Prince. Someone had tried to turn him into a mindless, rabid beast.

Leonidas’s fists were shaking. "Who. Who did this?"

Karina met his gaze, tilting her head and looking down at him like he was stupid.

"Isn’t the answer clear, Leonidas?" She queried. "Who threatened my son just two days ago, because of a promise YOU failed to keep?"

Leonidas stared at her for a moment, his mind ruminating over the events of the days before.

Wait....

Renira.

"RENIRA!" he roared, his voice shaking the very foundations of the war room. "BRING ME RENIRA!"