Chapter 821: The Man Darian Became

Varek turned toward the sealed door and started walking.

Trafalgar followed with Cynthia and Rhosyn beside him. Once Varek opened it, however, Trafalgar quickly realised they still weren't at their destination. Another broad tunnel stretched ahead of them, disappearing beneath rows of mana lamps embedded into the dark stone.

"Seems like most of this place is new," Trafalgar said as they followed him.

Varek nodded without slowing. "It is. Almost everything in this section was built after Lord Darian took over. We didn't want what happened during the last war to ever happen again, so the entire underground network was redesigned with that in mind."

"How extensive is it?"

"Very." Varek glanced back briefly. "These tunnels connect several important points throughout Thal'zar territory. Supply stations, military positions, emergency shelters. There's even a protected route leading toward the main castle."

Trafalgar looked along the walls around them.

The passage was wide enough for several groups of soldiers to move through at once, and the ceiling stood far higher than necessary for ordinary foot traffic. Reinforced pillars appeared every few dozen metres, each carrying mana patterns Trafalgar could feel faintly beneath the stone.

"Are you sure it's a good idea telling me all of this?" Trafalgar asked. "That sounds like fairly sensitive information."

Varek slowed enough to look at him properly.

"I don't think we need to pretend there are secrets of that kind between us, Lord Morgain. You know perfectly well that I'm aware of how Lord Darian reached his current position."

Trafalgar said nothing.

Varek continued. "I know what happened back then, and I know what your involvement was. If telling you these tunnels exist is enough to make you believe our relationship has somehow changed, then I'd rather clear that up now."

His tone stayed respectful, but there was nothing uncertain about it.

"Things are still moving in the same direction they were before."

That was worth hearing.

Trafalgar didn't answer immediately, though the tension he'd carried since entering Thal'zar territory eased slightly. Darian had changed. That much was already obvious from everything Trafalgar had seen.

Apparently that didn't mean he'd forgotten where things began.

Cynthia kept looking around as they walked. Unlike Trafalgar, she'd never been inside one of the deeper Thal'zar installations before, and every new section seemed to catch her attention.

Rhosyn was interested in something else entirely.

Varek.

Her black eyes stayed fixed on him whenever he moved, following the position of his hands, the shift of his shoulders, even the small turns he made when checking that they were still behind him.

Trafalgar noticed after a while.

"You can lower your guard a little," he told her quietly. "From what Varek's saying, I don't think we're about to get ambushed down here."

Rhosyn's gaze moved from Varek to Trafalgar.

"You know what I'm going to say."

"I probably do."

"Being careful has never hurt anyone."

Cynthia nodded beside them. "She's right. I wouldn't relax too much either."

Trafalgar looked at her. "You too?"

"We're a Morgain walking through the heart of Thal'zar territory." Cynthia kept her voice low enough that it wouldn't carry ahead. "One Great Family entering another Great Family's military base isn't exactly the sort of situation where I'd stop paying attention."

"They're not our enemies."

"That's what we believe."

Trafalgar gave her a look.

Cynthia shrugged. "I'm not saying Darian is waiting behind a corner with fifty soldiers. I'm saying there's nothing wrong with knowing where the exits are."

Rhosyn gave the smallest nod of approval.

Trafalgar sighed. "Fine. Apparently I'm the careless one now, but I also had my guard up before."

Neither woman corrected him.

Varek hadn't heard any of it.

He was walking around ten paces ahead now, giving them enough space that their conversation stayed private while still leading the way through the underground structure.

Trafalgar returned his attention to the tunnels.

They were nothing like the crude underground routes he remembered from years ago. The floor was level, the walls had been reinforced properly, and mana lamps kept the entire route bright enough that there were few shadows to hide in.

They looked built to survive.

Of course, if someone with Valttair's strength decided to fight seriously down here, Trafalgar doubted any amount of engineering would save the place.

That was hardly a fair standard.

Against almost anything else, these tunnels looked capable of taking an absurd amount of punishment before coming down.

They passed several branching routes along the way. Each was marked with Thal'zar symbols Trafalgar couldn't read at a glance, and two of them were guarded by soldiers who immediately stepped aside when they recognised Varek.

No one asked questions.

Eventually the passage became quieter.

The military noise behind them had disappeared completely by the time Varek stopped in front of another heavy door.

"This is it."

Trafalgar looked at the door, then at Varek.

The wolf Beastkin placed one hand on the handle but paused before opening it. His eyes moved toward Cynthia and Rhosyn for the first time since they'd started walking.

"Before we go inside, Lord Morgain, I need to ask something."

Trafalgar's expression sharpened slightly.

"Are your two companions joining the meeting, or would you prefer that they wait here?"

His tone changed immediately.

"Are you suggesting they can't come in?"

Varek straightened.

"Nothing like that. I didn't mean to offend you."

He looked briefly toward both women before returning his attention to Trafalgar.

"I only need to know whether Lord Darian can speak freely in front of them. Very few people know this meeting is happening. Plenty may have seen you elsewhere in the territory, but almost nobody knows you've come to this military complex, and even fewer know why."

That was considerably more reasonable.

Trafalgar glanced toward Cynthia and Rhosyn.

"You don't need to worry about them. I trust both of them as much as anyone."

Varek accepted the answer immediately.

"Then it was a concern I didn't need to have. My apologies."

"Don't worry about it. You're doing your job."

Trafalgar looked toward the door.

"Can we go in now?"

"Of course. Sorry for keeping you waiting."

Varek opened it.

The room beyond was far more comfortable than the tunnels outside, though it still lacked the excess Trafalgar would've expected from a Great Family's castle.

A long table occupied part of the chamber, with several chairs around it. Maps covered one wall, shelves stood against another, and mana lamps cast warm light across dark stone. There were no servants waiting inside and no guards lining the walls.

Only one person.

Darian.

He had been sitting near the far side of the room, but the moment Trafalgar entered, he rose from his chair.

Trafalgar recognised him immediately.

The years hadn't changed the important parts.

Dark hair still framed a pair of striped tiger ears that stood clearly above it, and the striped tail behind him shifted once as he stepped away from the table. He was still a little taller than Trafalgar and still only a few years older.

But the resemblance to the Darian Trafalgar remembered ended there.

The younger man Trafalgar had first dealt with had carried uncertainty almost everywhere. His posture had betrayed him, his ears and tail had made his nerves obvious, and there had been moments when he looked younger than Trafalgar despite technically being older.

That man wasn't standing in front of him anymore.

Darian's shoulders were straight. His movements were measured, and there was none of the old hesitation when their eyes met.

Leading one of the Eight Great Families for years had left its mark.

It showed in the way he stood, in the calm with which he took in Cynthia and Rhosyn, and in the fact that he no longer seemed interested in shrinking beneath Trafalgar's attention.

'He's changed.'

Trafalgar had expected that.

Seeing it was different.

Varek entered last and closed the door behind them.

Darian stepped forward.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then the tiger Beastkin extended his hand.

"It's been far too long, Trafalgar."

Trafalgar looked at the hand, then back at Darian's face.

A faint smile formed.

"It has."