She lifted her chin. “Several of them with all different rankings. Three of them called themselves the Triumvirate.”
Murmurs rippled through the chamber.
“Describe them,” Queen Elyria urged gently.
“Maelor,” Thaelyn said, her voice trembling despite her will. “The Arch Necromancer. His power stank of grave soil and rot. Then Morcarion, the King Shadow Sovereign, could invade thoughts. Vaelgor, the illusionist, wore Thorne’s face while he tortured me. Kors, the Bone Warden, his magic fed on decay itself. Lyssara was there too. They wanted my Aether.”
Gasps rippled around the table. Even the King shifted, his hand tightening on the armrest.
“They tried to make me give my power away willingly,” she continued. “When I refused, they said they would drop the wards so the dragons could sense me. That they would take them, and take Thorne, and use them to control me.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
Queen Elyria’s hand lifted slightly, not toward Thaelyn but toward the generals, as though to silence judgment. “And did they?”
Thaelyn shook her head. “No. I never broke.”
The silence that followed was thick and trembling.
Vaelen spoke softly. “Their plan confirms what I feared. They are not acting blindly. They are organized. Someone within our realm feeds them information.”
Her gaze flicked, unintentionally or not, toward Kaen.
In that instant, shefeltit again. The brush of silk in her mind. The faint echo of the same dark presence she’d sensed in the cavern before she’d been taken. She forced herself to speak. “There’s something else. When they captured me, just before the wards sealed, I felt someone else there. Watching.” She swallowed hard. “It felt and saw Kaen. This was before they had drugged me or used an illusion.”
The chamber erupted. Chairs scraped. Voices shouted. King Varian’s voice cut through them all, low and dangerous. “You are accusing my son of consorting with the dark forces?”
Thaelyn’s heart pounded. She met his gaze, forcing her voice steady. “I’m saying I felt and saw him there. Whether it was real or a trick, I can’t be certain. But the presence was unmistakable.”
Kaen stepped forward, his expression calm, practiced, too practiced. “Your Majesty,” he said with mock deference, “I believe Cadet Marren’s trauma clouds her memory. I waswiththe royal fleet that day here at the academy with Commander Dareth. Not on some fool's mission to divert attention from the academy perimeter.” He turned his gaze on her then, soft and full of pity. “But I forgive her confused and inaccurate accusation.”
The wordforgivehit her like a slap.
Queen Elyria’s eyes sharpened. “Then perhaps you would not mind a truth-scrying,” she said evenly. “A simple test to clear the matter.”
Kaen’s smile faltered. “The Queen’s magic should not be spent on paranoia. Surely you trust your own son and blood.”
King Varian’s voice rumbled, a warning to both of them. “Enough. We will not turn this council into an accusation-and-counteraccusation. The investigation will proceed under Commander Dareth’s authority.”
Commander Dareth inclined his head. “Until this is resolved, I recommend that both Prince Kaen and Cadet Marren remain under supervision, one at court, and the other at the academy.”
The Queen’s expression cooled, unreadable. “Agreed.”
Kaen bowed low, hiding the venom in his smirk. “As you wish.” When he straightened, his gaze found Thaelyn’s once more. It wasfleeting, but she saw it, the faint curl of triumph at the corner of his mouth. She knew, in her bones, that what she’d felt in that cavern wasn’t an illusion. It was him.
The air beneath the Rift was colder than death. Kaen landed lightly on the black stone dais, his dragon retreating into the mist above as he stepped into the cavern that reeked of blood and dark ozone. Shadows coiled around the carved pillars, whispering in tongues older than language. The Triumvirate waited.
Maelor looked up from the altar, green fire licking around his staff. “You flew quickly when called, Prince.”
Kaen’s expression was a venomous glare. “You failed. She escaped. The Rift was open long enough for every ward in the northern sector to flare. The council suspects.”
Vaelgor lounged against a pillar, smirking. “We weakened her. That was the point.”
“You were supposed tobreakher, not give her a temporary nap!” Kaen snapped. His voice echoed, dripping fury. “Instead, you’ve drawn every dragon in Sydarean toward the borderlands.”
Morcarion’s smoke coiled around him, cold and sentient. “Careful, boy. You would not stand long without our shadows to cloak your treachery.”
Kaen didn’t flinch. “I stand because you need me. My father’s fleet answers to me. The council trusts me. When the next attack comes, they will look outward, not within. You’ll have your distraction.”
Maelor’s eyes flared, amused. “And what doyougain, little heir?”
