The session is virtual, my image projected into the Council chamber while I remain at Grimrose. I insisted on that, refusedto physically appear no matter how much they threatened. I'm not leaving my mates vulnerable while Dmitri is still out there, still dangerous despite his exposure.
All five of them surround me in my office as I prepare for the projection. Before I can activate the connection, Jade pulls me into a kiss that leaves me breathless and slightly dazed.
"For luck," he says, his demon grin sharp with promise. "And to remind you who you're coming back to."
Stellan presses against my back, his fire warming me through my clothes. "You've got this," he murmurs against my ear, and the brush of his lips sends shivers down my spine. Harlow's icy fingers squeeze my arm in silent support. Rumi's presence wraps around us all, warm and golden. Ambrose's contracts hum with protective energy.
Then my projection appears in the chamber, and I carry all of them with me into the fight. Through our connection, I can feel their support, their determination, their readiness to fight if this goes badly.
The Council chamber is in chaos. Members are arguing loudly, voices overlapping and rising in volume. Some demanding I be arrested for interfering with hunter operations, others calling for investigation into the hunters themselves and what they've been doing for years. Eugene stands in the center trying to maintain order, but even he looks overwhelmed by the sheer volume of competing voices and accusations.
"Silence!" Eugene finally shouts, his air power amplifying his voice until it echoes through the chamber like thunder. "We will conduct this session with order and decorum. Mr. Bardot, you stand accused of interfering with sanctioned Council operations, falsely claiming the title of Praestes, and inciting rebellion among academy students. How do you respond to these charges?"
My power rises instinctively, pink essence making my projection glow. Everyone in the chamber can see it, the undeniable proof that I'm more than just some human pretending to authority. "I respond that I am the third Praestes, chosen by Mother Nature herself. The hunters were not conducting legitimate evaluations. They were executing Dmitri's orders to eliminate anyone who threatens his corrupt system, regardless of actual safety concerns. And the students aren't rebelling. They're finally being allowed to exist as Mother Nature created them instead of being forced into categories that don't fit."
"Mother Nature," Councilwoman Petra scoffs. She's one of Dmitri's staunchest allies, an earth elemental who's benefited enormously from the current system. Her power and position are entirely dependent on maintaining the status quo. "Mother Nature is a legend, a metaphor for natural forces. Not an actual entity who chooses Praestes and interferes in Council business."
"Then explain this." I pull on my power fully, letting it flood through my projection until the entire chamber is bathed in pink light. Through the connection, I can feel Mother Nature herself responding to my call, her presence making the very air in the Council chamber shimmer with ancient power.
The Tree of Life appears behind me, not physically present but visible through my Praestes connection. Its branches are laden with leaves in every color imaginable, each one representing a different essence type. Far more than seven. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of different variations and combinations.
"Mother Nature gave the world infinite possibility," I say, my voice resonating with her authority. "Dmitri created the seven-element system to control that possibility, to eliminate anyone who didn't fit his narrow categories. He's been killing or stripping essence from unusual Magila for over a century, and you've all been complicit by allowing it to continue."
The chamber erupts again. Several Council members look genuinely shocked, apparently unaware of the full extent of Dmitri's corruption. They thought the hunters were conducting legitimate safety evaluations, never questioning why no one ever passed. Others look guilty, like they knew but chose to ignore it because confronting the truth was too uncomfortable or too dangerous. And Dmitri's loyalists look furious that their carefully maintained conspiracy is being exposed in front of everyone.
Eugene calls for order again, pounding his gavel against the stone podium. "These are serious accusations against a long-standing Council member. Do you have proof beyond your own claims?"
"The hunters confessed under truth compulsion," I point out, keeping my voice steady despite my racing heart. "In front of millions of witnesses. Their assignment was to strip Stellan's essence regardless of test results, regardless of how much control he demonstrated. And they admitted this is standard practice. Twenty-three Magila evaluated over ten years, zero allowed to keep their unusual essence types. That's not safety protocols. That's systematic elimination disguised as evaluation."
Ambrose steps into view beside my projection, his Crossroads Keeper power making his words carry weight that can't be ignored. "I have documentation. Records of every Magila evaluated by these hunters over the past decade. Names, dates, outcomes, costs paid in blood and essence and life. Three dead from the stripping procedure itself. Twenty others alive but empty, their essence and personality both destroyed by the process. All of them guilty only of being different from what Dmitri decided was acceptable."
He projects the documents into the Council chamber, pages of evidence floating in the air where everyone can see them.Detailed reports, testimonials, medical records showing the devastating effects of essence stripping. His satisfaction at watching the Council forced to confront their complicity, forced to see the human cost of their comfortable ignorance bleeds through me.
The debate rages for hours. Some Council members defend the hunters viciously, insist the system exists for good reason and can't be questioned. Claim that unusual essence types are inherently dangerous, that allowing them to exist freely would lead to chaos and destruction. But more members, significantly more, start questioning. Demanding investigation. Calling for reform. Pointing out that the demonstration proved control is possible, that Stellan and his bonded mates showed perfect harmony between supposedly incompatible essence types.
"The phoenix maintained perfect control under deliberate psychological torture," Councilman Aldric points out. He's an ancient spirit elemental who's been on the Council even longer than Dmitri. "He demonstrated capabilities that should be impossible according to our current understanding. And when the hunters announced they would strip his essence anyway, they proved this isn't about safety. It's about control."
Councilwoman Terra nods, her water power rippling with agitation. "I've reviewed the footage from the demonstration. Six different essence types working in perfect harmony. A phoenix, a demon, a wraith, a demigod, a djinn, and a Praestes. All of them supporting each other, balancing each other. That's not dangerous. That's what we should be teaching."
"It's an abomination!" Petra shouts, her earth power making the chamber floor tremble. "Multiple bonds between mates, essence types that don't exist in our classification system, a human claiming to be Praestes. This is exactly the kind of chaos the seven-element system was designed to prevent."
"The seven-element system was designed to give Dmitri control," I counter, letting my Praestes authority fill the words. "Not to protect anyone. Mother Nature never intended for essence to be limited to seven categories. She gave the world infinite possibility, and Dmitri decided that was too dangerous to allow."
Finally, after hours of debate that leave me exhausted and my mates tense with anxiety, Eugene calls for a vote. "The question before this Council is simple. Do we acknowledge Skye Bardot as the legitimate third Praestes, with authority over essence classification matters? Or do we reject Mother Nature's selection and maintain the current system under Council authority alone?"
The vote is close. Terrifyingly close. Several members abstain, too afraid to take sides in something this consequential. But when the final count is announced, I've won by a narrow margin. Forty-three votes in favor, thirty-eight against, nineteen abstentions.
I'm officially recognized as the Praestes, my mates' explosive relief and joy rumbling through our connection.
We did it. We actually did it.
But the session isn't over. Eugene immediately moves to the second vote before Dmitri's supporters can regroup and organize a counterattack. "I move that we vote on removing Dmitri Graves from the Council and launching a formal investigation into his actions over the past century, including but not limited to corruption of the Praestes role, systematic elimination of unusual essence types, and conspiracy to maintain power through suppression of truth."
This vote is even more contentious. Dmitri has been on the Council for over a hundred years, has built extensive power and alliances, inspired both loyalty and terror in equal measure. Many members are genuinely afraid of what he might do if theyvote against him, what retaliation he might take against them and their families.
The chamber falls into tense silence as members consider their positions. Some are clearly calculating political angles, trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing. Others look conflicted, loyalty warring with conscience.
Then Councilman Aldric stands, his ancient spirit power filling the chamber with weight that comes from centuries of existence. "I've watched Dmitri accumulate power for decades," he says, his voice heavy with regret. "And I said nothing because I was afraid of what he might do to me, to my family, to anyone who questioned him. But I'm more afraid of what will happen if we let him continue. I've seen too many young Magila disappear, too many unusual essence types eliminated, too many families destroyed. I vote for his removal and full investigation."
