“The Jetutians may have taken her,” Cruxan said, crossing his arms over his chest.“We do not know.Vikan’s message is unclear.”
The beginnings of a pounding headache started at the base of his neck and pulsed.How had it just been last night that he’d been relaxing with hisluxivain thelallarix?It seemed like spans ago now.
“Where is Vikan now?”
“He has passed through Jetutian territory with the remaining females, but he is still a span away from Luxiria.We have received no further word on Lihvan.Do you think they will try to negotiate with us for his release?”
“Yes,” Vaxa’an said, narrowing his eyes.“They have taken enough from us, have they not?Why not Lihvan as well?”
The council room sobered.
Vaxa’an was quiet for a moment, trying to process everything, trying to think of a plan.This was part of what they trained for.The unexpected.They had not planned for this, a shortcoming on their part.
“I have faith in Lihvan,” he finally said, his voice low, looking up at his ambassadors.“He will protect the female if she is with him.And I trust that he is an excellent warrior and that he will keep a level head, as we all must do.He will do nothing to endanger Luxiria.”
“And us?” Kirov questioned.“What do we do?”
Even though it pained him to say it, he murmured, “We wait.”
“Vaxa’an,” Rixavox started.“I do not think—”
“Rushing into this attack is why this happened in the first place,” Vaxa’an said.“We should have planned for a possible interception once they left the Pit.Their weapons were most likely depleted once the Jetutians reached them.”
“Do you think the Krevorags are aligned with the Jetutians?” Cruxan questioned.“Is this why the attack happened?As retaliation?”
Vaxa’an thought about it but it didn’t make sense.“No.The Jetutians acted alone in this.If they were aligned with the Krevorags, they would have demanded the females.Instead, they only wanted Lihvan.”He met the eyes of his ambassadors.“The Jetutians have always wanted one thing and one thing only from us: our crystals.That will be their demand, but it would be foolish of us to believe that Lihvan will be unharmed or even returned to us, if we give into their ransom.We need to formulate another plan and keep the worst in mind.”
“Agreed,” Kirov said from his post at the Com.
Cruxan said, “Agreed.”
Vaxa’an turned to look at Rixavox.Lihvan was like a blood brother to them all.He knew that Rixavox immediately wanted to form a rescue mission, but that wouldn’t be smart.They’d already fucked up one mission.They didn’t need to fuck up another.
Rixavox knew this, even though he wanted to fight it.Eventually, his war general inclined his head and gruffly murmured, “Agreed.”
They needed to trust in Lihvan’s ability and strength as a Luxirian warrior.Because if anyone could navigate their way through this Jetutian mess, it would be Lihvan.
Vaxa’an jerked his head in a nod.“Let’s get to work.”
* * *
The dungeons in the Golden City were located deep below thefacev, the mountain, that could only be accessed through one stairwell in the command center.
Exhaustion weighed heavy on Vaxa’an as he descended the stone steps.They had spent the majority of the span creating a plan, looking from all angles at what the Jetutians might do next, whether they would decide to kill Lihvan to send a strong message or if they would try to ransom him.They reviewed their protocols in case of an imminent attack and began the process and discussion of attacking the Jetutians first.Luxiria had long been at war with the Jetutians, but it was Luxiria’s turn to take the offensive.
And even though Vaxa’an wanted nothing more than to return to hisluxivaand get rest before he had an inevitable early morning of more discussion and planning tomorrow, there was something that he needed to do first.
The dungeons had always been mostly unoccupied, something that the Golden City prided itself on.Crime was low on Luxiria, but the dungeons were a necessity, especially during blacker moments in their history where uprisings had turned bloody and violent.
They were temporary holding cells mostly.Any Luxirian who found themselves in the dungeons knew their fate.Luxiria tolerated little crime and the punishment was almost always swift execution once a formal trial was held and the accused had been convicted by the council.
This Luxirian male’s fate would be no different.
Despite being deep below the mountain, the dungeons were brightly lit.They resembled the labs if anything with almost clinical hallways and rooms separated by strong panes of glass.All of them except one were empty.
The male who had tried to take his life during the Trials with a silver dagger, the male who he had just discovered bruised hisluxivaand called her a human whore in the marketplace was pacing around in his cell like a caged beast.
Vaxa’an knew this male and had always been wary of him.Something in the glint of his eyes had always unsettled him.One single gold cuff gleamed on his wrist under the harsh lights of the dungeon, which meant he had never completed military training.
