This entire family is insane.
The throne room doors swing open, and a guard announces that the court will begin shortly as the crowd filters in.
Nevaeh waves before practically skipping out, Grace following behind her to check in with Harvey.
As the crowd settles, I’m a little jealous that while Nevaeh will be having an adventure with the dragons, I’ll be stuck here listening to people talk about their personal lives.
Most requests are genuine, meant to benefit both the kingdom and their livelihoods, but some people come here to ask for more just because they can.
I step into a stunning throne room, passing the towering marble columns that rise to a beautiful gilded ceiling, carved with intricate patterns. Floor-to-ceiling stained-glass windows spill warm, golden light across the room, bathing everyone in a soft glow.
Silk banners hanging from the ceiling move lazily in the breeze. The grand staircase on both sides of the throne makes it impossible to look anywhere else. This room was made for a king, and it shows.
Anxo enters the room with the confidence of a Horseman, striding to his throne in a powder blue suit that matches the dress Nevaeh was wearing.
Those two and their ritual of coordinating outfits every morning.
Anxo takes his rightful seat, looking every bit the Horseman of Conquer, and the court finally starts.
One by one, citizens present their pleas. A couple wanted permission to temporarily move to a different realm because their kid got a scholarship, while others came with businessideas that could benefit them and the kingdom if they had more funding.
Anxo listens patiently. Some requests need us to do more research before he can approve, but he’s quick-witted and calculates cost and risk better than any computer, nearly resolving all the requests within this hearing.
There are only a few more requests left when a guard rushes in, scanning the room until he finds me. I leave Anxo to finish the appeal and walk over to meet the guard halfway. He’s breathing hard when I reach him. I remember he’s usually stationed at one of the eastern portals, meaning he must’ve run the whole way here.
The second he opens his mouth, I understand why he came in person instead of linking Anxo.
“Intruder. Captured.”
I’m on edge instantly, and Anxo notices. He dismisses everyone who’s left and asks for an hour to handle an urgent matter—a chorus of agreements rings in the air. No one can resist Anxo’s practiced charm.
By the time we reach the dungeon, Dean and Harvey are already inside the cell. Dean stands over a gargoyle chained to a chair, his head bowed, blood dripping from his chin.
As if he sensed me, Dean’s gaze snaps to mine, something unreadable flashing in his dark eyes before he steps back, shoving his hands into his pockets to hide his bloodied knuckles.
Anxo steps into the cell, circling the gargoyle. “Has he said why he came here?”
“That’s the thing… he wasn’t trying to cross the portal,” Harvey says, leaning against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest.
“So what was he doing? Circling a portal in the middle of nowhere for shits and giggles?” I shake my head.
Harvey and Dean exchange a look. When Dean looks at me again, his eyes soften, like he thinks I’ll bolt after hearing whatever he’s about to say. “Hazel… he was trying to break the portal.”
Break the portal? How is a gargoyle of all beings supposed to do that?
And breaking a portal doesn’t mean disabling it. There’s a whole process… something that only Horsemen know. It would take a lot of power to do something like that, and even if this dumbass somehow succeeded in putting a single crack in the portal, it would’ve collapsed instead of opening.
None of this makes sense.
Anxo crouches in front of the intruder. “Who asked you to do that?”
Great first question. There’s no way he acted alone. Hell, he doesn’t even look like he knew what he was doing. Someone set him up. Gave him bad intel on purpose, knowing he’d get caught.
But why? I don’t see an upside to any of it.
We’re missing something.
When the gargoyle stays silent, eyes fixed on the floor, Anxo straightens. He walks to the corner of the cell, grabs a sword, and heats it until it’s bright orange, then walks back.
