I needed to think of a way to smooth things over with my mate. I mind-linked Cercies.
Are you and Calpurnia free tonight for dinner?
—I could shift some things around.
Great.Let’s pick them up from dragon riding this evening.
Bring Veyraxxies.
—I never thought I’d see the day we would be double dating.
Fuck, don’t I know it.
A knock at my door interrupted my mind-to-mind conversation.
“Come in,” I called out.
In walked the newest member appointed to the council, Antonias. He was around my age and not a thousand years old like the other members. In meetings, we always seemed to have similar opinions. Sometimes he was the only one who agreed with me. I needed to know if he was ally…or informant.
If I was going to figure out a way to end slavery in the Kingdom of Flame, the easiest way would be with the support of the council. My hope was that if I could get Antonias to side with me, maybe he could convince the other members to agree to the radical reformation our kingdom so desperately needed.
Long ago, all the kingdoms of Nevaehun had slaves. Slowly, one by one, they abolished it. My kingdom, notoriously slow to change, was the last to free all its people.
The Fire Fae remained, but the other Fae who once called my kingdom home had fled—especially after the fallout over the murder of my mother and the disappearance of the Lady of Land.
Keeping slaves had never bothered me. It was just the way it had always been, and it never affected me directly. But when the veil was lifted and the memories of my past life with Delilah came flooding back, my morals shifted.
It felt like two versions of myself collided, creating an entirely new male and opening an entirely new part of my heart for mymate—one I never knew existed. In the process, all the wisdom and knowledge from living in a world without slavery made me realize just how wrong it was. How wrong we had been for allowing such an injustice to persist. How I had benefited from a system I now knew was rotten.
It made me see just how terrible my father really was—and the deplorable state of the kingdom he left me.
I wanted to turn things around. But I needed to handle this situation delicately.
The council was formed long ago to prevent any one High Lord from running the kingdom into ruin and upholding Holy Law. Its purpose was to serve as a balance of power by representing the interests of the Temple and the Fire Fae’s ties to Holy Law, meaning we had to agree for anything to be accomplished.
If I requested something too extreme, the council—who had an army equal to mine of Holy Guards, would be quick to dethrone me. Asking to change Holy Law was practically blasphemy, punishable by death.
Because I am the most powerful High Lord the Fire Kingdom had ever seen, in fear of my power they would, without any doubt, move quickly to execute me.
Which made this off-the-record conversation with Antonias incredibly risky.
“You requested an audience, My Lord?” he said, bowing his head slightly.
He was dressed in a crimson floor-length robe with a gold rope tied in ceremonial knots at his waist. He had shorter blond hair and traditional Fire Fae amber eyes and golden skin.
“Yes, thank you, Council Member Antonias. Please take a seat,” I replied.
He removed his oversized hood and took a seat in one of the armed chairs in front of my desk.
“I’d like to speak to you… unofficially, as a peer, if that’s alright?” I asked.
“It would be an honor to be considered a friend of the High Lord,” he replied respectfully.
Antonias threw me off. I had looked at his records. He was high-born of noble birth, with a moderate blood magic level—but nothing compared to my own—yet he did not fear me. I had never scented his fear.
He was the only council member, other than Caddver, who didn’t seem intimidated by my power, which left me slightly unnerved.
I began, “I’m sure you are aware of the ultimatum the Kingdom of Seas gave us yesterday in regard to the liberation of our enslaved population.”
