At her brow rested a simple circlet of gold, the line of its band clean and unadorned but for the setting of small crimson stones along its edge, their glint catching the light like quiet embers.
The pair took their place at the Circle of Rule, the circular carved table lighting up the moment the Sokâr’s fingers grazed its edge. Light from the high Lattice windows broke across polished stone; their entwined shadows crossed the surface like twin strokes of ink. The chamber stilled. Kailorien didn’t raise his voice to be heard; he never needed to.
“This emergency session is called to order.”
Chairs scraped. Robes settled. A cough from the back.
Sevrion Hale’s smile was all blade.
“Timely, Your Quintessence. Since we’re speaking of emergencies, perhaps we can begin with the obvious.” He raised his hand high. “I motion for the first topic of this session to address the recent death of the Han Companion, the violation of the Rule of Eight, and the cessation of Estâr. If we can be certain of anything, it is that the recent mandate regarding the pause on this critical ritual of Doctrine has angered the Void and the Destroyer. These bombings in the Han send a clear message.”
Auryn didn’t falter, expecting this turn. She waited for the commotion from Sevrion’s words to settle before speaking.
“It is alarming, Councilor, that you speak of the will of the Destroyer when you undermine a mandate from the Sovereign Flame himself. Of all of us, He is the sole individual who can make the claim of hearing our Destroyer’s will.”
She glanced up at the empty dais where Shu’Khan throne stood.
Kailorien rose next. “I support the Sokâr’s point. Her logic is sound. The mandate has only been in effect for one week, and the bombings inthe Han were planned.Carefully.The attack I witnessed—the radicals and fire-eyed rebels I waded through—were part of a cohesive, strategic, onslaught.”
Draevan Sol, composed, folded his hands over a ledger. “Correlation may not be causation, Your Radiance—” he nodded to Kailorien “—Your Quintessence—but the optics are…unhelpful.”
Kailorien’s voice lowered. “If we are here to discussoptics, then we may certainly address how the Council will publicly show their generosity and support for the afflicted. Or have you forgotten what I told all of you the last time we met?”
Silence as the Councilors shifted in their seats. Several raised their hands to their throats as though checking whether the gems on their chokers were still lit.
Auryn leaned in, palms flat on the Circle of Rule.
“The Shields do not pivot on ritual whim. This attack required design, refinement, placement inside a district with elevated security—none of which were conjured since last market day.” She looked around. “If Tharalon Drex were here, he would support the Resh’Agar in his recounting of the horrors witnessed in the aftermath of the bombing. It washismen that fought beside Our Arm.Hismen who secured the marble beneath your feet.”
In the seats upon the middle dais, the two men sitting in for Civil Defense puffed up their chests. Reskala handlers. No doubt used to being ignored in situations like this.
That was well handled, sweetfire. They will remember your attention and relay it to Drex. He may have hated you in the past, but since you’ve gone out of your way to show Civil Defense favor these last years, he has softened.
I meanwhat I say, though I would be lying if I denied any ulterior motive. The more allies we strip from Sevrion, the less dangerous he is.
Though they spoke through the Bond, they avoided meeting each other’s gaze, not wanting to draw suspicion.
As though sensing that they spoke of him, Sevrion arched a brow. “Your Radiance, do you deny that Estâr strengthens the Shields?”
“We deny that your fear can substitute for data,” Auryn answered smoothly. “When the Resh’Agar was on campaign for two decades, Estâr was not held—and the Shields stood. Examine the Warshadow Codex. Cross-reference it to Councilor Draevan’s Shield retraction data during the Resh’Agar’s absence and his time spent in the city.The decay continued as the same rate in both cases. If you want to argue efficacy, bring logs, not Doctrine.”
Draevan opened his ledger, pen poised. “I do not deny the Sokâr’s point. However, our instrument records are incomplete over those years. The Council lacks longitudinal—”
“Enough.” Kailorien didn’t lift his gaze to the ceiling beams or the flags or the faces that flinched; he fixed his glowing azure eyes to Sevrion, then Draevan, and his words fell like a bar dropped into a gate. “I did not summon all of you here to posture over rites. The death of a Companion is tragic, but she was one of many victims. We are not here to lament. We are here because the Han bled.Still bleeds, even now.”
The silence widened. Someone shifted their chair. The chamber’s echo returned to stillness.
Kailorien unlatched a large, lacquered metal and wood case at his side, setting the object within on the table with a dull, heavy sound. A sphere, the size of a man’s helm—metallic sheets curled back where a seam had ruptured, edges blistered and black. The air above it wavered with a subtle, wrong shimmer, as if heat tried to rise and failed.
Gasps, a scrape of chair legs. Sevrion’s gaze snagged on the thing and didn’t quite let go.
Kailorien’s voice was soldier-flat. “This is the core recovered from the blast locus. Several days have passed. The mana remains scorched and twisted in a wide radius ranging from the central square of the Han to the District boundary. This is not a powder charge. Not a plaything stuffed with runes. It is designed to poison as it destroys.” He paused. “And destroy it has.”
Auryn’s fingertips hovered a breath from the warped metal.
Careful, little one. Don’t forget what the air in that blast radius did to your body.
Silver streamed from her fingertips in a thin, controlled thread, pooling against the sphere’s warped surface. Lines bloomed where the light touched. Script. Ancient, curling forms twisting against the eye, fighting Auryn’s magic to fade into invisibility once more.
