Page 91 of House of Crimson Cloak and Silver Teeth

“He’s dead,” Garrett says simply.

The older veteran stares at Garrett like he’s looking at death itself and the scarred knight takes an unconscious step backward. Absolute horror ripples through the group.

“You killed them.” The scarred knight stares at Garrett, realization dawning slowly across his face. “The ones who’ve gone missing. That’s you.”

“Yes.”

“They’ll stop you,” the young one says, but his voice shakes. “The Aeonians—”

“Aren’t here.” Garrett smiles, and it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen on his face. “No one is coming to save you. So I suggest you keep talking.”

I move then, dropping down from the perch and landing silently behind the Valorians. They spin, startled. I see the moment they realize they’re surrounded and trapped.

“Wolf,” Garrett acknowledges without looking at me. “Thank you for finding them.”

“What do you need?” I keep my voice neutral.

“A perimeter. Make sure no one runs.”

I move to block the main exit. The Valorians are now boxed in with Garrett in front, me behind, and solid stone walls on either side.

“You’re going to tell me everything,” Garrett says, staring at them. “How many units. How many villages. How the system works. Every detail.”

“Or what?” The young one’s voice cracks. “You’ll kill us? You’re going to do that anyway!”

“Yes, your lives are already over,” Garrett agrees simply. “What happens before the end depends entirely on you.”

The older knight swallows hard. He looks at his companions, then back to Garrett. “What do you want to know?”

“Start with the Falcon Unit. Where are they stationed?” Garrett’s gaze sweeps over him coldly.

“Southern garrison,” the older knight answers quickly. “Near the Feywild border.”

“Names.”

“I—I don’t know all of them…” He sees something in Garrett’s expression and speaks faster. “Lieutenant Farren commanded the Falcon Unit. Along with Sergeants Dovrun and Kellan. Those are the only names I know for certain.”

Garrett doesn’t blink. “What about the Serpent Unit?”

The older knight licks his dry lips. “Eastern territories. I don’t know their names. They have a different command structure.”

“Tell me about the rituals. How they work.”

Once the words start coming, they don’t stop. Fear tears everything loose inside them until guilt and desperation spill out together in a relentless flood. They explain the rituals piece by piece. Children taken at night while families slept. Fires constructed to exact specifications so the spiritual essence released correctly during burning. Aeonians feeding from the deaths like parasites drinking from an open wound.

Every detail turns my stomach colder.

The young knight vomits midway through his explanation, doubling over beside the fire while bile splashes across the stone floor. None of the others pause speaking. If anything they talk faster afterward.

I force myself to listen carefully and commit everything to memory. Which villages burned. Who gave orders. How the rituals worked. The scale of the horror keeps widening until it feels impossible to fully grasp.

Eventually the chamber falls silent.

There is nothing left for them to confess.

The five Valorians stand around the fire waiting for judgment while Garrett slowly draws his sword.

“Wait—” the young one starts.