Chapter Seventy-Six: Long Awaited Meeting

“Would now be a good time to mention that I’m incredibly nervous?” Serena asked, fidgeting with the hem of her top. She worried her lip while she stared up at the imposing castle that sat at the center of Amesseria, looming over the buildings around it intimidatingly.

I chuckled. “Relax, will you? This is gonna be great. I mean,” I amended, “it’s gonna be a pain in my ass, I’m sure, but we’ll have fun.”

She seemed unconvinced, but she took a breath and soldiered on. I took a second to admire her before I followed. Her sleeveless, low cut top and tight pants with cuts on the side that exposed her hips were certainly eye catching. She’d found no shortage of clothes that would help with her skill, [Shrouded in Faith], which boosted her Divine the more skin she showed. Not for the first time, I had to seriously appreciate how fashion trends had changed in the last thirty years. Her outfit had been far from the most scandalous we’d seen just on our trip here.

I, on the other hand, felt rather uncomfortable in the fine clothes I wore. The material was thicker than I was used to, and not nearly worn enough for my tastes. I’d spent most of my life in rags and the rest in whatever clothes I could get my hands on, so having money for a real wardrobe was really throwing me off. I’d trade this fine clothing befitting a noble for a simple shirt and trousers in a heartbeat, but I had a part to play. At least for today.

The guard at the gate looked skeptically at us, but he waved us through after I flashed my invitation. I couldn’t help but notice he seemed rather unimpressed by a kingly summons. It wasn’t the first time since we’d arrived in the capital that I’d wondered just how much power the king actually had with the government they’d put in place.

We didn’t talk while a servant led us through the hallways of the royal castle. Serena because she still seemed more than a little overwhelmed by the idea of meeting both a king and a member of the Seven, me because I couldn’t help but remember the last time I’d been through these halls. There had been a lot more blood and death back then. Even though realistically I knew thirty years had passed, for me it had only been a few months. My mind and heart were having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that we weren’t in enemy territory.

We were eventually left in an ornate meeting room. A large table surrounded by comfortable looking chairs dominated the space, and I almost laughed at the fine paintings on the walls depicting the final battle with Grimsbane. It had certainly been glorified in the last three decades, and I couldn’t help but look for myself in them. I was featured only a few times, and always as more of a footnote than anything else. Barely enough detail to be able to recognize without knowing what I was looking at.

Oddly enough, that pleased me.

The servant gestured towards the chairs at one end of the table, but with a nod to them I walked over and sat right in the middle of the long end. I had to strongly resist the urge to kick my feet up onto the tables surface, though it was a close run thing. I pulled a chair out for Serena to sit in and took my place next to her.

She was looking at the paintings as well, her eyes wide. “Are you sure it was a good idea to bring me along?”

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She wore her hair down today, so her glowing golden locks cascaded down her shoulders and back. “You’re my priestess, my partner, and one of the people in this world most important to me. I’d have brought everyone if I hadn’t thought it was a bad idea to bring demi-humans into the keep.”

“And Tiana?” Serena asked, still uncertain.

“I offered, but she declined,” I said simply. What I didn’t say was the uncertainty I’d felt coming from her. If I had to guess, she was having doubts about something. That made my gut twist nervously, but I resolved to trust her. I’d find time as soon as I could to sit and talk through whatever seemed to be weighing on her more and more each day.

“Besides,” I continued, “Rolar was a Chosen closer to his god than most. Maybe he can give us some advice on how to commune with Allura.”

She nodded, though she still chewed the inside of her cheek. She grasped my hand, her fingers lacing with mine. “And you? How are you doing, being back here?”

I couldn’t bring myself to fight the smile that bled through my expression. Trust it to my priestess to notice. “Better than I expected, honestly. It helps that they’ve done some serious redecorating.”

She squeezed my hand with a smile, her green eyes shimmering. She opened her mouth to speak, but stood abruptly instead when the door opened. I followed, albeit at more leisurely a pace, turning my attention to the figure walking through the doors.

Emotions warred in my chest to see my old friend again. The man who was undoubtedly Rolar examined us intently, his gaze trained on me far more than Serena. His face was so similar, yet weathered with age. The wrinkles around his eyes told me he still smiled a lot. His nose was still crooked from the time I’d broken it, which meant he’d never bothered to have a healer fix it. His nearly cropped hair and bushy, well-trimmed beard were still the same dark black as before, though now they were both streaked with gray.

There was a beat of silence while we looked one another over before he inclined his head ever so slightly.

“Lord Nocht. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”

So that’s the game we’re playing, then? I fought the urge to smirk, instead quirking a single brow. “I wasn’t under the impression that a summons from the king was something to be ignored, majesty.”

Something flickered behind his steel colored eyes, but Rolar was better than I was at keeping emotion from his expression. He waved the servant escorting him off and strode around the table with long, regal steps. He sat, not at the head of the table like a king should, but right across from me. He lowered himself into the chair, stiff backed, and gestured for us to do the same.

Once we were seated, he laced his fingers together. “Seeing as your family is one of the largest landowners in the city, I thought it only prudent to have a sit down.”

“I see,” I said, giving him nothing to work with.

His eyes flicked towards Serena, then back to me. “You seem to have been rather busy since your…return.”

Ah, I get it. He was trying to confirm if I was really, well, me. “Unfortunately, most of my properties suffered from severe neglect after the war. There’s quite a bit of work to be done, so you can hardly blame me for getting the ball rolling.”

His lips quirked downward. He let one hand fall to his lap while the other pressed its palm into the surface of the wood and he leaned back. One of his fingers started tapping, and I saw a few of his other tells. The tightening of the skin under his left eye. The slight pursing of his lips as they pulled slightly to the right. The fact that he’d hidden his left hand from view told me he was probably twisting the ring on his finger as well.

I let out a sigh. Might as well get it over with. “Unclench your ass before you give yourself a hernia, old man. I don’t have the time, patience, or levels to pick a fight with you right now.”

Serena balked next to me, but Rolar deflated in his chair. His shoulders drooped and the skin on his face sagged, making him look seventy instead of fifty. “Zaren,” he said softly. “It really is you.”

“Yeah, it’s me.” I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair, kicking my feet up on the table like I’d been dying to since we’d walked in. “And Rolar, I have to ask. What the fuck?”

He slumped back. “It’s complicated.”

“It fucking better be.” I shook my head. “I mean, seriously? Letting the guild run amok? Letting lords and nobles have their run of the country? The fucking Accords? Just because everything is shinier than it was under Grimsbane doesn’t make any of this shit okay.”

He winced with every accusation. “Trust me, Zaren. I know.”

“Then why haven’t you fixed it?”

He took a long breath and let his gaze travel over the paintings in the room. Like me, he knew exactly how little they represented the horrors of what had actually happened. “The Accords were supposed to be temporary. A stopgap to keep civil war from happening.” He shook his head. “They were never supposed to become what they are now.”

He rose to his feet and started pacing, favoring his right leg. I guess the blow Grimsbane had landed in that final fight still troubled him, then. “After the war, after you left,” there was a slight accusation in his voice, but I ignored it, “things were tense. With Grimsbane gone, those under his thralldom were free, but we had no way of knowing for sure who fought for him out of their own free will or because they were enslaved.”

“He’d used the demi-humans to commit so many of his atrocities. The Accords were merely a way to keep them separate and safe from the scores of humans who wanted retribution for events that might or might not have been their doing. The early Accords put a stop to that long enough for us to put together a semblance of government. I took the mantle of king, but everyone was terrified of another tyrant taking power. Myself included.”

Rolar shook his head. “The conflict was finished, which meant I was no longer protected by my status. I needed to make sure that, should something happen to me, things wouldn’t fall apart. With the help of the others, we created a council, on which the king would sit. Democracy would reign, not the wishes of a single man.”

I scoffed. “You should have held the power a little longer, it seems.”

To my complete surprise, he nodded in agreement. “I underestimated the vindictiveness of those who would be elected. By the time I realized the mistake I’d made, it was too late. The power was officially out of my hands outside another war. When it came time to disband the Accords, they instead strengthened them. Bennet, Sandrel and I fought back as much as we could, making deals and concessions to soften the blows as often as we could, but in the end it simply wasn’t enough.”

“And the guild.” He made a sound in the back of his throat that I hadn’t ever heard come from him before. It was a sound of frustration. Anger. Hatred. I didn’t think Rolar was capable of hating. “They wanted the guild to operate outside the control of the government so that adventurers couldn’t be used as an army for war. We didn’t know at the time that the council and the leaders of the guild were working together behind closed doors. Once again, by the time we realized what had happened, it was too late.”

He sank back into his chair heavily. “And now many of those who serve the council are too young to remember the horrors of war. Too preoccupied in their own image, in lining their pockets, and in retaining their seats to give a damn about the people they rule over. We do what we can when we can, but those concessions I mentioned? They left us impotent, Zaren. For heroes who saved the world, we have remarkably little power.”

I leaned my head back, massaging the bridge of my nose. “We? Who else is still around?”

For the first time, he seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Judging from the faint traces of magic coming from what I could only assume were listening devices, I think I knew why. “Bennet and Sandrel are always around, of course. Iliri rules over her temple district, but she cares little for what happens outside of it. Torren grew tired of politics after just a few years and went off to who knows where, and Yvonne…” He shook his head. “Yvonne hated what this country became the most. One day, she just…faded away. Vanished into the night with a simple note that said she was done. Nobody has heard from her since.”

The silence stretched on after that while I chewed on the information he’d given me. I silently counted the minutes until I was sure it was time. There were things we needed to discuss. “Alright,” I said eventually, causing Rolar’s head to snap up. “I know they’re listening, so they can come in.”

I’d barely finished speaking when the doors exploded inwards, causing Serena to jump to her feet. “You arrogant little twat!” Bennet roared.

Rolar just dragged a hand over his face. “Bennet, my doors.”

Bennet just ignored him, his dark violet robes flaring in his wake while he stormed towards me with a finger stabbing accusingly in my direction, his dark eyes narrowed in fury, and his long silver hair whipping around him like he was caught in a windstorm. “You fucking knew the moment you sat down, didn’t you?”

I peered around him to see Sandrel laughing so hard he was holding his sides, then looked back at Bennet. “So ten minutes is still the standard bet, then?” I asked innocently.

Bennet whirled on Sandrel. “He knew about the listening devices, so I win!” he demanded.

Sandrel wiped a tear from his eye. “Not a chance, Benny. You said he’d point them out within ten minutes, and he didn’t. I win.”

Serena looked between all of us with wide eyes, but I just patted the seat reassuringly. She slowly sat down, and the eyes in the room returned to her. “So,” Bennet practically snarled, storming around the table to sit as far from me as he could manage, “who is this, then?”

Sandrel plopped down a chair from Rolar and kicked his feet up to mirror me. “Yes, I too would like to know more about the gorgeous blond on Zaren’s arm.” His eyes twinkled with amusement, and I felt the need to throw something at him.

I nodded to Serena, and she stood, her hands still gripping the hem of her shirt tightly. “My name is Serena Ravin. I am a priestess to Allura, and one of Zaren’s partners. It’s a pleasure.”

Sandrel’s grin widened. “So formal! I like her.” Then he ran a hand through his sandy hair. Of the three, he looked like he’d aged the least. “Plus, now we know why Amesseria isn’t a burning husk yet. Zaren here got laid.”

Serena started turning a shade of crimson and I gently pulled her back down into her seat. “Ignore him, he’s fishing.”

She cleared her throat. “He isn’t wrong, though,” she said softly, a hint of a smile on her lips.

There was a beat, then Sandrel threw his head back and roared with laughter. Rolar smiled warmly, and even Bennet’s lips quirked upwards ever so slightly. “Oh I like her a lot!” Sandrel said before devolving into another bout of laughs.

Serena’s hand found mine under the table once more, something that definitely didn’t go unnoticed by Rolar. He cleared his throat softly and Sandrel got his amusement under control. “So,” he said. “Allura?”

I sighed. “Yeah. Allura. Shocker, right?”

Bennet crossed his arms, his icy blue eyes sparking with annoyance. “What he fuck does a sex goddess want with you?”

“Not a sex goddess,” Serena and I said in unison.

We exchanged a glance and she looked down at the table, still crimson. I let out a breath. I was loathe to give much away to anyone, even my former allies, but I was going to need their help sooner or later. “We made a deal. I’m supposed to prepare the world for some vague threat headed our way.”

Bennet leaned forward. “Is it related to the Maleks?”

“I take it you haven’t talked to Kat this morning, then?” At his blank expression, I sighed. “Yeah. Maleks, Ashai, and Rathums.” I gave them a brief rundown. “And I’m thinking they’re related, but I don’t have proof just yet. That ritual of Grimsbane we interrupted? Allura thinks it caught the wrong kind of attention. That some kind of otherworldly threat is coming for us.”

That caught Bennet’s attention. “You think these…Eldritch Beasts are some kind of otherworldy creature?”I nodded. “Yeah. The magic in my blade resonated with the magic in the Rathum I killed. Magic that seems fundamentally different than the magic we use. I’m thinking both are from somewhere else.”

“You still have it, then?” Rolar asked. “The cursed sword?”

“The Jailer’s Blade is apparently it’s name.” I summoned the blade from my storage and all three of them leaned away from it. They were always uncomfortable around it. I, however, smiled at the happy trill that came through the Link between me and Ash. She was still loathe to go into my storage for any reason, but each time it was a little easier to convince her. Whether it was the slowly growing Link between us or something else, I wasn’t sure. “One of them, at least.”

Bennet leaned forward, practically salivating. “Very well. Leave it with me and I’ll uncover all its secrets. Perhaps we can find some kind of advantage in its magic.”

Before I could even answer, the gem in the hilt glowed angrily. Anger pulsed through the link, and a pulse of furious magic bled into the room. The other three were on their feet in an instant, but I just frowned at the blade.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” I said, more to the blade than to Bennet. “I’ve already got someone working on it, but thanks for the offer.”

Bennet scoffed. “It’s stronger than before, which means whatever containment spells it carries are clearly failing. I highly doubt whoever you have researching the blade is better equipped than me, seeing as I have access to all of Grimsbane’s forbidden texts.”

I set the blade down so that it was leaning against my leg. “Grimsbane was completely unprepared for the Jailer’s blade, so I don’t think the answers we seek are there. Besides, we’re pretty sure my scholar has received at least one skill for the express purpose of learning about the blade, so I’ll stick with her.” I ran my thumb down the scabbard. “Plus, pretty sure the sword would get pissed at all of us if I let anyone else handle it.”

Ash’s Link hummed in agreement, and the other three slowly took their seats. “You’ll at least share your findings?” Bennet asked, somewhat begrudgingly.

“The important ones,” I shot back. I may not have liked him, but he was still smart as hell. While Rhallani was the only one I trusted to look over the blade itself, giving her findings to Bennet could very well lead us in the right direction.

“Right,” Sandrel said, “now that you’ve reached an agreement, care to tell us how you look all spry? Hate to tell you, Zaren, but old age is bollocks.”

I shrugged. “Gave up all my levels and Allura put me down for a thirty year dirt nap. What can I say, apparently a divine coma is great on the skin.”

Sandrel chuckled, but the skin around Rolar’s eyes tightened once more. “I have to wonder exactly what kind of deal you might have made with her, all things considered,” he said.

My eyes fell on the former Chosen. The only Chosen I’d ever trusted. For a long time, the only one I would ever consider trusting, though Kat was slowly changing that. “One between me and her,” I said simply. “Suffice to say I have every intention of holding up my end.”

“No matter the consequence?” Rolar challenged. When I didn’t answer, I felt Serena stiffen beside me. “Gods don’t make deals, Zaren.”

“They didn’t,” I argued. “Apparently that goes against their laws, but Allura’s gone rogue. My guess is that whatever enemy is coming isn’t restricted by the same rules as our current pantheon, and Allura knows it. She’s trying to find some other way to even the odds for whatever conflict is approaching.”

“She told you this?” Bennet asked.

“Fortuna gave me that bit, actually,” I admitted, and they all straightened.

“Two gods, Zaren?” Rolar asked carefully.

“Three if you count Tydarr, but he’s smart enough to know I won’t tell him shit, so he sent Kat in his stead.”

“And…” Sandrel said, swallowing hard, “…she’s still alive?”

I chuckled, which only served to make them more tense. “Yes, she’s alive. She risked his ire to tell me she was sent, so I figure I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. I didn’t tell her about the deals, though. The last thing we need is for Tydarr to start running around offering mortals shit deals and causing all kinds of problems.”

Rolar ran a hand through his short hair. “And you haven’t had any contact from her since?”

I shook my head. “Serena’s had dreams, and we think she might be manipulating the classes and skills of those around me, but I haven’t managed to have a real conversation with her since our initial meeting. I wanted to ask you about it, actually. Serena’s made a few trips to Allura’s temples, but no dice.”

Stroking his beard thoughtfully, Rolar nodded. “Well, for starters, you have to remember that as a priestess she’s only a conduit. Only an Oracle can talk to a god or goddess directly, and even then the gods prefer to use them as a mouthpiece. It’s possible that you need to be in attendance to complete the other half of the connection.”

Now it was my turn to drag my hand down my face. “I was afraid you were going to say that. I don’t suppose Iliri is out of town right now?”

Rolar had the grace to grimace, and both Bennet and Sandrel suddenly found the table rather interesting. “No,” Sandrel said softly. “She doesn’t leave her domain often.”

“Lovely,” I groaned. “I’ll deal with that when it comes. For now, we should get to business.”

All three of them regarded me warily. “And what business is that?” Sandrel asked, his voice laced with curiosity.

I smiled, and that put them on edge more than anything else I’d done so far. “We’re going to dismantle the Accords, of course. And while we’re at it, I figure we can force the guild into restructuring itself.”

All three of them were silent, and I felt Serena holding her breath next to me. I was glad that none of them laughed. In fact, they were all having a silent conversation that I was pretty sure had started to lean in my direction.

Sandrel was the first to lean forward. “I assume you’ve got a plan?”

“Several.” First I summoned a stack of papers from my storage and slid it across the table. Sandrel picked it up and started leafing through it. With each page, his eyebrows twitched further and further towards his hairline. “The guild will be the easier of the two, I think.”

His eyes flicked up to me. “Household adventurers? I’m not sure how much a single party would sway things.” From the tone of his voice, he already knew where I was taking this.

“Who said it had to be a single party?” I asked innocently.

Rolar leaned over to read as well, and Bennet stood to look over their shoulders. He adopted my personal favorite expression: begrudgingly impressed. “They’ll fight you on this, you know,” he said.I shrugged. “Not at first. By the time they do, it’ll be too late. If they want to stop me, they’ll have to change the laws in such a way that it’ll be plain to see they’re trying to exploit the lower rank adventurers.”

Rolar frowned. “You really think many adventurers would be willing to give up large portions of their reward money?”

I couldn’t fight the hint of pride that flared in my chest. Rolar’s initial thought was exactly how those running the guild would react. But I’d spent hours the night before talking with Tiana and Cynthia both, finalizing our plans. Tiana’s own experience in the guild had been invaluable, and Cynthia’s experience on the other side had been just as much so.

“The system is designed to be nearly impossible,” I explained. “Jobs rank C and below intentionally have shit pay. Shit enough that low rank adventurers are forced to take numerous jobs back to back just to be able to afford rent and food, much less equipment. Jobs aren’t solely ranked by difficulty, but also on the time it takes to complete them. Low rank adventurers are forced to spend all their time on missions barely possible for them just to afford living. Unless, of course, they’re willing to let higher ranking adventurers take advantage of them.”

Unsurprisingly, Sandrel was the first to get it. “You offer food and board and even if you’re taking half the pot then they’re already walking away with more money than if they’re having to pay their way.” He barked out a laugh. “Only the ones at the bottom would even think of taking the pay cut. He’s right, Rolar, those idiots won’t know what hit them.” He laughed again. “And you’ve got a dozen mansions you’re kitting out to hold said adventurers because there’s nothing in the law that says they have to live in your personal residence.”

I shrugged. “I’ve got a lot of room to work with.”

Bennet’s eyes flicked up to me. “Not to mention you’ll be building up an entire generation of adventurers loyal to you. I’m sure the fact that they’ll be staying close to your home is only an added bonus.”

I tapped my nose. “I figure I can kill half a dozen birds with a single stone if I’m smart about it. The only reason the guild got this bad is because of peace time. If something big were to happen, then we’d be fucked. There just aren’t enough high level adventurers willing to step up because the system is designed to filter out the strong willed. I get enough adventurers trained, strong, and high rank and I throw their entire system off balance.”

Rolar shook his head. “It’s a damn good plan, I’ll give you that. I’ve got some friends I can get to sign off on our part so it doesn’t look like I’m throwing my weight around. If I put my name on it they’ll look too closely, after all.”

“Good. It might take some time, but it’ll be for the best. Plus,” I added, “if something major happens, you know, like an incursion by an outer god and his armies of otherworldly beasts, then you’ll be glad to have a corps of trained adventurers willing to take up arms and serve the role the guild was meant to.”

Rolar chuckled to himself, some of the light returned to his eyes. “And the Accords?”

“Those’ll be trickier,” I admitted. “And I’ll have to be careful in the beginning. There are just too many counter moves that can be made against me in the early stages.”

Sandrel tossed the papers onto the table. “What do you need?”

“For starters? An inside man in the Pens. I need to know if demi-humans fitting certain criteria are thrown in the Pens before they’re officially processed. One of the dangers of the Accords is that most of the demi-human families that are large enough or powerful enough to do anything have members in the system. The more I can get away from cruel Patrons and into places where they’re protected, the more allies I’ll have.”

“Done,” Sandrel said, “I’ll have candidates for you by the end of the week. What else?”

“The military has the highest population of demi-humans since the government is considered a Patron, and I need to find a way to fix that. I can have household guards, but only so many.”

“That one’s easy,” Bennet offered. When we all looked at him, he shrugged. “Make him a Magistrate.”

Rolar tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Your properties are mostly in the lower quarter, sure, but how much of the lower quarter does he own?”

“Forty-eight percent,” I said carefully.

Bennet tapped the table. “If he can get his hands on three more percent, all he needs is the approval of a single council member to be appointed Magistrate of the lower quarter since there isn’t one currently. Then he would be able to appoint a watch, and assigning demi-humans to the watch would be completely legal, if not frowned upon.”

Sandrel turned back to me. “Think you could manage that?”

I chewed my lip. “Yeah, it might take some time and resources, but I’m sure there are a few properties I could snatch up.”

He rapped his knuckles twice on the table. “Perfect. Is that all?”

“Not quite.” I took a brief breath. This would be the tricky part. “I need to know who I’m up against. What do you know about a man named Everard Bryce?”

All three of them exchanged a grim glance. “Why?”

“Because he hired a crew to collect pure and powerful demi-humans outside of the law. A group that I have strong reason to believe is somehow related to Valethar Karn.”

There were three sharp intakes of breath on the other side of the table, but Bennet was the quickest to piece it together. “You think he’s involved?” Then he shook his head, a look of disgust on his face. “You think it’s all involved. Bryce. Karn. These demi-humans.” His eyes narrowed. “The Accords and the guild. You think every bit of it is connected, don’t you?”

The challenge in his voice was clear, and I rose to meet it. “That’s what my gut is telling me, yeah.”

Bennet cursed foully. “I fucking hate it when your gut gets involved.” He shook his head. “Bryce and his entire family were found murdered in a home invasion the day after you arrived in the city.”

“Bennet,” Rolar warned.

“Oh, shove off, your majesty,” Bennet spat. “Our enemies clearly aren’t playing by the rules, and frankly I’m getting tired of it. You know as well as I do what happens when we ignore Zaren’s gut feelings.” He growled low in his throat and raw, arcane energy sparked in the air around him. “Zaren uncovered this operation and someone killed Bryce to keep him quiet.”

Rolar sighed. “I fear you’re right. There’s clearly more going on than we’re aware of.”

“Pretty sure there always has been,” I said. They all turned to me, their expressions demanding explanation. “What if we weren’t done? What if Grimsbane wasn’t the end, but the beginning? What if Grimsbane was no less a pawn than the rest of us?”

The silence that followed was deafening. “Zaren,” Rolar said eventually, “that’s…”

“Insane?” I challenged. “Trust me, I’m well aware. Yet it all feels far too interconnected to be coincidence. The Accords would never exist in a world that didn’t suffer Grimsbane first. The things Grimsbane did… the things he knew…”

My hands curled to fists, and I forced myself to voice something that I’d never spoken aloud before. Something that had haunted me since the day I’d looked into Grimsbane’s eyes, just before I lopped off his head. “I grew up looking into the eyes of a true monster,” I said softly, “and Grimsbane…wasn’t. Karn was evil to the core. Sadistic, twisted, arrogant. He never wavered, not even when I choked the life from his body. Grimsbane’s eyes weren’t like that. They weren’t hard enough to belong to the man who nearly brought the world to its knees.”

“You think the man you killed wasn’t Grimsbane?” Bennet demanded, shooting to his feet.

“He definitely was,” I said, raising a hand. “He had the class that enslaved so many people. And I’m not saying he wasn’t evil, nor am I excusing the atrocities he committed. I’m just saying I’m not so sure he was truly the one in charge.”

Rolar shook his head, clearly troubled. “Zaren, that’s simply not possible—”

Bennet silenced him with a wave of his hand. “This isn’t some half-baked theory, Rolar. Even I can see it’s haunted Zaren. Even if it’s impossible, we have to consider it. I always felt that the Accords were put into place too quickly. That its advocates came up with their ideas a little too fast.” He stroked his shitty little goatee. “In retrospect, there are a number of inconsistencies that could be explained by Zaren’s theory. I’ll look into it.”

Though he looked incredibly troubled by the thought, Rolar acquiesced. “Very well, let’s move on then. You’ll need someone in your corner. Someone who can run interference when you need it. I can provide that, but I have a cost.”

I arched a brow. “Seriously? I thought you were always the one man who could never be bought.”

He offered a sad smile. “I was, once. Time changes many things, it seems. I do what I can, but I’m limited. I have a weakness, Zaren, and it would ruin me if our enemies discovered it.”

“Please say women or drink,” I pleaded.

With a chuckle, he shook his head. “If only. There’s someone I care about very much, but nobody outside of this room can know who or why. If you protect her, then I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”

Well fuck me sideways, Rolar had a girl? “I think I can manage that much. Who is she?”