The march back through the palace was almost painfully quiet.
Not because there was no sound.
There were sounds everywhere.
The distant crackle of fires that still smoldered beyond the palace walls.
The muffled footsteps of nervous servants hiding behind closed doors.
The groan of old stone settling after the violence that had swept through the city.
But none of those sounds mattered.
The only footsteps anyone truly listened to were mine.
Each step echoed through the marble corridors with slow, deliberate certainty.
Behind me came two very different prisoners.
Lord Abraham Tower walked with his hands bound before him, his posture remaining almost irritatingly composed. His clothes had become dusty during our pursuit beneath the palace, and the exhaustion lining his face made him look years older than he had only an hour before, yet he refused to slump.
He carried himself like a man who had already accepted the inevitable.
Beside him...
Snively did the exact opposite.
His wrists were bound as well, but he stumbled every few steps, constantly looking over his shoulder as though I might suddenly decide to change my mind and tear him apart after all.
His breathing came in quick, nervous bursts.
His eyes darted everywhere.
Every shadow.
Every doorway.
Every suit of decorative armor.
He looked like a rabbit convinced every bush concealed another wolf.
Frankly...
The nickname fit him better every minute.
I had no intention of calling him Collin.
Not when Doc had earned that name.
Not when Collin Junior was somewhere out there running himself absolutely ragged trying to find Hope.
This man...
No.
This man had abandoned his own family.
Abandoned his children.
Abandoned every responsibility he had ever possessed.
A corrupt lawyer who had traded whatever remained of his conscience for self-preservation.
He'd earned a different name.
Snively.
It suited him.
Eventually the massive throne room doors came into view.
They remained open.
Apparently nobody had considered closing them.
Or perhaps nobody had wanted to.
I pushed them wider.
The enormous chamber stretched before us exactly as I had left it.
Sunlight streamed through towering stained-glass windows, bathing polished marble in shifting colors.
The throne still stood upon its raised dais.
And standing before it...
With her hands neatly folded behind her back...
Was Victoria Pavlov.
She hadn't moved very much.
If anything, she looked delighted.
The moment she saw me enter, her smile immediately widened.
Then she noticed the two prisoners.
Her eyes positively sparkled.
"Oh."
Her voice carried almost childish excitement.
"You found them."
"I did."
She clasped her hands together.
"I knew you would."
Neither prisoner spoke immediately.
Lord Tower merely closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Snively, however...
His expression twisted into naked outrage.
"You—"
His voice cracked.
He swallowed before trying again.
"You little rat!"
The words echoed through the chamber.
Victoria blinked once.
Only once.
"You sold us out!"
His face had turned bright red.
"My God..."
He actually laughed.
A short, bitter sound.
"You sold out your own family!"
His bound hands shook as he pointed toward her.
"I knew you were unstable!"
"I knew you were impossible!"
"But this?"
"This?"
He barked another incredulous laugh.
"You handed your own blood over to him!"
His voice rose with every sentence.
"Your own family!"
"You treacherous little rat!"
Silence followed.
Victoria simply looked at him.
The smile slowly disappeared.
Not because she was hurt.
Not because she was angry.
It simply...
Stopped.
Like someone extinguishing a candle.
When she finally spoke, her voice had changed completely.
Gone was the manic enthusiasm.
Gone was the excitable fascination.
What remained was cold.
Flat.
Clinical.
"You continue to misunderstand something."
Snively frowned.
"...What?"
Victoria regarded him with almost academic disinterest.
"My father."
A brief pause.
"And your father."
Another.
"Were first cousins."
She tilted her head ever so slightly.
"Which makes my father your first cousin."
Her green eyes never left his.
"And that makes you..."
She allowed herself the faintest smile.
"My father's first cousin once removed."
Another pause.
"So no."
Her voice remained perfectly level.
"You are not my immediate family."
She folded her hands neatly in front of herself.
"You are my father's second cousin."
She inclined her head just enough to make the correction feel almost insulting.
"And by extension..."
She met his eyes without the slightest hesitation.
"My second cousin once removed."
The throne room fell completely silent.
Snively simply stared at her.
For the first time since I'd met him...
He looked as though he had absolutely no idea what to say.
-------
Victoria held Snively's stare for several long seconds.
Then...
She laughed.
Not the bright, delighted giggle she had greeted me with earlier.
Not the breathless excitement that seemed to accompany every mention of impossible experiments and forgotten legends.
This laugh was different.
It was sharp.
Dry.
Almost mocking.
It echoed through the throne room until even Snively's ragged breathing seemed to disappear beneath it.
"Oh..."
She wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of one eye.
"That is wonderfully ironic."
Snively's face twisted.
"What is?"
Victoria's grin returned, wider than before.
"You."
She pointed directly at him.
"You are calling me a traitor."
Her shoulders began to shake again as another fit of laughter escaped her.
"That's rich."
"I abandoned nothing!" Snively snapped.
"No?"
Her voice became dangerously calm.
"You abandoned your wife."
Silence.
"You abandoned your children."
Another silence.
"You abandoned your family name."
She took a slow step forward.
"And from everything I've learned..."
"...you abandoned your principles long before any of that."
Snively opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"I—"
"You were a lawyer."
Victoria didn't raise her voice.
She didn't need to.
"A corrupt one."
"I did what I had to do!"
"You did what benefited you."
His jaw tightened.
"You ran."
Another step.
"When things became difficult..."
"You ran."
"When your family needed you..."
"You ran."
"When your children needed their father..."
"You ran."
Her smile sharpened.
"And now you're lecturing me about loyalty?"
Snively's shoulders trembled.
"You don't understand—"
"No."
Victoria interrupted him without hesitation.
"I understand perfectly."
She spread her hands.
"You and I are nothing alike."
Snively barked a humorless laugh.
"You sold me out!"
"I did."
"And you're admitting it?"
"Of course."
She sounded genuinely confused by the question.
"You asked."
For a brief moment, no one spoke.
Even Lord Abraham Tower watched her with a wary expression.
Then Victoria sighed.
"You know what the amusing part is?"
She looked directly into Snively's eyes.
"Even if we were close family..."
She shrugged.
"It wouldn't have changed anything."
Snively frowned.
"...What?"
Victoria's smile never wavered.
"I killed my own father."
The words landed in the room with all the force of a hammer.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Lord Abraham Tower's composure cracked for the first time since I'd captured him.
His head turned sharply toward her.
"...You what?"
Snively simply stared.
His face had gone completely pale.
Victoria's expression remained almost pleasant.
"My father."
She spoke as though discussing the weather.
"Irving."
A tiny shrug.
"He had become... inconvenient."
Another pause.
"So I removed the inconvenience."
She tilted her head.
"If I'm willing to kill my own father, did you truly expect a distant relative to occupy some sacred place in my heart?"
I remained outwardly impassive.
Inside...
That gave me pause.
Not because of what she'd admitted.
I'd already concluded Victoria was dangerously unstable.
No.
It was the implication.
Irving.
Snively.
Doc.
Collin Junior.
The Kintobor family tree had just become considerably more complicated.
So Victoria was related to them after all.
Distantly.
Far more distantly than Snively had implied.
But related nonetheless.
Doc never mentioned that branch of the family, I thought.
Or perhaps... he didn't know.
Given everything I'd learned over the past few weeks, either possibility seemed equally plausible.
Victoria looked back at Snively.
"So..."
She clasped her hands behind her back once more.
"Would you care to continue discussing family loyalty?"
Snively couldn't answer.
For perhaps the first time in his life...
The lawyer had no argument left.
-------
The silence that followed was almost beautiful.
Almost.
Three people stood before me.
One unable to speak because he had finally been confronted with his own hypocrisy.
One quietly processing just how many secrets had been uncovered in the span of a single day.
And one...
Well.
Victoria Pavlov was still Victoria Pavlov.
I stared between them for several seconds.
Then I felt it.
That familiar sensation.
The one I had buried beneath calculation.
The one I had kept restrained while dealing with soldiers, prisoners, and secrets.
A smile slowly crept across my face.
Not a cruel one.
Not exactly.
Just...
Amusement.
Because, honestly?
This was ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
I had expected a confrontation.
A battle.
A desperate struggle between enemies.
Instead, I had walked into a royal family argument where everyone involved seemed determined to reveal another layer of insanity every few minutes.
I let out a quiet laugh.
Snively immediately looked toward me.
His expression became even more nervous.
"What?"
I looked at him.
Then at Victoria.
Then at Lord Tower.
"I have to admit..."
I shook my head slightly.
"I am enjoying this far more than I should."
Nobody responded.
I continued anyway.
"Think about it."
I gestured vaguely around the throne room.
"I arrived expecting resistance."
I pointed toward Snively.
"Instead, I discovered a cowardly former lawyer who tried to throw everyone else under the carriage the moment consequences appeared."
Then toward Victoria.
"I discovered a ruler who willingly betrayed her own allies, apparently because watching the consequences unfold was more interesting."
Then toward Lord Tower.
"And a man who has spent years planning in the shadows only to end up standing here listening to everyone else's family problems."
Lord Tower's expression remained neutral.
Victoria, however, smiled.
"I do make things interesting."
"That is one way to describe it."
I folded my arms.
"Another would be deeply concerning."
She seemed pleased by that.
"Thank you."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"I know."
That somehow made it worse.
I sighed.
"Regardless..."
My expression became more serious.
"We have a problem."
Snively immediately tensed.
Lord Tower looked at me.
Victoria tilted her head.
"What problem?"
I glanced toward the two prisoners.
"These two."
Snively swallowed.
I ignored him.
"Both of them need to stand trial."
The room grew quieter.
"Terminus will decide what happens next."
I looked at Lord Tower.
"Your plans."
Then at Snively.
"Your crimes."
"Your involvement."
"Your secrets."
"All of it goes before a court."
Neither man argued.
Perhaps because they understood there was no point.
Perhaps because after everything today, even they recognized that being judged was better than whatever punishment they had imagined waiting for them.
I looked toward the palace doors.
Then back toward the prisoners.
There was a slight problem.
A very practical problem.
"I have one issue."
Victoria raised an eyebrow.
"I cannot carry both of them back."
A pause.
"Not because I couldn't."
I clarified.
"Because that would be unnecessarily inconvenient."
Snively looked offended.
"You were planning to carry us?"
I glanced at him.
"I was considering options."
That seemed to frighten him more.
I continued.
"Terminus is not exactly a short walk away."
I looked around the throne room.
"And after today, I am not particularly interested in spending several days traveling while dragging two prisoners behind me."
I turned my attention back to Victoria.
"So."
I gestured toward her.
"Do you have any ideas?"
For once, Victoria did not answer immediately.
She tapped a finger against her chin.
A thoughtful expression crossed her face.
It was honestly unsettling seeing her look normal for even a few seconds.
"Well..."
She glanced around the room.
"Getting to Terminus quickly would be preferable."
"Yes."
"Taking all of us would also be preferable."
I raised an eyebrow.
"All of us?"
She smiled.
"Naturally."
I stared at her.
"You are coming too?"
"Of course."
Her answer came instantly.
I waited.
She waited.
Neither of us explained.
Finally, I sighed.
"Why?"
Victoria's smile returned.
"Because this is where the interesting part begins."
Of course.
I should have expected that.
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Fine."
She turned away and walked toward one of the palace balconies.
"I'll need a moment."
"To do what?"
She looked over her shoulder.
"Call someone."
That was vague.
Too vague.
"Someone who can transport us?"
"Yes."
"Someone trustworthy?"
She paused.
Then smiled.
"That depends on your definition of trustworthy."
I stared at her.
"That answer concerns me."
"It should."
At least she was honest.
Victoria stepped onto the balcony.
The afternoon wind moved through the palace, carrying away the last traces of smoke from the battlefield beyond.
For the first time in what felt like hours...
Everything was quiet.
Snively remained silent.
Lord Tower watched the horizon.
And I stood there wondering exactly what kind of person Victoria Pavlov considered a reasonable choice for transportation.
Knowing her...
I suspected I was about to find out.
She lifted one hand.
And waited.
"It'll take a moment," she said calmly.
Then she smiled.
"But I'll make the call."
I looked toward the sky.
I had dealt with armies.
Ancient weapons.
Impossible powers.
And secrets buried for generations.
Yet somehow...
I had a feeling this might be the strangest part of the entire day.
Because with Victoria Pavlov involved...
Nothing was ever simply transportation.
-------
Victoria disappeared onto the balcony, leaving the rest of us in the throne room.
For once...
I had a moment to think.
And that was perhaps the most dangerous thing that could happen.
Because Victoria Pavlov was a problem.
Not because she was weak.
Not because she lacked intelligence.
If anything, that was exactly why she was dangerous.
She was brilliant.
Observant.
Capable of seeing patterns most people missed.
But there was something broken in the way she looked at the world.
She didn't fear destruction.
She admired it.
She didn't see chaos as something to avoid.
She saw it as something beautiful.
And that made her unpredictable.
Unpredictable people were difficult to rule.
Difficult to negotiate with.
Difficult to trust.
I glanced toward the balcony where she was making her mysterious call.
The strange part was...
I didn't dislike her.
Not entirely.
She was fascinating in the same way a storm was fascinating.
You could stand there and admire the lightning.
You could appreciate the power.
You could even understand why people found it beautiful.
But that didn't mean you stood in the middle of the storm and assumed you would be safe.
Victoria was a storm wearing a crown.
And storms eventually had to be dealt with.
The question was when.
Not today.
Today she was useful.
Today she had information.
Today she had connections that could save time and effort.
Removing a piece from the board too early was foolish.
Even I understood that.
A ruler who acted purely on emotion was not a ruler.
They were simply someone with power and poor judgment.
I had already seen enough examples of that.
My thoughts drifted elsewhere.
To the future.
To the day when I would no longer be forced to navigate around the expectations of others.
To the day when I would finally have the authority to make my own decisions without needing permission.
Eighteen.
A number that still felt strangely distant despite how quickly time moved.
There were many things that would change then.
Many things that would be decided.
Many people who believed they understood where the world was going.
They didn't.
Nobody ever did.
The future belonged to whoever was prepared for it.
I looked back toward Victoria.
For now...
She remained useful.
For now...
She remained an ally.
But usefulness and trust were not the same thing.
That was a lesson I had learned repeatedly.
Someone could stand beside you today and become a threat tomorrow.
Someone could help you achieve your goals and still be incapable of standing with you afterward.
Victoria Pavlov was one of those people.
A valuable piece.
A dangerous piece.
A piece that required watching.
Carefully.
I heard footsteps approaching from the balcony.
Victoria returned wearing the same impossible smile as before.
"Everything is arranged."
I stared at her.
"That quickly?"
She shrugged.
"I have my methods."
That answer somehow explained nothing and everything.
I sighed quietly.
Of course she did.
The guards, the prisoners, the court, the journey back to Terminus...
All of it was moving forward.
Another chapter.
Another step.
Another piece falling into place.
And as I followed Victoria toward whatever strange solution she had created, one thought remained clear.
Some people were enemies because they opposed you.
Others were enemies because they were impossible to predict.
Victoria Pavlov belonged to the second category.
And those were often the ones you had to be most careful with.
Eh, I'll just get rid of her the same time I get rid of Ciara and frame it as an assassination or an accident or some other shit.
I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
-------
Of course, far away from the political struggles of kingdoms and the ambitions of those fighting over the surface world, something else was already moving.
Deep beneath the ocean.
Buried beneath layers of ancient stone and forgotten ruins.
Almost hidden from the world above.
There was a glow.
A faint, unnatural light cutting through the darkness.
Not the warm shimmer of something alive.
Not the comforting glow of something meant to guide.
It was colder than that.
Older.
The kind of light that seemed less like an object shining and more like something waiting.
Almost underwater, resting among the remains of a civilization long since abandoned, there was an all too familiar gem.
A sickly green crystal.
One of the Anarchy Beryls.
For countless years it had remained untouched.
Forgotten by kings.
Ignored by explorers.
Lost beneath the endless movement of the seas.
Entire generations had passed without knowing it existed.
Wars had been fought.
Empires had risen and fallen.
Heroes had been celebrated.
Villains had been defeated.
And through it all, the gem had simply waited.
Patient.
Silent.
Unaware of the world around it.
Until now.
A shadow moved through the darkness.
The water shifted.
Ancient dust and sand drifted upward as someone approached the forgotten chamber.
The Augur of Apollos had found it.
The first of seven.
He stood before the crystal without excitement.
Without triumph.
Without the satisfaction most people would have felt after discovering something so rare.
There was no celebration.
No sense of victory.
Only confirmation.
Another step completed.
Another requirement fulfilled.
The green glow reflected against his armor as he reached toward the gem.
For a moment, the chamber remained completely still.
The ocean above continued moving.
Waves crashed against distant shores.
Life continued in places that would never know what had happened here.
But beneath the surface, something had changed.
A piece of a greater design had been recovered.
The first piece.
The Augur carefully lifted the Anarchy Beryl from its resting place.
The ancient gem illuminated his expression, revealing only the same calm certainty that had guided him this far.
One down.
Six remaining.
Seven were required.
Seven would be gathered.
And once the final piece was in his possession, the Occultation Cannon would no longer be an abandoned relic drifting through space.
It would become what it was created to be.
A choice.
A final decision.
A conclusion.
The Augur turned away from the ruined chamber, carrying the green crystal with him as the darkness slowly reclaimed the place where it had rested for centuries.
The world above continued unaware.
Still laughing.
Still fighting.
Still believing tomorrow was guaranteed.
But the countdown had already begun.