CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
King Eldron's fingers tightened against the armrest.
"What does it want?"
"Something it believes is here, within Avalon."
"Did you ask what?"
"It didn't give me an answer I could use."
Damiel's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
Damiel wasn't stupid enough to tell them everything that had happened on the battlefield,he would keep those to himself.
An elder slowly shook his head.
"This is beyond anything we have faced in generations."
"This is beyond anything we've face ever", another general said.
"I mean we've never been attacked by any forces like this, or even come close to this." he continued, as others agree
"Then we will adapt," Damiel replied.
His tone was final.
"We have no time to waste mourning the fact that our enemy is dangerous, much more powerful than us."
He turned toward the council.
"What do you need?" King Eldron asked.
"First, I want a complete record of everyone who entered the capital while I was away. Nobles, soldiers, merchants, visitors, servants. Everyone."
One of the generals nodded.
"Of course, Commander."
"I will personally interrogate anyone who requires it."
Damiel's eyes hardened.
"The creature can manipulate minds. Until we understand the limits of its influence, no one is beyond suspicion, no one is to be trusted."
He paused.
"Second, no word of this leaves this room."
A council member looked uneasy.
"Commander, surely the people should be warned—"
"No."
The single word cut through the hall.
"Panic will weaken the capital faster than the enemy can. Until we understand what we're facing, the public will hear nothing."
King Eldron watched him closely, then spoke.
"If the Fallen Angel attacks today, do we stand a chance?" King Eldron asked.
Damiel answered without hesitation.
"No."
Several faces went pale.
He did not soften the truth.
He had witnessed the creature's power firsthand. He had seen what it could do to an entire battlefield, how effortlessly it could turn warriors into obedient puppets, how he could neutralize an entire battlefield by using their minds against them.
Against such an enemy, courage alone would accomplish nothing.
"We cannot defeat it with our current knowledge. Not today. Not through brute force."
"And yet you believe it will not attack immediately?" King Eldron asked.
"I believe it has no reason to waste its advantage."
Damiel folded his hands on the table.
"It wants something. If it destroys the capital before obtaining it, it risks destroying whatever it came here for."
His eyes narrowed.
"It is powerful, not stupid."
King Eldron remained silent for a moment.
"Then what do you suggest?"
"We find another way around it. We investigate the barrier, its control over the werewolves, and the reason it chose to reveal itself to me instead of just infiltrating here and taking whatever it is he wanted."
He paused.
"And we find whoever is helping it."
The words drew the attention of everyone in the hall.
"Helping it?" an elder asked.
"Someone may be assisting it willingly. Or their mind may have been manipulated. Either way, someone could already be inside our walls, carrying out its orders without even understanding what they're doing."
Damiel's gaze turned cold.
"I intend to find out which."
King Eldron studied his youngest son.
He frowned visibly, he understood the difference between fighting an army they knew and fighting something that had survived the ages and still have little to no knowledge about the extent of it's power.
"An ancient being doesn't need numbers to destroy us," Damiel said. "And I will not make the mistake of underestimating it."
King Eldron slowly nodded.
"Very well."
He looked around the hall.
"This meeting is concluded. Everyone may leave, except Prince Damiel"
Chairs scrape against the floor.
The generals and elders bowed before departing.
Queen Alvira rose, followed by Arkes and Vaelor. The three left with hesitation.
When the doors finally closed, only King Eldron, Damiel, and his three men remained.
Damiel turned toward Kael.
"Stand outside. No one enters, and make sure no one listens at the door."
Kael nodded immediately.
Roan and Zaiel followed.
"Yes, Commander."
The three men left.
The doors closed behind them.
Father and son were alone.
King Eldron remained seated.
For a while, he simply watched Damiel.
Then he spoke.
"What does the Fallen Angel truly want?"
"I don't know."
"And even if I did, I wouldn't hand it over."
The king's brow furrowed.
"Why not? We might avoid a war altogether."
Damiel's expression remained unreadable.
"I don't know the exact nature of its desire. But it is willing to wage war against its own kind to obtain it. Whatever it wants, it isn't something we can simply hand over."
Eldron leaned back, it makes sense.
"Then it must have a plan. No creature would openly infiltrate a kingdom without a plan, no matter how powerful or smart they are."
"I agree."
Damiel glanced toward the closed doors.
"And someone is helping it. I intend to find that person."
"Whether they serve it willingly or have been manipulated?"
"Either way, they will answer for what they've done."
King Eldron gave a slow nod.
"Report back if anything comes up, anything at all, I want to be actively involved in every step of this, You may leave."
Damiel nodded, as he rose.
He had almost reached the door when his father spoke again.
"And one more thing, Damiel."
He stopped but did not turn.
"Be careful."
A brief silence followed.
"Not because I care," Eldron added coldly. "The war affairs of this entire kingdom are run by you. You cannot afford to become vulnerable or careless."
Damiel remained still for a moment, he wasn't expecting a fatherly words of advice or anything else,he gave up on that long ago, so he wasn't disappointed.
Then he slightly looked back.
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
He left.
Outside, Kael, Roan, and Zaiel were waiting.
Queen Alvira and her sons had not gone far. They stood at the opposite end of the corridor, their conversation ceasing the moment Damiel emerged.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Of course, they needed to know everything, at all times.
He wondered what they intended to do with the information. Whatever the relevance or importance of the information, it would be wasted in their hands.
That was simply who they were.
Pathetic.
Damiel walked out fully closing the door behind him.
The moment Kael noticed him, he straightened.
Roan and Zaiel turned as well.
Damiel did not spare the Queen or her sons a glance.
"Come."
His men immediately followed.
No questions.
No hesitation.
Behind them, Queen Alvira's expression hardened, as they walked into the hall, probably to ask for more information.
If they wanted answers so badly, they could learn to make themselves useful enough to deserve them.
He had far more important matters to attend to.
The palace dungeons awaited.
Every person who had entered the capital during his absence would be investigated. Every suspicious movement would be examined. Every possible connection to the Fallen Angel would be uncovered.
And if someone within Avalon had chosen to betray their kingdom—
Damiel would make them regret the day they were born.
As they descended the corridor, his thoughts shifted briefly.
Reyna.
Had she returned to her quarters?
Had she actually rested, as he had ordered?
Or had she found another way to exhaust herself trying to be useful?
His expression darkened.
That girl had a remarkable talent for testing his patience.
His gaze shifted toward Zaiel, who was walking a step beside him.
There was something about this demon that made Damiel feel he could trust him.
The feeling was unusual.
Damiel did not trust easily. He had spent years learning to distinguish loyalty from obedience and sincerity from carefully disguised ambition. Most people revealed their intentions eventually, whether through their words, their actions, or the mistakes they made when they believed no one was watching.
Yet Zaiel was different.
The vision he had witnessed in the north, the one involving the shadow in his vision, had shown him only strengthened his suspicions, that he could trust him, but....
Who exactly was Zaiel?
And why did Damiel have the unsettling feeling that the man had deliberately sought him out?
For now, he would keep his suspicions to himself,and observe the young demon.
After all, there was a difference between suspecting someone and having proof.
And Damiel never acted without knowing where to strike.