CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE (35)
The war chamber filled quickly.
Ancient maps covered the massive oak table.
Every officer present rose the moment Prince Damiel entered.
They bowed deeply.
Damiel took the seat at the head of the table.
His silver eyes swept across every face.
He studied each expression carefully, as he ran through each minds.
Curiosity.
Confusion.
Concern.
Nothing more.
"You all have questions, don't you?" he began.
As they all nodded curiously.
General Varos spoke earnestly on their behalf.
"We do, Commander."
Damiel folded his hands before him.
The room was silent.
"The creature has declared war."
Murmurs immediately spread through the chamber.
Damiel continued.
"And it has already chosen the battlefield."
Every eye fixed on him.
"The Heart of Avalon."
The whispers erupted louder this time.
"The capital of Avalon?"
"Is it insane?"
"That's where the Royal Army is stationed."
"The strongest demons in the realm..."
Roan was the first to restore order.
He looked at Damiel.
"You know what it is."
The room quieted once more.
"Earlier..." Roan continued.
"You said this had always been a battle between demons."
"What did you mean?"
Damiel's gaze swept around the room again.
Watching.
Measuring.
Searching for even the smallest reaction, as he read their minds looking for an opening or signs of betrayal.
He found none.
Only genuine curiosity, eagerly waiting to be filled.
"I believe..."
"...it is a fallen angel, a real ancient demon."
The room erupted into stunned gasps.
A fallen angel, an ancient demon, A real one.
The title alone carried the weight of history.
Among demonkind, the first demons—the ones said to have fallen from the heaven at the dawn of their race—were spoken of only in legends. Whether every tale was true no one could say, but they were revered as the ancestors of all demons.
Over the centuries, the meaning of ancient demon had changed. To the younger generations, it no longer referred only to those first fallen beings. It had become a name for the oldest of their kind now, the ones who were here before they were born and still is.
Some believed the fallen angels had all perished.
Others claimed they had merely gone into an endless slumber after living for countless ages.
A few whispered that they had simply withdrawn, leaving the world for their descendants to rule.
Whatever the truth...
Not a single person in that chamber had ever laid eyes on one.
They knew ancient demons only through stories.
And every story ended the same way. Tragically.
They were beings that could never be taken lightly.
Kael leaned forward.
"How is it still here?"
"When did it awaken?"
"Where has it been all this time?"
"And why attack its own kind? Why now?"
Each question hung heavily in the room, as though he had asked the question everyone was curious about.
Damiel remained silent for a moment.
There were answers he possessed.
And answers he intended to keep to himself.
The shadow.
His dreams.
Reyna.
No.
Those secrets remained his alone.
"For now," he said evenly, "those questions can wait."
"What matters is our response."
His tone became sharper.
"Increase security around every perimeter."
"Demolish the abandoned warehouse completely."
"I don't want a single stone left standing."
"Triple patrols through every nearby village."
"Dawn."
"Noon."
"Night."
"We cannot assume its only objective is the capital."
General Varos bowed deeply.
"It will be done."
Damiel continued.
"My men and I will return to the Capital tomorrow at dawn."
"We'll remain until every defensive measure here has been completed."
The officers nodded.
"And one more thing."
His voice turned cold enough to freeze the room.
"Nothing that happened tonight leaves this chamber."
No one spoke.
"If word spreads that an ancient demon walks these lands..."
"...fear will become our enemy before that creature ever reaches the capital."
He looked at each of them in turn.
"Fear weakens armies."
"It clouds judgment."
"And it wins wars before they're ever fought."
Every officer struck a fist against his chest,as an oath of secrecy.
"Yes, Commander."
Damiel rose from his chair.
"You're all dismissed, except for Roan, Kael and Zaiel."
The officers filed out in silence.
Soon, only Kael, Roan, Zaiel and Damiel remained.
Damiel's gaze rested on the three of them.
He didn't need to read their minds.
The guilt was written plainly across their faces, as they all lowered their heads their eyes staring intently at the floor.
For a brief moment, the crimson-eyed creature's words echoed in his thoughts.
''You have remarkably loyal comrades. It almost makes me envious.''
His expression remained unreadable.
"I'm not blind to your unwavering resolve, and loyalty towards me."
The three looked up.
"I know better than anyone that you fought the hardest to recover from that attack."
His silver eyes lingered on each of them.
"I also know how badly you wanted to stand beside me in battle..."
"...instead of being forced to your knees behind me."
Silence settled over the room.
"The enemy stole that chance from you."
"Don't let it happen again."
His voice remained calm.
Cold.
"The next time you fall..."
"...make sure it's beside me."
"...and make sure an enemy falls with you."
"Not before the battle has even begun."
The three remained silent.
Damiel turned away before adding one final sentence.
"The men closest to me are expected to be different from the rest."
"Prove that you are."
For a long moment, no one spoke.
It wasn't praise.
It wasn't comfort.
Yet it was the closest Prince Damiel had ever come to either.
The weight pressing against their chests eased.
Roan straightened first.
Kael's grip on his sword tightened with renewed resolve.
Zaiel bowed his head deeply.
"We won't disappoint you again, Commander." They thundered in unison.
Damiel gave a single nod.
"See that you don't."
Damiel looked toward the eastern window, where the morning sun had fully risen.
"Prepare everything."
His voice was calm.
"We leave at dawn tomorrow."
Kael and Roan bowed without hesitation.
"Yes, Commander."
As they departed, Damiel remained alone in the war chamber.
His gaze drifted toward the distant south.
Toward the Heart of Avalon.
Again...
He wasn't worried about the kingdom.
He wasn't worried about the coming war.
His thoughts settled on a single human girl sleeping peacefully in the room he had just left, with one question in mind.
Key...
And what does this key unlock?