Chains bit into my wrists as I struggled to find a comfortable kneeling position. A single guard stood beside me, impassive, dressed in a pin uniform and a rifle he held, barrel listlessness pointed at me.

  The nobles above me sat in a half-circle of raised seats, tiered like a theatre. The room itself felt like an altar to mockery - vaulted ceilings that drank up every word, cold marble soaked in silver-blue moonlight, and banners that draped like funeral cloths from the walls.

  Their robes were absurd. Scarlet and bck, with high colrs and golden sashes sewn into faux-military cuts. Old blood pretending at command.

  And every single one of them looked at me like I was a stain that needed scrubbing.

  Lord Arken Talvarien leaned forward, elbows on the stone rest in front of him. "Damian Solmere," he drawled, voice coiled with disdain. "Do you know what it is you've been accused of?"

  I smiled, slow and venomous. "The crime of not dying quietly, I assume."

  Murmurs flickered among the seated nobles. A few scowled. One of them - thin-faced, bald, probably a snake in human skin - sighed as if I'd inconvenienced him.

  "I should've expected that," Talvarien said ftly. "You commoners always think insolence is a substitute for nobility."

  "Better than thinking lineage is a substitute for spine."

  That got a reaction. A fist clenched. One of the nobles stood halfway up before another pced a calming hand on his shoulder.

  Talvarien raised a brow, mildly amused.

  "Insolence is not courage," he said. "Nor is it intelligence. You were caught breaking into the estate of a noble family. One connected to a recently deceased martyr, no less. And - how convenient - you were caught red-handed."

  "I was investigating a conspiracy," I said evenly, staring up at him. "One that ties certain noble families - like yours, perhaps - to the Eastern Empire. And to the tainted wine that nearly killed half the Hall of Inheritance."

  Silence swept through the chamber like a bde.

  "You're speaking madness," one noble hissed. "Baseless snder!"

  I didn't look at him. I kept my gaze locked on Talvarien. He replied in kind.

  "Under whose authority were you permitted to both investigate, and invade a Nobles house of residence?"

  I stared at him, keeping eye contact with him as much as possible. He didn't look intimidated, but that wasn't my goal.

  I hope you make the same face when there's a hole between your eyes.

  Finally, I spoke, watching as some Nobles seemed anxious to know who hired me.

  "Your mother."

  Suddenly, a strike hit my on my right cheek. I recoiled in pain, not expecting it fully as the but of the soldiers rifle dug into my skin.

  Fuck, that hurt more than I thought. Been a while since I've tasted my own blood.

  Without allowing Talvarien to speak, I continued.

  "I saw the letters. The falsified donations. The seal of the Phoenix. You might've burned the paper, but you've already buried yourselves."

  Talvarien steepled his fingers. "Fascinating. And where, pray tell, are these so-called letters?"

  A small smirk tugged at my mouth. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

  The guard beside me shifted slightly. I felt the change in the air - and the barrel now painted to the side of my head.

  "I'd suggest you think carefully, boy," Talvarien warned. "Your bravado won't hold back a lead bullet."

  "You think this is a checkmate?" I said, sharp as gss. "This is a pit you dug yourselves. You tried to collude with heretics for god knows what reason, and you failed. Now you're scrambling to cover it up."

  Another noble stood. "You have no right to-"

  "You watched the Empire rot from within and thought you could profit from its decay." My voice cut through his. "You sold out our blood to Eastern coin and wrapped yourselves in ritual and pretense like it would make your cowardice noble."

  The guard struck me again.

  The back of his hand caught my temple. I grunted, head whipping to the side.

  "Enough!" barked one of the judges.

  Talvarien let the moment breathe. He waited for the silence to crawl back in.

  "You're brave," he said finally. "But you're still a dog. We can offer mercy. Tell us where the letters are. We'll grant you a clean death."

  I spit.

  It struck the floor, far from its intended aim, but it had its intended effect.

  The second blow came fast - across the jaw this time. I fell to one side, chained hands unable to catch me. My vision blurred.

  Talvarien sighed. "Such a waste. He's too arrogant to save even himself."

  He looked to the other judges.

  "Any final objections?"

  None answered. Only nods, and cold silence.

  A gavel was lifted.

  "I hereby decre Damian Solmere guil-"

  ---

  Mary stood frozen behind a crack in the side chamber's gilded door.

  She wasn't supposed to be here. She had been told nothing. Only that her uncle needed to speak to her in private. That he needed her to see something.

  Now she knew why.

  Her hood was pulled low, but her eyes - those glowing, golden eyes - burned bright with rage and terror.

  Cassian stood beside her, his gloved hand gently but firmly on her shoulder.

  "You're going to let them do this?" she whispered, breathless.

  Cassian didn't speak. But his gaze was sharp, piercing. Focused solely on Damian.

  Mary looked up at him. "Say something. Please. He's protecting us - protecting the truth. I've told you everything, so please!"

  Damian had just refused to reveal the letters. Cassian listened in, seeing Damians reaction, and than his proceeding retort about the judges mother.

  He offered no reaction, even to Damian getting struck. He even had to hold Mary in pce, as rage burned in her eyes, the intensity growing in the seconds.

  But after hearing Damian choose silence over a quick death, Cassian's brow lifted, just slightly. His lips pressed together, and for a fleeting moment…

  A smile.

  Small. Subtle.

  But it was there.

  Mary didn't understand. Her fists clenched, and her breath grew faster as the sentencing approached.

  "I'm not going to let them kill him," she whispered.

  Cassian's hand gripped her shoulder - firm, unmoving.

  "Wait," he said softly.

  Her vision blurred with tears.

  "They're going to sentence him!"

  ---

  The gavel lifted again.

  "Then by the authority of-"

  The doors smmed open.

  Cassian entered like a scythe through wheat.

  The room stilled.

  He walked slowly, alone, his stride effortless and calm, eyes scanning the nobles like a professor inspecting insects beneath gss.

  Mary stepped out behind him, silent. Her hood was down now, her golden eyes alight with fury, her gaze darting between Damian and the Judges.

  Talvarien jolted to his feet. "Lord Regent - what is the meaning of this?"

  Cassian didn't respond.

  He walked directly to the center of the chamber, his boots echoing on stone. He stopped before Damian, looking down at him - not with pity. Not with softness.

  With pride.

  Damian raised his bruised head, forcing a half-grin through cracked lips. "Took your time."

  Cassian spoke, finally.

  "This proceeding," he said, "is nullified."

  Talvarien's face flushed. "You do not have authority-"

  "I have all the authority I need."

  Cassian reached into his coat. Slowly. Deliberately.

  From the inner lining, he pulled a scroll.

  It bore the Imperial Seal.

  Golden wax. Unmistakable.

  Talvarien faltered. "That's…"

  "A direct decree from the Inner Throne," Cassian said. "Authorizing emergency intervention in the event of foreign sabotage."

  Mary ran to Damian's side, falling to her knees.

  She ignored the guard. Ignored the nobles.

  Her hands glowed soft gold as she pressed them to Damian's side, beginning the slow work of healing.

  The guard looked to Cassian in confusion.

  "Stand down," Cassian said.

  The man hesitated, but obeyed.

  Talvarien stood shaking.

  Cassian turned to him slowly.

  "Now… tell me. What is this little fiasco all about?"