Chapter 115: You heard my men
Caspian threatened them and he meant every word. "I will not just burn your palace. I will tear the mountain from its roots and bury your entire lineage under the boiling magma of my blood." He barked a laugh. "Try your spirits, white rat. See if they can breathe under magma when I flood this valley with fire."
Kulu’s feathers rustled sharply, a low, metallic hiss leaving their tips as the feathers sharpened into steel and scraped together, ready to launch. He didn’t need to speak; the raw, violent aura radiating from his wings told the elders exactly how many heads would roll the second Hana gave the word.
Raiden stood right beside Caspian’s side, his nine pink tails swaying with a feral, dangerous pride that completely erased the old, submissive fear his mother had instilled in him.
He would not stand back and hide while the other two manifested their dangerous sides in an attempt to protect Hana from any threat.
Hearing Hana call him her man twice, and hearing her state with absolute certainty that she would birth his child, had flipped a switch inside his core.
If the Crimson Court wanted to reclaim him, they were going to have to go through his dead body because there was no way he was going with them alive. But even in death, he knew his body belonged to Hana.
"You’re old, old man," Raiden said, his voice smooth but dripping with a cold, mocking venom that shocked the elders on the platforms. "We didn’t come here to listen to your orders and bow our heads in submission. No, that’s not how it works when Hana’s involved." He smirked. "We’re here to tell you how it’s going to be from now on, so open those ears and listen carefully."
Lord Kaelen did not flinch, but his pristine white fur seemed to bristle, a low, dangerous vibration humming in the air around his stone throne.
No one in the history of the Eleven Spires had ever stepped into this hall to dictate terms to him, let alone a rogue grandson flanked by a furious dragon and a pregnant human.
The six elders on the platforms leaned forward, their claws sliding out of their fingertips, scraping against the granite seats.
They looked at the crater Caspian’s tail had just smashed into the floor, then at Kulu’s razor-sharp, steel-like feathers, silently checking the parameters of the threat. The dragon wasn’t bluffing about the magma, and the bird was already locked onto their vitals.
Hana gently tapped Caspian’s solid lower back, a silent command for him to shift slightly so she could maintain a direct line of sight with the throne.
Caspian rumbled low in his throat but complied, stepping half an inch to the side while keeping his chest locked in an aggressive posture.
Hana looked up at Lord Kaelen, her face entirely deadpan.
"You heard my men," Hana said, her voice cutting through the heavy, suffocating pressure with a clinical chill. "We didn’t hike down this mountain to fill out your lineage ledger. I came here to audit this sector. Those two iron structures out in your yard belong to my layout, and since you’ve spent generations picking at the scraps of their shells just to forge your spears, you already know you don’t have the capability to open them."
She tilted her head slightly.
"I know exactly how your operations run," she continued flatly. "You let people rot when they aren’t useful, and you hoard them the second you think you can profit. But I am the one holding the terminal keys to those shrines you worship. You can try your ancestral illusions if you want to gamble, but I guarantee my fallback protocols will wipe this courtyard clean before you can even blink."
The system interface in the corner of her vision gave a sharp, steady blink, updating her progress bar by a small, realistic fraction.
> [QUEST PROGRESS: 50%]
> Current Objective: Outmaneuver the Sovereign’s Ancestral Claim. Secure entry into the inner sanctum.
Great, the progress is rising steadily. I’m halfway there. Hana thought.
Celene opened her mouth to screech another insult, her eleven red tails thrashing against the white stone pillars, but Lord Kaelen raised a single, sharp claw.
The entire room went instantly frozen.
The High Sovereign stared at Hana for several long seconds, his predatory eyes tracking the absolute lack of fear in her posture.
THere was just so much confidence coming from her when she was so vulnerable and weak. And it didn’t seem like she was relying on her mates to speak so confidently. Then where did that confidence come from? And just how does she know about their sacred shrines?
Yes, they had not been able to open it but it didn’t mean a complete nobody from the lower ridges would know how to either.
Even his great grandfather and all the powerful elders back then could not open it. She had no claws, no magic, nothing.
She was bluffing. A weakling simply trying to test her luck.
But... this could be to her advantage.
"You speak with immense pride, human," Lord Kaelen said, his deep baritone slowing down, becoming heavy and transactional. "You claim the holy shrines as your own ledger. If you truly hold the key to the iron walls that our claws could never scratch... then the Crimson Court can adjust its calculations."
He leaned back into his carved throne, his red-tipped tails settling into a tight, observant fan.
"Let us see if your authority matches the weight of your threats. The spires will grant you passage to the secondary court for the night. Tomorrow, you will show me if you can make the ancestral steel open for your contract. If you fail... You shall revoke the bond and the mark of Raiden etched on your back, leave and never return," he glared, his eyes flaring a crimson color. "Your dragon’s fire will not save Raiden from his bloodright."
Hana smirked. They were trying to make a bet with her? How naive. She was the queen of bets. But since they were so confident, why lose out?
"Fair enough." She said, "And here’s my side of the bargain. If I manage to open the shrines, Raiden and everything inside will belong to me and you will do nothing to stop me. Do we have a deal?"
Lord Kaelen narrowed his eyes. The human was bargaining with him now, trying to strike a deal. Just where was this confidence coming from?
No matter. This way, she can only blame her foolishness for not knowing any better. The ancestral shrine was not a simple scrap of metal and was by no means meant to be opened by the weak.
"Deal!" Lord Kaelen said and then Raiden added out of nowhere.
"Swear it by your tails." Raiden suddenly declared.
