The pixie threw the door open and disappeared inside. Xanthy was greeted with a round table and more armored people sitting in chairs the moment she stepped foot into the room. Various weapons littered the tabletop while some armored pixies even played with theirs. Panic gripped Xanthy's throat. Would they skewer Xanthy and June? Was that why they're here?

"This is the Holy Council," Canelis strode to an empty chair and settled on it. Her sword joined its cousins atop the table. She flicked her gaze in Xanthy's direction. "State your proposition."

"Huh?" Xanthy's eyes flitted at the faces of men and women who stared at her like she was a prized fowl. "What proposition?"

"Who is this?" a man wearing red armor spoke, his voice almost shaking the entire room with how loud it was. "Are we going to waste valuable sun-hours listening to her?"

"Xanthiene," Canelis turned to her having blatantly ignored Red Armor's sentiment. "What are you saying to me back in the corridors?"

A bead of sweat dropped from Xanthy's brow. Her palms turned clammy. Why was she nervous? These were just people! Yeah, but they can chew you alive if you made a mistake, the reasonable part of her brain argued.

Screw it.

Xanthy cleared her throat free from the lump growing in it. "Um, I know who did this to your city and I intend to avenge you," she clasped her hands together in front of her and resisted the urge to bounce with the balls of her feet. "All I ask is a few provisions as we go along the journey."

A hand slammed into the table making Xanthy jump as well as the weapons on the table. A woman wearing copper-tinged armor stood up, her chair making scratching noises as it slid backwards. "Avenge us? The Riogener and Renagener couldn't do that. What makes you think you can" her tangled pendants bounced against her chest, filling the room with the sound of beads clinking against metal. She scoffed. "Provisions? You've got a thick nose even after you've seen how we live in these tunnels."

"General Slynn, sit down," Canelis twined her fingers with her elbows propped against the table. "It's disrespectful to leave a council seat before the Crown General. I'm sure the Riogener will agree to that."

The woman huffed before plopping back down her seat. Xanthy pursed her lips. "I know you don't think much of me," she crossed her arms, looking mostly at Canelis for a sense of false comfort. "But what do you think of the Virtakios? The one the Death Knight just announced across the islands?"

"Do you know him?" a man wearing a green armor seated beside Copper Armor woman asked. His dark eyes bored into Xanthy's whole being. "Perhaps he could save us with his mighty and unknown powers."

Xanthy bit her lip. "I'm the Virtakios."

The Council blinked almost as one. Also as one, they burst into laughter. Were they hysterical because they felt relieved?

A man wearing purple armor beside Canelis slapped the table while wiping his eyes as laughter shook his shoulders. "That's the most ridiculous jest I've heard in all my years in the Riogener's Court," he straightened and looked Xanthy up and down. "Where'd you get the courage, girl? We all need it."

Xanthy crossed her arms. What's their deal? Earlier they were asking if she was qualified and now they were laughing because she revealed that she's the Virtakios. She removed her trailcloaker and cleared her throat. "Look again," she growled. "Tell me what you see."

The entire Council went silent. Canelis's jaw dropped. Xanthy savored their reactions as she slipped the pendant around her neck once more. Good. "I'm going to Lanteglos to argue your case before the Death Knight and probably serve the Heiress justice."

"Are you sure it's really the Death Knight?" a woman wearing golden armor seated to Canelis's right asked with her deep yet scratchy voice.

"It's not," June stepped forward. "I know the Death Knight's tactics. This isn't him. He wouldn't voice his existence to the whole world. He'd rather stay hidden than let the whole island know he hadn't faded over the years."

"Who's this half-blood?" The nearest man with blue armor turned from his chair to get a good look at them. "Why do you know so much about the Death Knight? Are you an idealist?"

June smiled and scratched his head. "You could say that."

Xanthy filed another item in her list—June knows too much about the Death Knight because he's an idealist.

"The Virtakios," Gold Armor perked up by raising a finger. "What does the Death Knight want from you and where does Peltra's destruction come into play? Who is responsible for this? You said it's someone called the Heiress."

Xanthy sighed. Sooner or later, territories should be aware of the conspiracy brewing beneath their feet. She met Gold Armor's leveled gaze. "The Heiress is a woman who controls this huge empire under our noses," Xanthy spread her arms slightly. "She's after me and the thrones."

A collective gasp. All eyes turned to the sword that Canelis propped on the table. The Crown General's own face resembled a grim statue. "You mean this Heiress destroyed my kingdom, killed my people, and shamed our legacy for this cursed sword?"

It's a rhetorical question. Still, Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. "Cursed?"

"That is the Lifecatcher," Red Armor coughed into his fist. "It is a sword that never dulls and gives its owner superior abilities. As a price, it sucks the life out of its wielder and absorbs every soul it kills. These trapped souls howl and the wielder has to carry them towards the end of their lives."

"It can never part with me," Canelis's voice was almost a gust of wind that blows one moment only to be gone the next. "I tried throwing it to the river, burning it with soltare fire, but it will always come back to me. This is my curse, my privilege, and my death. It's a duty I have to carry as the next Renagener."

"Don't go ahead of yourself, Crown General," Purple Armor cocked his head to one side. "The Coronation won't happen until you pass both the Temple of Light and the Temple of Dark's tests."

"I know, General," Canelis nodded in the General's direction before turning to Xanthy once again. She gripped the sword's sheath with white knuckles. "So this sword is what she wants? She will have to kill me to get it."

"Or the Heiress is waiting for you to ally yourself to Cardovia," Xanthy's eyes widened. Perhaps that's why Cardovia attacked Peltra. "She'd strip you of everything so you'd be forced to see her strength and finally acknowledge her as your ruler. She knew the Pixies wouldn't bow to anyone so she made sure she's someone in your eyes."

Canelis folded her hands together. "It worked quite well," she pursed her lips until her mouth was just a thin, crimson line. "The Heiress, before she rained fire on us, asked the Riogener to surrender. He refused. True enough, our kingdom ended in ember."

"But what the Heiress didn't see was that the Virtakios wouldn't be allied to her," Canelis bared her teeth like a feral beast. "Instead, the Virtakios builds armies of her own."

Xanthy's blood ran cold. "Armies? Me?" She shook her head. "You're mistaken. I'm not looking for warriors. I'm just trying to warn you."

Canelis put a hand to her chest. "You'll have our allegiance, nonetheless," she dipped her head. "Anyone who shows kindness to a wounded soldier of Peltra is treated with honor. So, Xanthiene, call upon Peltra's grace and it shall be granted."

Xanthy chewed on her lip. "I was kinda hoping you'd come with me," she glanced at the other gathered Generals. "Maybe the High Queen will listen to us if there's an actual heir at her gates."

"No," Green Armor shook his head. "The High Queen is of no use to us at the moment. There's something fundamentally wrong with her."

"Like what?" Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. The Rekshais had been saying the same things back in the Temple of Souls.

"She's hardly at court anymore," the Gold Armor turned to Green Armor with a nod. "When we call upon her for kingdom-related issues, there's nothing on the other side of the line."

"No matter," Xanthy cleared her throat. There's only one way to deal with this, then. "I'll go there and confer with the High Queen herself. I was hoping the Crown General will help me gain an audience."

Canelis shook her head. "I'm needed here," she glanced at the rest of the Generals. "You'd have to go without my companionship. Though, for the record, the offer of allegiance still stands."

"I accept," Xanthy nodded. She wasn't really planning on using that alliance at all. It's rude to refuse. "You really can't go?"

"She can," the Gold Armor crossed her arms, her arm greaves clanging with her breastplate. "We can run the kingdom for a few days in her absence. She will go with you."

Canelis whirled to the General. "General Vadrona, if you please—"

"Shut it, Crown General," Vadrona narrowed her eyes at Canelis. The latter promptly fell back against her seat. "Until the title of Renagener is given to you, you're under our authority. I say she goes," she met the other General's gazes. "Generals of the Council, all in favor?"

All hands went up. Canelis's frown only went deeper. "General Vadrona, what are you thinking?" Canelis waved an arm vaguely at the air. "I am supervising a ton of processes here. I can't afford to vanish on my duties!"

"You forget your faithful Generals are here," Red Armor wagged a finger in Canelis's direction. A smile showed off his yellowish teeth. "That's the mistake your father made when he first took the title. He thinks he has to lead alone and shoulder the weight of the kingdom on his frail shoulders."

"I tell you, child," Red Armor blew a scratchy sigh as he leaned back against his chair. "It's a dangerous principle. It will destroy you like it destroyed him. He died thinking he was alone in this war. He failed to see he had a whole kingdom of an army who wouldn't miss the chance to lay their life for him."

"A king isn't a king because it's his birthright," Vadrona added. "He's a king because of the people around him. Friends, allies, subjects. That's what makes a king. Not riches, not title, and definitely not the crown," she inclined her head at the Crown General. "Do you get it, Canelis?"

"You don't have to lead alone," Purple Armor said. "Don't make the same mistake your father did. We're here to steer you out of that path. Go ahead and do the things rightful for your kingdom such as petitioning help from Lanteglos. The High Queen has to listen to us."

"We can handle the rehabilitation," Green Armor leaned his elbows against the table. "When you come back, Peltra will be good as new."

Canelis met each of her General's eyes. A silent understanding seemed to have passed between them. Finally, Canelis closed her eyes and sighed. "Very well," she turned to Xanthy. "I shall go with you to the Imperial City."

June shoved his fingers into his hair with a groan. "Gods of Calaris. This is going to be one hell of a journey."

Xanthy nodded with a snort. The last time June traveled with a passive-aggressive fairy, they came as close to tearing each other's limbs off. This was worse.

At least Reeca talked like an average fairy, lessening the things June might exploit with his jokes. Xanthy glanced at Canelis who started to stand up along with the rest of the Council. She rubbed her face with a sigh. This would be a very long journey indeed.