Chapter 706: Et Tu, Uncle?

Tiberon Drakenfell sat in his chair the way mountains sit on continents. His eyes moved to Voidfang, unhurried, because a king whose reaction time is slow is a king whose authority cannot be destabilized, and that was exactly what Voidfang was trying to do.

Tiberon said nothing, holding Voidfang’s gaze with the same immovable silence he had maintained since Serena walked through the doors. The silence was a fortress with its drawbridge up and its walls fully staffed, and the siege was welcome to continue for as long as the besiegers found it entertaining.

Voidfang broke the silence first. "The council is owed a response, Drakenfell. Your silence on this matter is itself a statement, and the statement is ambiguous. Ambiguity at a war council is a luxury we cannot afford."

"Alpha Voidfang." Serena’s voice cut across the table before Tiberon’s silence could be interpreted further. "The question was directed at King Drakenfell. I will save him the trouble of answering it because the answer is mine to give."

She looked at Voidfang with green eyes that were giving the room nothing except attention.

"My relationship with Drakenfell and my relationship with Shadowclaw are separate. The authority I carry tonight is Shadowclaw’s. The voice I carry tonight is Shadowclaw’s. If this council has concerns about Drakenfell’s position on my representation, I invite you to raise those concerns with King Drakenfell at a time that is convenient for him. Tonight, I speak for one kingdom and one kingdom only, and that kingdom was attacked last night and I am here to address it."

Voidfang opened his mouth.

Serena held up one finger and continued without raising her volume. Voidfang’s mouth shut.

"If any Alpha at this table believes that a woman holding two titles is more dangerous than the enemy that attacked eight kingdoms simultaneously last night, then this council’s priorities require recalibration, and I say that with the respect this table is owed."

The mouth closed.

Alpha Frostwyrm leaned back in his chair. His cold eyes moved from Serena to the table with the calculating patience of a man whose next move had been assembled during the last three exchanges and was ready for deployment.

"The dual allegiance question can be tabled for now. The more pressing matter remains the authority itself." He looked around the room. "I propose a vote. Whether the council accepts Shadowclaw’s delegation as presented or requires the Alpha King’s direct attendance before Shadowclaw holds its seat."

Heads shifted. The shifting was the shifting of kings whose positions were forming in real time and whose formations were visible in the angles of their spines and the placement of their hands.

"I will hear the vote," Alpha Blackvein said, his blunt voice cutting through the murmur like a hammer through a window. His patience for process was finite, and the finite was approaching zero.

The vote moved around the table.

Bloodmoon. "Accept. We have a war to discuss and the woman is already sitting. Move forward."

Darkhowler. Garrett’s voice was steady, carrying the weight of a king whose loyalty to the woman in that chair predated every alliance in this room. "Accept."

Ashbound. "Accept, with the notation that the dual allegiance question is revisited at a future session."

Valegrave. "Accept. If Shadowclaw was breached, they have intelligence. I don’t care who is sitting in that seat."

Hollowcrown. "Reject. The chair belongs to the Alpha. Send the Beta or vacate."

Dawnreaver. "Reject. Precedent matters. Even during war."

Voidfang. "Reject."

Grimward. "Accept." The word left his mouth with quiet caution. His predecessor’s treason months ago with Viremont had made his own loyalty a currency he spent carefully.

Stonehowl. "Accept, and I would like it noted that this has been the most entertaining fifteen minutes of my political career."

Alpha Moonrend gave a single nod. "Accept. This table has bigger issues. A woman sitting on two thrones is not why we are here. Everyone is already aware that Shadowclaw and Drakenfell are aligned." Some of the Alphas looked surprised by this. Moonrend waved a dismissive hand and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come off it. We all knew that. You are lying if you say you didn’t. Shadowclaw nearly killed Viremont for laying hands on the girl at the war summit months ago. Every Master Mage in this room saw her working alongside Shadowclaw’s Master Mage. Shadowclaw’s delegation was in and out of Drakenfell’s tent. If you are going to sit there and pretend you missed all of that, you are either blind or you are insulting this table, and I do not believe anyone here is blind."

Tiberon remained still. A lesser king would have confirmed it. A weaker one would have denied it. Tiberon did neither, because both options gave the room something to work with, and Tiberon did not give rooms things to work with. He let them guess. Guessing kept people cautious, and cautious people made fewer moves.

The count continued. Each name producing a position. Each position landing on the table and staying there.

Nightspire.

Nightspire’s green eyes swept the table once. His neutrality was his most valuable asset, and the asset was about to be spent.

"Reject."

One word. Delivered with the composed, professional detachment of a sovereign casting a vote based on procedural grounds and zero personal investment. Carrying zero evidence of the father underneath the king. A father who, at this moment, Serena still believed was her uncle, because she hadn’t stopped long enough to consider an alternative, and she had no idea he had given his blood to save her life.

That was unexpected. Serena’s face gave the room nothing. But she’d be lying if she said it didn’t sting. There was something she was missing because Riven Nightspire did nothing without a reason. She understood that voting for her would signal an alliance between Nightspire and Shadowclaw. The thing she didn’t understand was he had already claimed her as his niece months ago in front of every Alpha present. It was already implied that he had an alliance with Shadowclaw the moment she entered.

Every head turned to Tiberon Drakenfell.