Chapter 77: The God Who Walked Into The Palace

[Imperial Palace — Throne Hall — The Next Morning]

The bells of Qashmar had been ringing since sunrise.

Their deep bronze voices rolled across the capital, passing over the crowded markets, the temples, the narrow streets, and the great ziggurats whose golden roofs caught the first light of dawn. The people already knew.

House Voss had fallen, but inside the Imperial Palace, there was no celebration.

The Throne Hall was silent.

Rows of imperial guards stood along the enormous pillars, their bronze armor polished beneath the morning light. Crimson banners bearing the emblem of the Red Wolf hung between the columns, replacing the older symbols that had once represented the fallen houses of Qashmar.

At the highest end of the hall stood the Imperial Throne, and upon it sat Kael Vaelric.

He wore the crimson robes of the Emperor, layered with dark ceremonial cloth embroidered in gold. The imperial crown rested upon his head, its sharp points catching the sunlight pouring through the high windows. His sword remained at his side.

His posture was relaxed, and his amber eyes were cold; before him stood the prisoners. The entire surviving leadership of House Voss had been brought into the throne hall under heavy guard.

The old Duke Voss stood at the front, his wrists bound in iron; beside him stood Cassian, his face pale, his expensive robes stained from the journey, and his pride stripped away along with the privileges of his house.

Behind them stood the other members of House Voss, and among them...Nora.

Her hands were bound as she stood silently with her head lowered. For several moments, Kael said nothing; he simply looked at them, and the silence became unbearable.

Cassian shifted uneasily; his father clenched his jaw. Nora remained still, and then Kael finally spoke.

"Raise your heads."

One by one, the members of House Voss looked toward the throne, and for the first time, they truly saw him as the Emperor.

Kael leaned slightly against the throne, his gaze settled upon the old Duke Voss. "So, this is the house that believed it could murder its emperor."

The old duke’s expression hardened.

"We did not—"

Kael raised one hand, and the old man immediately stopped. The entire hall seemed to hold its breath as Kael’s eyes remained fixed upon him.

"Be careful."

Two words, nothing more, yet the warning was enough. The old duke swallowed, and Kael looked toward Captain Cedric.

"Report."

Cedric stepped forward and bowed as he unrolled the imperial tablet he carried.

"Your Majesty, three assassins captured within the palace have confessed to receiving instructions through agents connected to House Voss. Payment records were recovered, correspondence between intermediaries and members of the Voss household was also discovered, and information concerning your movements within the Imperial Palace was found in their possession."

A murmur moved through the hall.

Kael remained expressionless. Cedric continued as he lowered the perchment. "The evidence has been verified. House Voss was behind the attempts on Your Majesty’s life."

Silence.

Kael looked back at the prisoners. "Did any of you wish to deny it?"

No one answered.

Cassian’s breathing became heavier; the old Duke Voss finally spoke. "Your Majesty, House Voss has served Qashmar for generations."

Kael’s expression did not change.

"I did not ask how long you served Qashmar."

The old duke fell silent, and Kael slowly rose from the throne; the sound of his boots against the stone floor echoed through the hall as he descended the steps.

Every Imperial Knight straightened. Kael stopped several paces before House Voss, and his eyes moved across them.

"You served this Empire, and yet when the previous Emperor died, you refused to accept the decision of the spirits."

He took another step.

"You questioned my claim, you spread dissent, and when that failed...you sent assassins into my palace."

Cassian clenched his fists as Kael looked directly at him. "Was it you?"

Cassian’s lips parted. "Your Majesty..."

Kael waited, but Cassian looked away; that was answer enough. Kael’s expression became colder. "You once believed the throne should have belonged to someone else...maybe you’re right?"

Cassian remained silent, and there was nothing left for him to say.

The evidence had already been placed before the throne, the confessions of the captured assassins had already been recorded upon the imperial tablets, and the seals bearing the crest of House Voss had already been broken beneath the authority of the Emperor.

Yet Kael’s gaze did not remain upon Cassian.

Slowly, it shifted at Nora. For the first time since House Voss had been brought before the Imperial Throne, something changed within Kael’s expression.

It was almost imperceptible, a slight stillness and a shadow passing through his amber eyes, but Nora saw it; their eyes met. For one suspended moment, the entire throne hall seemed to disappear.

Only two people who had once known one another long before crowns, gods, assassins, and blood had placed an ocean between them.

Nora’s breath caught, and her eyes shimmered with something that might once have been sorrow, but sorrow was not what remained; hatred slowly replaced it.

Kael saw it; he saw the way her jaw tightened, the way her fingers curled against the restraints. The way she looked at him as though the crown upon his head had transformed him into someone she could no longer recognize.

And Kael understood; she blamed him for Cassian.

Kael remained silent for several heartbeats, then he spoke, as his voice was neither cruel nor gentle. "Nora Voss, do you have something to say?"

Nora stared at him, as her eyes remained fixed upon his face. Kael waited, but Nora abruptly turned her head away, her teeth clenched so tightly that Kael could see the muscles of her jaw tense.

"I have nothing to say, Your Majesty." Her voice trembled with anger.

Kael studied her for another moment, then, as his gaze moved from Nora to the rest of House Voss.

"Very well, you will all remain under imperial custody. I have heard the evidence against your house, but evidence of assassination is not necessarily evidence of every crime House Voss may have committed."

Cedric looked toward him. Kael continued. "Therefore, I will not allow this investigation to end here."

The Imperial Knights stood motionless.

Kael’s amber eyes hardened. "Investigate House Voss to the core, search every estate, open every vault, question every servant, guard, merchant, and intermediary connected to this family, and uncover every secret they have buried beneath their name."

Cedric immediately bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Kael looked directly at him. "Do not rush the investigation. I want the truth, not a convenient confession."

Cedric understood. "We will uncover everything, Your Majesty."

"Good." Kael turned his gaze back toward the prisoners. "Only then will the final verdict be declared."

The words struck House Voss harder than any sentence. The old man’s face went completely still. Cassian lowered his eyes. Nora’s fingers tightened around the chains. Kael looked at her once more.

Their eyes met again; this time, there was no sorrow in hers, only anger, hatred burned beneath her gaze.

Kael did not look away; for several seconds, they stared at one another across the vast hall. Then Nora was pulled backward by an Imperial Knight, her chains scraped against the stone floor.

"Move."

And just like that, every member of House Voss was taken away behind her. Silence returned to the Throne Hall; the Grey Wolf had entered the palace as a noble house.

It left as a family beneath imperial custody, and yet as Kael remained upon the throne, his eyes lingered upon the closed doors.

***

[Imperial Palace — Hallway — Later]

The Imperial Palace had grown quiet.

The morning’s chaos had faded, the bells had finally fallen silent, and the endless footsteps of servants and guards had become little more than distant echoes beneath the enormous stone corridors.

Kael walked alone; he rubbed his forehead as his mind felt exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to reach his chamber, close the doors, and forget the entire morning.

Then—

"Greetings to the Emperor of Qashmar."

Kael stopped; the voice was unfamiliar, and when he turned, he saw a man standing several paces behind him.

Kael’s eyes narrowed immediately.

It was Shamash; he wore long priestly robes of white and gold, the fabric embroidered with ancient symbols of the sun. His golden hair fell freely down his back, almost reaching his waist, and beneath the soft light of the corridor it seemed to possess a faint radiance of its own.

For Kael he looked nothing like an ordinary priest, but there was something wrong about him, something ancient and something that made the air itself feel heavier.

Kael looked around and thought, ’Who is he and...how did he enter?’

Kael’s hand moved instinctively toward the sword at his side as his fingers closed around the hilt; the stranger noticed and smiled. "How did you enter the Imperial Palace?"

Shamash’s smile widened, as he smirked, "I came to offer my greetings to the queen of shadows."

Kael’s amber eyes hardened. "Priests do not simply appear inside the private corridors of the Emperor’s palace."

Shamash chuckled softly and took a slow step forward. "Of course, I know about that queen of shadows."

Kael’s instincts screamed at him to draw his sword. Instead, he remained still. "Tell me who you are."

Shamash stopped; for a moment, nothing moved.

Then he placed one hand against his chest and bowed, not deeply enough to show submission, but just enough to acknowledge the throne.

"I came to greet the Queen of Shadows...as the deity of light."

Kael froze as his fingers tightened around the sword. "What? The deity of light?"

The words echoed through the empty corridor. Kael stared at him, and his mind immediately returned to the dream, the red moon, the black desert, and the feeling that a diety meeting another dieties mate...is not ordinary.