Page 315 of Heat of the Everflame

“I could,” I agreed. “But I’m taking you at your word that you believe in fairness, and what’s been done to the mortals is anything but fair.” I offered a wry smile. “And besides—honesty is a virtue.”

“Let us seek virtue in all things,” they answered as one.

A man who had not yet spoken hunched over the paper and ink set in front of him. The soft scratches of scribbling filled the room as everyone fell silent in deference. When he was done, he passed the paper to the Councilor beside him, who read it aloud. “The soldiers claimed you killed the King of Fortos. Is that true?”

They all leaned forward, their interest piqued.

“I did,” I confessed. “He attacked my Prince unprovoked, and he nearly killed me. I did my best to avoid it, but it was his life or mine.”

The Councilor who’d snapped at me earlier wrung his hands in his lap. “We never celebrate a life cut short, but perhaps this will solve some of our concerns. The new Fortos King may be less aggressive than his predecessor.”

The eyes of the Councilor who’d written his question studied me like he knew the secret I was hiding. He reached for his paper, then paused, leaning back in his chair.

“Fortos’s problems are its own,” Hepta said. “We are called to look afterthisrealm. The time has come to address our problem in the east.”

My weight shifted nervously as I felt sorely out of place. I itched with an urge to demand their intentions with me, but I held my silence, worried I’d pushed my luck enough as it was.

Hepta’s focus settled back on me. “Recently, we heard rumors of a powerful Descended working with the Guardians.”

“I’ve heard those rumors myself.”

“At first, we paid it no mind. The rebels have been in the Forgotten Lands for a long time. We’ve found that if we leave them be, they do the same.”

“What are the Forgotten Lands?”

“An area of the realm we do not enter,” one Councilor said, twisting his face in disgust. “That land is evil.Cursed. Few Descended are willing to go, and most who do are never seen again.”

My eyebrows leapt to the sky. I’d never been taught about any place like this in school. Then again, if there was a place Descended feared to enter, they surely wouldn’t want the mortals finding out.

“After the rumors began, Descended passing through on the Ring Road started turning up dead,” Hepta continued. “Not just killed, but tortured and defiled. Their bodies were strung up from the trees with a symbol carved into their skin—a ten-pointed star.”

“What does the symbol mean?”

“We don’t know. We’ve asked Sophos to research it. Meanwhile, the violence is spreading to other realms. Last week, an entire fishing village in Meros was decimated. Three hundred adult Descended killed, and that symbol was carved into every corpse.”

My breath caught. “And the children?”

Her face turned grave. “Vanished without a trace.”

My fingernails screeched against the stone table as my hands squeezed into fists and my blood boiled. This sounded too much like the brand of slaughter Vance had espoused. I had to wonder if he was somehow involved—or, gods forbid, if there were more Guardians like him than I thought.

Without warning, one Councilor stood up and directed a fierce glare my way. “Is it you?” she hissed. “Are you the one helping them?”

“What?” I gasped. “Gods, no.”

A few Councilors stood, placing their hands on her shoulders and urging her to calm. Tears welled in her eyes as she jabbed a finger at me. “Tell us the truth! Are they dead because of you?”

I shook my head frantically. “I wouldneverbring harm to an innocent.” Bile rose in my throat at the mere thought—until I remembered the guards who had died at the armory, and my body drooped with shame. “Not knowingly, at least.”

“Peace, Councilor,” Hepta chided.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “You swear it? You have not come to do the same to us?”

My hands flew to my heart. “I swear it on my life. On everyone I love. I wish to end suffering, not encourage it.”

The woman seemed to find some solace in my words. The anger flooded out of her in a shuddering breath, though it was replaced by a look of helpless fear.

“Forgive her, Your Majesty,” Hepta begged. “Emotions have been high since the Umbros attack.”

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