Page 68 of Forged By Heart and Claws
Brelven led us to the far side of the cavern and stopped before a small wooden door, oddly out of place in the rough stone wall. He knocked twice, then opened it without waiting for a response.
"Captain, I've found them," he called, stepping aside and motioning us to enter.
A chill ran down my spine, but there was no turning back now. I entered with my claws ready to be used if needed.
The room beyond was modest but efficient. A heavy wooden table dominated the center, its surface cluttered with hand-drawn maps, half-burnt candles, and a scattering of crimson wax seals. Iron sconces shed a flickering amber light that danced across stone walls lined with weapon racks and scroll holders.
Captain Finbar stood bent over the table, his finger trailing a route across one map. Two lieutenants flanked him, both in marked leathers, alert even before we entered.
Finbar’s head snapped up. His lined face registered a flicker of relief before discipline returned. He straightened and bowed deeply. "Your Majesties, thank Fate you're alive. Is the princess safe, or should we continue searching for her?"
Both lieutenants followed suit, dropping to one knee.
I studied Finbar as he rose. His armor bore fresh battle scars with slashed leather and blood spatters. A bandage wrapped his right hand, the fingers bruised, but he stood without wavering.
"She is safe for now. Report, Captain."
"The palace has fallen into chaos," Finbar began. "Over half of our forces defected or fled when the magic failed. The initial attacks overwhelmed those still loyal to the crown. But we’veregrouped and established this stronghold and secured two additional outposts in the tunnels, one beneath the Ceremonial Hall and the other under the Ascension Hall. There may still be a few stragglers among the royals and servants who weren't captured and whom we haven't been able to find. I suspect a few are plotting their own vengeance. Fate help them if they haven't escaped yet."
He motioned to the map, pointing to each marked position in turn.
"Colm and his Aurelines control the main halls. But they are fighting the yellow-eyed shadow beasts, and they’ve suffered losses."
"Colm?" Briar’s voice was tight as boiling rage shot through the bond. “He’sin charge of all this? Not just overseeing some of it?”
A bitter taste filled my mouth. Colm Ainle had tortured my beloved and so many others in Firellan’s Spine. Though that had already sealed his fate, I would make sure his end was extra painful since he had also killed Physician Morlo.
Finbar’s jaw tensed. "There may have been others involved in the initial uprising, but Colm has assumed full leadership. Anyone who hasn’t sworn to him and his would-be queen has been imprisoned. Or executed."
"His queen?" I demanded. "Who?"
"At first, we assumed Siray. She’s royal-blooded—Ignis Fae. But it’s not her. Colm made a show of taking Calla Lily. The one Councilman Bryn declared as the victor of the trials."
Briar’s expression didn’t waver, but her energy coiled tighter. A spike of cold hatred echoed through our bond.
"Calla Lily winning was a lie," I growled. "They forced Bryn’s hand and threatened his family."
"I believe you, Your Majesty." Finbar raised both hands in surrender. "And Colm’s tactics support your claim. He’ssilencing dissent, executing loyalists, and twisting tradition to serve his ambition. He’s demanding full unification of the realms under one ruler, one bride, and one throne."
"And he plans to use Calla Lily to stake his claim?" Briar asked, her voice low with contempt.
"Yes, my queen. He’s using her to paint your union with His Majesty as an act of treason and not Fate."
Something akin to sludge pulsed through my body. I would not allowhimtorewrite our story. “That willneverhappen.”
Still, my mind circled on one thing. “Does he truly plan to take over all the kingdoms?” If that was the case, Colm wasn’t just seizing power; he was enacting full-scale realm domination.
I opened my mouth to ask how he expected to control the other rulers without a drawn-out war, but the answer settled cold and heavy in my gut.
The coronation and wedding had been a trap.
Every royal who’d attended and refused to bow was likely imprisoned beneath the Shadow Palace. And if any escaped? Colm had their children.
We already knew he’d captured two young royals from the Sylvan and Aquen kingdoms. “Is he torturing them?”
“For now, they’re sealed in the old dungeons on the eastern side of the palace.” Finbar’s jaw tightened. “He plans to starve them. All of them. Men. Women. Children.”
Colm was even more of a monster than I’d believed.
