"What the—do they think a random hand could make us surrender Ironvale?" Tartaglia muttered, an unsettled expression on his face.
"What were they even thinking, sending sothing like this?" Aethon added, shaking his head.
While the other leaders were confused at the sight of the mysterious hand, Barbatos, being the sharper one, noticed Taranis’s hand visibly shaking and asked,
"Prince, whose hand is this?"
"It’s... it’s my father’s hand."
For a mont, a heavy silence fell over the eting room, everyone processing what Taranis had just said.
"You an they possess the King’s body?" Aurelion asked, the first to recover from the unexpected revelation.
Taranis shook his head and revealed, "Father is alive. He is imprisoned sowhere in the Empire."
A ripple of gasps followed. The sect leaders were left with gaping mouths and widened eyes. They couldn’t understand how to react to this news.
Should they feel relieved that their King, Voltrex, whom they believed had died eighteen years ago, was still alive, or should they be worried that Voltrex was being held hostage in the Empire, his whereabouts unknown?
Fear, anger, relief, and frustration surged through them, rendering them unable to speak for a mont.
After a few seconds, Titan announced, "The King’s safety is of utmost priority. We must leave the fortress and agree to their terms to secure his release."
"We cannot make rash decisions, swept away by emotion," Barbatos countered. "First, we need to confirm whether the King is truly alive."
"And how do you propose we do that, Lord Barbatos?" Aethon said, joining in. "While we waste ti in useless discussion, who knows what kind of inhumane torture they are inflicting on the King? We should heed Lord Titan’s words and surrender the fortress imdiately."
"And you think the Emperor will not instantly surround us with the combined armies of all the duchies the mont we leave the fortress?" Tartaglia raised the question, joining in.
While the eting room erupted into chaos with conflicting opinions, Aurelion turned to Taranis and demanded in a low tone, his face unreadable,
"Prince, were you aware that the King was alive and being held hostage in the Empire?"
"Lord Aurelion! How could you ask such a que—"
Titan was about to intervene, but Taranis raised his hand, silencing him.
"Yes, I was aware," Taranis revealed.
"You not only hid such paramount information from us, but also went ahead and declared war upon the Empire," Aurelion muttered, the room turning chillingly cold at his voice. "Are you aware of the gravity of the repercussions your terarious actions have caused?"
Taranis rose from his seat and muttered, his deep voice rumbling behind the helm,
"What do you think would have happened if I had revealed it? All of you would have refused the idea of war and demanded a deal with the Empire for Father’s safe return, a deal that would have permanently crippled the Hundred Sky Mountains."
"We do not care if we cannot take revenge or have to bend the knee to the Empire if it ensures the King’s safe return," Titan muttered, clenching his fist. "I will personally negotiate with the Empire if I must. I suggest we stop this war."
"I’m with Lord Titan," Aethon added. "We cannot put the King’s life at risk."
"I share the sa thought."
.
.
.
One by one, everyone present in the room voiced their support for stopping the war. Everyone except one. Barbatos still hadn’t spoken.
When everyone’s attention turned to the silent Windbane, he chuckled and said, turning to Taranis,
"I suppose it will be only the two of us fighting this war now."
"What are you saying, Lord Barbatos?" Titan demanded, anger clear on his face. "You should be convincing the Prince to stop the war instead of encouraging this."
Barbatos, ignoring Titan, asked Taranis,
"How do you intend to save the King?"
"I do have a plan," Taranis revealed.
His words drew everyone’s attention.
"The main army will guard the fortress while an infiltration unit rescues the King within twenty-four hours."
"But Prince, the King’s location must be heavily guarded. Not to ntion, we don’t even know where he is," Titan said, pointing out the obvious flaws in the plan. "Is it even possible to find and rescue the King in just twenty-four hours?"
Taranis grabbed the wooden box from the table and called in a low voice,
"Vyaghra."
His shadow shifted, and from within it, Vyaghra’s body erged, now completely healed from the wounds he had suffered during the battle.
"Can you use this to find the location of Father?"
Vyaghra extended his palm toward the severed hand, dark energy radiating from his arm.
The energy wrapped around the hand, and after a few seconds, Vyaghra declared,
"Found him."
The other Banes were left in awe and surprise, first at the sudden appearance of Vyaghra from nowhere, and then at his ability to locate Voltrex using nothing more than a severed hand in re seconds.
"Where is he?" Aurelion asked, an unusual restlessness laced in his voice.
"I can guide you to the location," Vyaghra replied.
"In that case, I will lead the infiltration unit to rescue the King."
"I will participate as well," Titan offered, a smile of relief on his face at the chance to save the King.
"Lord Aurelion," Taranis said, his voice cold. "You have been consistently challenging my authority since this eting began. Do I need to remind you of the hierarchy?"
The room fell silent. Everyone present knew Taranis respected Aurelion as much as he did his father. This uncharacteristic behavior from Taranis was sothing they had never witnessed before. Even Aurelion was montarily taken aback by his words.
After a mont, Aurelion said, "I will make sure not to overstep my boundaries again."
He understood that Taranis’s emotions were not stable. Since the incident with Nyria, Taranis had been struggling to keep his raging emotions under control. And now, his condition had worsened further.
"Perhaps Voltrex’s safe return will calm him sowhat," Aurelion thought inwardly.
"Who will be part of the infiltration unit, then?" Barbatos asked a mont later.
"Vyaghra and I."
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