“Who in the Planes are you?” Nelson asked, not moving from his makeshift throne. Two of his guards stood at either side of his throne, while the rest were scattered throughout the throne room. Damien couldn’t see all of them, but he could feel them.

Ether crackled in the air as the mages drew on it, calling so much that Damien could feel it tingle across his skin. They certainly weren’t of the same caliber as any of the guards on the outer walls.

Damien kept his own magic at the ready, prepared to cast Devour at a moment's notice. He felt Sylph moving through the room, making her way toward a guard hiding behind a pillar on the second floor.

“Does it really matter who I am?” Damien asked, continuing forward. Henry’s presence brushed across the warm light filling the room. Shadows flickered along the edges of the hall and the lanterns dimmed just enough to be noticeable.

Several of the guards shifted, but they were well trained. None of them moved, clearly waiting for a command from Nelson.

“Considering you’re likely the reason that the alarm bells are going off throughout my estate, I believe it does,” Nelson replied, his hands tightening on the beautifully carved armrests of his seat. “Are you with the Bloodwing house?”

Damien snorted. “I’m not with any of the other noble houses, Nelson. I don’t think I could have been farther from it, actually. If anything, had I been asked a few days ago, I would have said that the house I was closest with would have been the Grays.”

“What, an offshoot branch?” Nelson asked, his eyes narrow. “Why are you attacking the Gray estate? And I trust you realize the futility of your actions now that you’ve arrived here. You won’t be walking out of this room alive without my say so. While you may have shown me that our defenses are lacking, you’ll find that my inner sanctum is considerably better defended than the rest of this house. Of course, it’s clear you’ve already determined that, or you would have attacked already.”

“I couldn’t care less about your guards,” Damien lied. There actually were quite a few of them, and from the Ether radiating off their bodies, they weren’t pushovers. He was confident he could defeat them with Henry’s help, but not without killing more people than he wanted to. They didn’t have the manpower to spare against the Corruption, and wiping out the honor guard of one of the strongest noble houses certainly wouldn’t help that.

On the second floor, Damien felt the Ether that one of the guards was using flicker and fade. He hadn’t even made a single noise, but Sylph must have dealt with him. Damien kept the grin from his lips. If he kept Nelson talking for long enough, there wouldn’t be any guards left to fight in a few minutes.

“How confident, even if it is nothing more than bravado,” Nelson said, leaning forward as anger crossed his features. “So, tell me then. What purpose do you have for coming here?”

“I already told you,” Damien said. He nodded to the bodies on the ground. “I was returning your men. Since your memory seems to be failing you, I’ll provide a refresher. They attempted to kill a student attending Blackmist.”

Nelson shrugged. “It must have been someone lower in the line of the Gray family. I gave no such order, and anyone who believes that I did was mistaken. I will see to it that they are properly admonished. Was this person who was killed of any importance? I will ensure that their family is paid appropriately for their unfortunate loss.”

What, he’s going to pretend that the agents were told to do this by someone else pretending to act under his orders so he doesn’t have to deal with the fallout?

“You misunderstand,” Damien replied. “They did not succeed. Fortunately for both of us, I killed them before they were able to finish going through with their task. That is quite fortunate, as I do not think the Queen would approve of a student’s execution when the entire kingdom is on the brink of war.”

“The subject hardly matters at this point. If they survived, there was no harm done, even if these men believed they were acting on orders that I did not give,” Nelson said, drumming his fingers on the throne. “So? Is that all you came here for? I can promise you, even if I let you survive this conversation, the Queen will not look kindly on anyone who attacks the Gray household. I heard the destruction. Those are not the actions of a group who seeks peace.”

Ah, that’s it. He thinks I’m with a bunch of other people trying to attack him, so he’s keeping me here to try and get information. That’s why he’s willing to talk. Old bastard is smarter than he looks – or he would have been, if I’d had anyone with me other than you and Sylph.

“I think the Queen will understand,” Damien said with a dry smile. Another guard’s Ether vanished, leaving only four left. The two flanking Nelson were probably impossible for Sylph to take care of quietly, but the other two stood behind on a raised platform above the doorway – if Sylph was fast enough, she could probably remove both before anyone noticed she was there. “Let me change my questions, then. Where is Nolan?”

Nelson’s eyebrows rose. “Nolan? What does he have to do with this?”

There was some genuine interest in his words at that. Damien’s lips quirked.

“Everything. He’s the only reason I’m here. Actually, if we’re going to be honest with ourselves, he’s also the reason you sent assassins after a student with no connections to your family.”

Nelson studied Damien’s face for a moment, gauging the truth of his words. Then he bared his teeth in the beginnings of a snarl. “Nolan hired mages outside the family? You’re a mercenary? The boy has completely lost his way.”

“Wrong again, I’m afraid,” Damien replied. “Nolan didn’t hire me. In fact, the only reason he made contact with me is because of what he’s told me are your teachings. Make friends with the strong, right? You should be proud of him.”

“Enough of this.” Nelson’s hands clenched into fists, and he rose to his feet. “I’ll pry the information out of Nolan once your foul presence has been removed from my throne. If the boy thinks he can undermine the Gray legacy over some worthless commoner, then both you and he are sorely mistaken.”

“So you do admit to sending the assassins after Loretta?” Damien asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Above him, the Ether belonging to the two guards vanished. This time, there was a faint thump as one of their bodies hit the ground. Nelson’s eyes widened as he finally realized that over half of his guards had been taken out during the conversation.

“It’s an ambush! Kill the intruder!”

A dark stretch of Ether painted across the air before Damien, snapping open and devouring two bolts of brilliant white light that leapt from the guards’ hands. Damien Warp Stepped and Henry’s influence washed out over the room, covering the ground in a pool of black.

He appeared behind the guard on Nelson’s right and Henry peeled off his back, vanishing into the shadows beneath them. Damien detonated a Gravity Sphere on the guard’s leg as the man started to turn.

The spell went off with a rush of wind, and several bones in the man’s leg snapped. He staggered, managing to keep his balance. Ether formed into a burning blade in his hand, and he slashed down at Damien’s neck.

Henry’s hand extended from the darkness, grabbing the blade and shattering it. Another one grabbed the guard by the neck. He flared with energy, momentarily blinding everyone in the room.

An instant later, all the light in the room twisted and spiraled down into a single point it. Color and image drained away until there was only darkness. Damien shook his head, ripping himself free of the grip of the illusion. He brought his hand down forcefully on the back of the blinded neck, sending the man crumpling to the ground.

He turned to deal with the other man, but he was already collapsed on the ground, Sylph standing above him. Damien put a foot on Nelson’s chest and slammed the man back into his chair. Judging by his terrified expression, Sylph had already removed his access to the Ether. The darkness slowly faded away and color returned to the room.

“Who are you?” Nelson asked, his voice trembling. “What magic is this?”

Henry rose from the pool of Ether covering the ground, his wings extended behind his back. They folded in as his featureless face creased in a grin and he let out a raspy laugh.

“I think the nobles abilities might have been talked up a little,” Henry said, his voice reverted back to the myriad of tones that Damien associated with Herald. “These creatures were pathetic.”

“I won’t ask you again,” Damien said, leaning forward. “Where is Nolan?”

“Rot in the Plane of the Dead,” Nelson spat. “Find the boy and extract your price yourself. If the fool betrayed his house, than he can reap the fruit of his mistakes on his own. I won’t help you.”

Damien rolled his eyes. “I’m not working with him to destroy house Gray, although I can’t deny that the thought is tempting. If the kingdom didn’t need your strength, I’d bury you in an unmarked plot. Only a monster would order the death of someone their son was dating simply because of their origin.”

Nelson bared his teeth at Damien, regaining some of his previous confidence. “Or perhaps you aren’t allowed to kill me, boy. Are you bound by some contract that ensures Nolan is here to deal the final blow and take control of House Gray? Yes, I think you are. That’s why you want the boy.”

Damien’s eye twitched. It was really tempting to kill the man, but he resisted the urge. A small, weak voice in the back of his mind insisted that killing Nelson himself was the wrong path.

A scythe ran along the ground behind Sylph, trailing up to Nelson’s fingers. “I could save us some time. A healer can always put him together later.”

“I don’t want you to have to put yourself through that,” Damien replied. “He’s not worth the effort.”

Footfalls entered the room before Nelson could say anything. Damien glanced over his shoulder as Nolan strode into the room, his green armor donned and covered in thin stone armor. A small wisp of purple energy shot away from him and entered Henry.

“I figured I’d send something out to look for him while the three of you chatted,” Henry said cheerfully. “Aren’t I fantastic?”

“Not now,” Damien said. “Nolan, are you okay?”

“My traitorous son,” Nelson growled. “So this was all your doing? You hid your hand well. I actually believed that you meant to give up your claim to lead house Gray.”

“Traitorous?” Nolan asked, his noble features creasing in fury. “I heard from Blackmist, father. You sent assassins for Loretta.”

“They’re dead,” Damien put in. “Sylph and I took care of them.”

“Good men wasted to a fool’s plans,” Nolan spat. “I had no plans to take the throne, father. Perhaps a few years ago, but not anymore. I just wanted to study magic at Blackmist. If you’d let me do as I want, Damien wouldn’t be here now.”

Nelson bared his teeth and spat on the ground. “Do it, then. Take control of house Gray and do what you want. Just as I did. No commoner scum will ever be of the proper breed to take the throne beside you, Nolan. If you choose one of such worthless stock, she will break. You need a powerful marriage, not one to a useless sow with middling magic.”

Nolan’s hands tightened. “Damien, could I speak with my father for a moment?”

Damien shrugged and took his foot off Nelson’s chest, stepping back. “I’m not sure what you think you’re going to tell him that’ll change his mind. He’s like you when we first met, but a thousand times worse.”

Nolan’s eyes were cold as he walked up to stand before Nelson. The rock covering his body rippled and churned with anger.

“Just going to stare, boy?” Nelson asked, rising to his feet and looking down at Nolan. “Or are you going to order your hound to kill me for you?”

“You’ve lost your way. Maybe you never had one,” Nolan said. “I only wanted to be free of this. I hated the courts. I hate everything about this.”

“Then leave,” Nelson said, his grin growing larger. “Prove yourself to be the coward that I appear to have raised despite my best efforts. At least Reena shows promise. She will have to take house Gray in your place.”

“And what of Loretta?” Sylph asked, her scythe still hovering next to Nelson.

“I won’t waste any more resources on a peasant,” Nelson said with a snort. “Nolan will never be able to show his face in front of any of the houses again, not if he’s truly set on this choice. There’s a reason we separate our lines.”

“No,” Nolan said.

Nelson raised an eyebrow. “No? What, do you want your inheritance before you leave? It’ll be put to good use elsewhere, boy. This is what you wanted. Take it and leave. This issue is done.”

He stepped forward, stone rushing down his hand and forming into his massive blade. It fell through the air like a wall of rock, and Nelson’s face only had an instant to show surprise. Then he was gone. The blood-covered stone melted away, sinking back into the earth, and Nelson’s body fell back onto the throne with a wet splat. It slumped down, blood trickling down the seat and pooling beneath it. The sword had split the back of the chair down the middle, leaving it like a ‘v’.

Nolan took several slow breaths, then turned to Damien and Sylph. “Forgive me. I think I’m starting to lose track of the favors I owe you, but I need one more thing.”

“I really don’t care about favors. What is it?”

Nolan’s eyes remained steely as he told the two what he needed. When he finished, Damien gave him a curt nod. As he and Sylph walked out of the throne room, he couldn’t help but feel that Nolan was more suited to lead one of the greatest noble houses than he thought.