Just six days later, it was done. It had been years since a noble was last overthrown by their own children – a practice that had fallen out of favor after the current Queen had taken her throne from her mother – but evidently, it was one that still held weight with the noble families.

Nolan seized control of the Gray family with ruthless determination. He had the news of his father’s demise at his hands spread across the kingdom and immediately replaced the honor guard with men of his own choosing.

As soon as the roots of his control had been established, he set about commissioning repairs for the damage Damien and Sylph had done to the walls. Very few even tried to oppose him, and the ones that did didn’t hold out for long when Henry made his presence known.

Nelson had taught Nolan well – perhaps a little too well. Several other noble houses sent emissaries congratulating him on his newfound status, some asking when he would be looking to open previously closed trade agreements or settle disputes that had arisen when Nelson controlled the Grays.

He handled himself well, by Damien’s standards. Nolan treated everyone with a cold but polite demeanor, and before long it became quite clear that nobody would be trying to interfere in his rise to power.

When the last of all the visiting messengers had left and Noland dismissed his guard, he slumped in his still-split throne, running his hands through his hair and letting out a heavy sigh.

“That should just about handle it. Everyone thinks I’ve got some terrifying mages backing me, and the Queen has yet to address the death of my father. That means she doesn’t care, which legitimizes me. I’m the head of House Gray now, whether I want to be or not.”

“You don’t say that like it’s a good thing,” Damien said, emerging from behind the throne. Shadows rose up behind him – he’d spent some time practicing in between helping Nolan corral the visiting nobles – and formed into two chairs. He sat down in one, and Sylph materialized in the other as she dropped her camouflage.

“It’s not exactly what I wanted, but I don’t think there was much of a choice. There was no way my father was going to let Loretta live, and he would have forced Reena to go through what I did. I did what I had to.”

“I’m sorry,” Damien said. “Nobody should have to fight their father.”

A small grin flickered across Nolan’s face. “You would know, huh?”

“For what it’s worth, Nelson seems like he had it coming. Stormsword is just a loyal dog.”

Nolan nodded. “Still, I sympathize. And I appreciate you wasting six days of your time, especially given how things are going right now. I know you’ve got better things to be doing, but I’ll make it up to you. The Gray family has a sizable militia. I’ll be putting out orders to increase their funding and training so they can help against the Corruption properly.”

“Aren’t all the noble houses already doing that?” Sylph asked. “I was under the impression that the Queen had ordered everyone to prepare for war. That’s why she had us training people how to fight the Corruption.”

Nolan gave her a one-shouldered shrug and leaned back with a sigh. “They’re doing something, all right. I just doubt it’s as much as the Queen said to. My father was strongly of the opinion that the Corruption was nothing more than a few monsters that had slipped past the frontlines, and many noble houses shared his thoughts. They’ll be readying men, but more to protect their estates than to set out to war.”

“Figures,” Sylph said. “I’m surprised they’d go against the Queen, though.”

“They probably won’t do anything directly against her, but it’s very easy to cut corners until a cubical order turns into a sphere, if you know what I mean. There’s only so much control the Queen has over the direct actions of nobles when we aren’t at war. They’ll listen to her if there’s some immediate obvious threat or if she’s physically present, but she’s just one woman – even with Stormsword going around to enforce her orders.”

“I’m not so sure the Corruption can even be eliminated through normal fighting,” Damien said, his face darkening. “It spreads too quickly. We need to kill Second and find a way to get it off the Mortal Plane.”

“Well, as I said, I’ll do what I can to help. Just tell me what you need. Until then, I’ll focus on trying to get our mages strong enough to protect the land around us,” Nolan said. He grimaced and pushed himself out of the throne. “I don’t feel right sitting in that.”

“What about Blackmist?” Sylph asked.

Nolan’s shoulders slumped. “Done for me, I’m afraid. There’s no way I can return to it now. I have to run the Gray house, and I’m not just going to abandon everyone here. A lot of people rely on us for their jobs and protection. By killing my father, I took that duty onto myself. I’ll seek out a tutor to make sure my magical knowledge doesn’t fall too much behind.”

“You don’t think you could do both at once?” Damien asked.

“There just isn’t enough time in the day. There are too many things to do, and I have a responsibility to my house now.” Nolan shook his head and chuckled. “It’s fine. Things are better this way. Reena won’t have to keep getting more involved in politics, which is for the best. She needs to focus on her studies. She’s a terrible politician anyway. She’ll be much better off as a mage, which is what she wanted to do when she wasn’t doing her best to impress father.”

“Wait, is she going to be angry? About all of this?” Sylph gestured around the damaged throne room.

“About my father’s death? Probably. She really did want to become head of the Gray family, and I kind of stole that from her,” Nolan replied. “But it’s for the best. If she can actually dedicate her time to studying magic instead of wasting it, I think she’d be a better mage than me. Once this whole thing blows over, maybe I’ll try to find time to catch up.”

“You’re sure?” Damien asked. “We could talk to Whisp and try to see if there’s something we could work out.”

“Don’t. I’ve just got too much on my plate now. And, trust me. You’re going to need the support from my end in the coming days. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the Queen, but I haven’t had time with all the shit we’ve had to do to get house Gray under control.”

“What do you mean?”

“Damien, you and Sylph are very clearly outpacing the rest of the students in Blackmist – not to mention the other colleges. On top of that, you’re clearly involved with the Corruption and know more than most. The Queen isn’t blind – and she’s been in power this long because she knows how to consolidate power. You two are both powerful assets, and neither of you really need anything from her.”

“Why’s that a problem?” Damien asked. “Everything we’re doing is already helping the kingdom, and it’s not like either of us are trying to get a seat in court or something. I doubt we’ll ever meet.”

Nolan snorted. “You will. Just be careful around her. I’ve only met her a few times, and while she seemed kind enough, I know she’ll do just about anything she has to in order to protect the kingdom. I’m not about to go telling anyone, but I know something isn’t exactly right about Henry. I haven’t looked into it, but if she finds out there’s something there that poses a threat…”

“Noted,” Damien said, nodding his understanding. “I’ll do my best to stay away from her.”

“Then you should probably head back to Blackmist,” Nolan said, rising from his throne and brushing his clothes off with a grimace. “You’ve already done more than enough here. It’s not fair to make you do more, and I think I can handle the rest myself now. As long as people think I’m backed by you, I’ve essentially got Stormsword’s unspoken backing as well. I’m well aware that isn’t the case – but the other nobles don’t know that.”

Sylph laughed. “That’s pretty devious. Especially since the Queen hasn’t said anything. If Stormsword backs someone, then so does she.”

“Exactly,” Nolan nodded. “Still, I’m far from the first to try to curry favor by knowing people. The Queen hasn’t done anything yet, so I think we’re clear of this one.”

“Well, reach out if you need our help,” Damien said, rising with Sylph. “I’m sorry to hear you won’t be able to stay at Blackmist.”

“Likewise,” Nolan said, extending a hand. Damien grasped it. “But I’m glad I was sent there in the first place. It’s funny. My father didn’t buy me and Reena into Kingsfront as a punishment for failing to properly follow his orders, but I think that might have been one of the best things that happened to me. I’ll do my best to find time to visit soon, but until then, would you be able to tell Loretta what happened? I don’t want her to think that I’ve just run off.”

“That’s not a problem,” Sylph said. “But… what do you want us to say? If you’re not coming back…”

“My feelings haven’t changed,” Nolan said, his gaze hardening. “But I don’t want to push her any more. She’s gone through more than she should have ever had to because of my family. If she doesn’t want to keep things the way they were, I’d understand.”

“We’ll talk to her,” Damien promised. He wanted to assure Nolan that there was no way Loretta would want to change anything, but he honestly wasn’t sure if that was the case. He didn’t know much about his friend’s relationship, which made him slightly ashamed. Nolan clearly held him in high esteem, but he was so withdrawn from the lives of most of the other students that he wasn’t sure that it was his place to claim knowledge about how any of them would think. The most he could do was pass Nolan’s message on.

“Thanks,” Nolan said. “I’m going to go help with some of the wall repairs. The portal courtyard is still fully functional, so feel free to use it to return to Blackmist. Everyone already knows you’ve got passage anywhere in the Gray estate.”

“We will. Stay safe, Nolan,” Damien said.

“You two more than me,” Nolan replied with a chuckle, raising a hand in farewell. He headed out of the throne room, leaving them alone. Sylph put a hand on Damien’s shoulder.

“You’re feeling a bit of it, aren’t you?”

“Of what?”

“Out of place.”

Damien blinked, a thought striking him. “A bit. Is this how you’ve always felt?”

“For a long time, yeah.”

“Do you just… ignore it? It feels like I’m not treating Nolan the way I should be. I mean, sure, we’re helping him out a lot, but am I really acting like a friend should? I couldn’t even tell him that everything would be fine with Loretta.”

“You’re doing what you can,” Sylph replied. “And we’re fighting the Corruption so Nolan gets a chance to even have this trouble. If we weren’t, the Cycle would be reset and that would be it for all of us.”

Damien nodded and pressed his lips together. “You’re right. Maybe we’ll get to work on getting to really spend some time with the people we’ve met once Second has been dealt with.”

“We will. Shall we return to Blackmist?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”