"I apologize, my sovereign. It was presumptuous of to assu you were happy with the Ninth Vein's changes."
The afternoon air was gentle. The sun was not. However, both Darke and the inhabitants of the main building could sense it, the Blood Sovereign was in a good mood.
"Hm. It's a passable improvent."
"Passable, my sovereign? He defeated the Eighth and Sixth Veins, and not only withstood an army, but slaughtered them too. Isn't that a remarkable achievent, my sovereign?" Darke asked respectfully. But he already knew the truth. He had served the man for decades after all.
The sovereign's lips had risen once more, and the air around him seed to soften with every bit of praise Darke gave.
"You're smiling again, my sovereign."
The sovereign's lips fell sharply, and he cleared his throat. Darke resisted the urge to laugh. It was monts like this that reminded him the sovereign was still human.
"Darke."
Darke quickly bowed. "Yes, my sovereign."
"You may be right. I'm downplaying his achievents."
'Ah, here it cos,' Darke thought. 'Now to push a little further.'
"I am but a lowly servant to my sovereign. Surely, my sovereign knows best."
"No," the sovereign said firmly, turning to face him. "Just as you said, his achievents are remarkable. Which ans his rewards must be remarkable too."
"Ah, but aren't they already good—"
"No," the sovereign cut in. "You said his achievents are remarkable. So his rewards should be remarkable too. Not just good. Or are you going back on your words?"
Darke t the sovereign's gaze and saw it clearly, the light in his eyes. He smiled and bowed once more.
"No, my sovereign. You're right. His gift should be remarkable too."
The sovereign gave a satisfied nod and turned back to the open balcony. "See to it."
"Yes, my sovereign."
'It would be easier if you just admitted this is what you wanted all along, my sovereign.' Darke held his smile as he remained bowed.
The sovereign had always valued fairness. It was obvious he'd been looking for a reason to upgrade Malakai's rewards, and he'd used Darke's words as the excuse.
"Were you able to find anything about the anonymous letter?"
At the sovereign's question, the air shifted instantly. The light mood vanished, and Darke's expression turned serious.
"No, my sovereign. We've searched the entire city and found no trace of anything, or anyone, powerful enough to pull it off."
The sovereign frowned.
"As expected. I searched the city myself the mont I saw it… and found nothing."
Silence fell between them.
After a while, Darke spoke again. "But… seeing as everything turned out well with the Ninth, can we assu that whoever dropped the letter is on our side?"
The sovereign shook his head. "You're looking at it from the wrong perspective, Darke." He turned toward him, and the air grew heavier.
"I am a Zenith. The peak of humanity's power. If sothing inside this do can escape my senses, we need to find out what it is."
Darke bowed low. "I apologize, sovereign."
"It's fine."
The sovereign turned fully and walked back into the room behind him. It was furnished with only the basics, far too simple, considering who it belonged to. The giant of the West.
He passed Darke and approached the lone table near the wall.
"Even if things turned out well, it's too early to celebrate. We need to find out exactly what Malakai acquired from the pit, and whether it poses a danger to him or anyone else."
"Shall I question him, my sovereign?" Darke asked.
The sovereign shook his head. "No. Leave him be. Just observe and report. So far, the only side effect I've noticed is that using that power draws darkness creatures toward him."
The sovereign had already figured out the true cause behind the creatures' behavior during the hunt.
That was why he'd helped Malakai cover it up. But caution was still necessary, especially considering how everything had started.
'Send him to the pits and he will evolve.'
A few months ago, just a day before he had decided to send Malakai to the pits, a letter had mysteriously appeared on that very table.
He had been on the balcony watching the city. But when he returned to the room… the letter was just there.
It had been strange. Far too strange.
The sovereign, a Zenith, had sensed nothing. Still, he had read it. Nine words, and nothing more:
Send him to the pits and he will evolve.
He'd pondered those words all day. And when the incident with Khana occurred, when Malakai had been beaten, he made his decision, despite his reservations.
A fight for survival was better than the living hell Malakai had been enduring.
And now, Malakai had returned with sothing even he couldn't fully peer into. The other Blooms couldn't sense it, but a Zenith's perception was beyond them.
He could feel it, sothing ancient inside Malakai. Sothing even he didn't understand.
Still, it didn't change anything. Malakai was still his grandson.
'They have the sa eyes.'
His favorite son had been Valerian, before his death. It wasn't because of his talent, but for who he was.
Unlike the rest of his cold blooded sons and daughters, Valerian had never chased power for power's sake. He had been… different.
A breath of fresh air in a clan that suffocated itself with ambition.
And his death had pained the sovereign more than he had ever admitted.
'My greatest failure.'
A failure as a clan head. A failure as a father. The wound had never healed.
But he wouldn't make the sa mistake with Malakai.
'I'll protect him.'
From the very beginning, he had assigned Nyx to watch over Malakai. Not just as a spy, but a protector. On every mission, she had been instructed to act only when his life was truly at risk.
The sovereign drew his gaze away from the table and looked back at Darke.
"Any other news?"
Darke hesitated for a second, clearly uncertain how the news would be taken. Then he bowed.
"The Heliarch Clan is showing interest in the Ninth Vein."
The air turned subzero.
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