Until now, Henry had quietly ordered his people to track Vesha's movents within the Human City, watching where she went, who she spoke with, and how she carried herself, among others, carefully weighing her value piece by piece.
If they wanted this new mortal faction to exist, it could not be made of Humans alone. They needed natives as well, people who belonged to this world and
could stand beside them with their own weight.
After detailed research and long consideration, they had decided Vesha was the perfect first step, soone who could help them raise their influence faster and anchor it on a more solid foundation.
As the conversation at the table flowed, Henry kept his place as a calm participant, occasionally adding a few comnts of his own. Every now and then, he would gently steer the topic toward governance, responsibility, and how mortals and Practitioners shaped their worlds, hinting at the idea he wanted to create without spelling it out. At the sa ti, his eyes kept drifting back to his watch, checking the ti as if waiting for sothing-or rather, soone.
In truth, he was waiting for only one person. He was waiting for Adyr.
Henry was the one who had sent the yellow signal to Adyr's device, hoping he would arrive before the al and conversation ended so that everything would be ready by the ti he stepped into the room.
For Henry, the logic was simple. If he wanted this 2-faction system of
governance to beco real, he needed the approval of the man who currently sat at the very top of authority.
Rules, councils, and factions-none of it mattered if Adyr simply refused. So instead of confronting him directly, Henry wanted to create a scene where the idea was already alive, already spoken, and already accepted by the people Adyr cared about.
What he was doing now was setting that stage. He was letting these 4 Humans talk to Vesha, letting them hear a native's view of how mortals lived, how kingdoms were run, how trade worked, and how ordinary people carried the weight of power above them.
Slowly, he was planting the idea of a mortal faction in their minds, nudging them to see it as natural and necessary. When Adyr arrived, his intention was for him to walk into a room where his family, influential figures from Earth, and a native girl from the Beyond were already discussing shared authority and balance as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.
Then, at the right mont, Henry would finally bring up the 2-faction structure in front of him. If Marielle and Niva supported the idea, if they frad it as a way to protect their people and ease Adyr's burden, Henry was sure Adyr would struggle to reject them.
No matter how ruthless he might be, refusing a proposal that ca from his own mother and sister, in a united environnt like this, would not be easy. That was the hope Henry was betting everything on.
What he did not know was that Adyr had already seen through him and made his own counterasure.
Henry would never have the opportunity to present his grand suggestion, as the stage he had ticulously prepared had already fallen apart conceptually before he could even test its viability.
Adyr was not coming alone, and the force he was bringing with him would turn any thought of carefully divided factions into sothing that felt naive and almost childish.
Still, inside the room, ti passed in steady, comfortable waves. The conversation dragged on in a natural way, stretching into hours without anyone noticing.
Marielle and Niva asked about Adyr's life here, trying to fill the gaps he had left in his brief visits. Vivienne and Marcus turned their attention to structures: laws, trade routes, resource flow, the balance between kingdoms, and the invisible rules that kept everything standing.
Plates slowly emptied, glasses were refilled, and at so point the al stopped being a al and beca nothing more than background to the steady exchange of questions and answers.
Just when Henry started to think Adyr might not have received the signal at all or simply decided not to co, his watch began to vibrate. A familiar glow appeared on its surface, so he lowered his eyes to check the color.
What he saw did not bring relief. His expression darkened imdiately, his brows pulling together as his face tightened.
The color was red. A step above the yellow he had sent to Adyr. A level
reserved only for the worst possibilities.
Henry cut the signal at once and rose to his feet, making the chairs around the
table shift as everyone looked up at him with startled eyes.
"Please excuse , sothing urgent just ca up. You are welco to continue without for a mont," he said quickly, keeping his tone polite before turning toward the door, leaving 4 Humans and 1 Velari behind with confused, questioning faces.
The mont he stepped out into the corridor, soone was already waiting for him. A sharp-featured man with white hair, gray eyes, and an STF uniform stood there as if he had grown out of the wall itself.
Henry t Rhys's gaze, tension already rising in his voice. "What is the matter? Why did you send the red signal?"
In the entire city in the Beyond, only 2 Humans knew the real plan behind this gathering: Henry and Rhys.
Originally, the arrangent had been straightforward. Henry would host the eting while Rhys monitored the city.
When Adyr arrived, Rhys would inform him, and they would invite Adyr into the room. Only then would the negotiations for the 2-faction governance truly begin. They would lay out the structure, offer the logic, and slowly try to guide Adyr into accepting the idea of sharing authority instead of holding it all in his
own hands.
In that plan, there had been no need for a red signal. Red was reserved for sothing entirely different. That color ant a catastrophe strong enough to wipe out the entire city, perhaps even all of Humanity in the Beyond.
Seeing Henry's face tighten like that, Rhys let out a small chuckle, his tone sounding almost amused. "Your plan worked. Adyr is coming. He just arrived in the city and is currently on his way here."
The words should have eased him, but Henry's frown did not move. "Then why
the red signal?"
He knew Rhys well. Rhys was not the type to misjudge a threat level. If he chose red, there was a reason.
Rhys kept his composed smile as he answered, "Well, that is because he is not alone. It looks like he is coming with 3 Rank 4 Lunari Practitioners. Silverlight Zephan is among them."
At that, the aning of the red signal clicked in Henry's mind, making his eyes widen. "Did he lose his mind?"
Inviting Vesha, or any other mortal or low-rank native Practitioner, into their city and headquarters as a guest was still within acceptable limits. But bringing in 3 Rank 4 Practitioners without warning, especially Lunari, a race known for their love of war and their talent for battle, was on an entirely different level. That was the kind of decision that fully justified a red alert.
These 3 were not guests in the ordinary sense at all.
Each one was a walking disaster, a living weapon. Together, they were like 3 nuclear launchers being escorted straight into the heart of their main base. If they decided to fight, the city would not even have ti to scream before it turned to ash. And Adyr was the one bringing them.
If that happened, even Adyr would not be able to stop them or shield anyone.
***
A/N: Thanks to all your phenonal support we are currently keeping our 10th
place in the Golden Ticket rankings. We just need to stay there 3 more days and we can get our first honor badge for being in the top 10 of the Golden Ticket rankings. Thank you so much for the kind attention you have shown to my
work so far.
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