Chapter 39 Chapter 38
The emergency Council meeting was called within hours of our return from the border territories.
Every leader of every faction crowded into the Nightfall Court's council chamber. Thalia, Morgana, Cassius. Azrael and his demon advisors. Vera and the witch elders. Everyone needed to hear about Morgath and the existential threat she posed.
"Another Shadow Witch," Thalia said, her voice tight with barely controlled anger. "And you're just telling us now?"
"We confirmed her existence six hours ago," I said, exhaustion making my voice flat. "I'm telling you as soon as possible."
"Six hours is an eternity when we're talking about someone who can tear down the Veil," Morgana said. "She could have attacked again in that time."
"She won't attack immediately," Azrael said. "She used massive amounts of power at the border. She'll need time to recover, just like Seraphine does."
"And how long is that?" Cassius asked. "Days? Weeks? How long do we have before she tries again?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I've never met another Shadow Witch. I don't know her limits or her capabilities beyond what I felt today."
"That's not acceptable," Vera said, though her tone was more worried than accusatory. "We need information. History. Anything about this Morgath that might help us counter her."
"I've been researching," Celeste said, stepping forward with ancient texts. "Morgath was mentioned in some of Elara's journals. She was younger by twenty years, equally talented with shadow magic, but more aggressive. More willing to use violence. Elara kept her away from major rituals because she didn't trust Morgath's judgment."
"So Elara's violent sister survived and spent three centuries becoming more powerful," Kael summarized. "That's unfortunate."
"That's catastrophic," Morgana corrected. "If she's as powerful as Seraphine claims, she could destroy the Veil single-handedly. Everything we've built collapses if that barrier falls."
"Then we find her and stop her," Azrael said.
"How?" one of the demon advisors asked. "She can hide in shadows. Move between realms. She has three hundred years of experience that none of us can match."
"We use the one advantage we have," I said. "She's alone. We're not. She thinks supernatural beings are irredeemable monsters. We'll prove her wrong by working together to stop her."
"Words won't stop her," Vera said. "She's convinced she's saving humanity. Fanatics don't respond to reason."
"Then we'll have to be smarter," I said. "Find her patterns. Track her movements. Set traps. Whatever it takes."
"And if we can't find her?" Thalia asked.
"Then we strengthen the Veil," I said. "Make it harder for her to damage. I can reinforce the weak points, create redundancies. Make it so even if she tears one section, the rest holds."
"That will drain you constantly," Kael pointed out through the bond.
"Better than letting her destroy everything," I said.
The meeting continued for hours, everyone arguing about strategy and priorities. By the time it ended, we had a plan. Not a good plan, but better than nothing. Enhanced patrols at border territories. Mixed teams of vampires, demons, and witches monitoring the Veil. And me, spending my days reinforcing the barrier while trying to build my power to match Morgath's eventually.
"This is unsustainable," Luna said when I returned to my quarters. She'd been waiting up despite the late hour. "You can't maintain the Veil, run the alliance, and train to fight an ancient Shadow Witch all at once."
"I don't have a choice," I said, collapsing onto the couch.
"You always have a choice," Luna said. "Delegate. Let other people handle some of this."
"Who?" I asked. "Who else can reinforce the Veil? Who else can sense when Morgath is attacking? This is Shadow Witch magic. It has to be me."
"The reinforcement, yes," Luna admitted. "But the alliance doesn't need you micromanaging every dispute. The Council can handle routine matters without you."
"You sound like Kael," I muttered.
"Kael's right," Luna said. "You're burning out again. I can see it. And if you collapse before Morgath makes her next move, we're all screwed."
She had a point. I was stretched impossibly thin, and something had to give. But I didn't know what to sacrifice. Every responsibility felt critical.
"I'll think about it," I said.
"Think faster," Luna said. "Because you look like death warmed over."
Over the next week, I tried to balance everything and succeeded at none of it. Days were spent traveling to border territories, reinforcing sections of the Veil that felt weak. Evenings were filled with alliance meetings, tribunal sessions, and endless paperwork. Nights were for training with Celeste, trying to understand shadow magic on a deeper level so I could match Morgath's skill.
Sleep became optional. Food became an afterthought. And through the bond, I felt Kael's growing concern.
"You need to rest," he said one evening after I'd nearly collapsed during a reinforcement session.
"I will," I said. "After I finish this section."
"You said that three sections ago," Kael pointed out. "Seraphine, you're going to kill yourself trying to protect the Veil. That's not sustainable."
"Neither is letting Morgath win," I said.
"She's not winning. She's been quiet for a week. No attacks, no sightings. Maybe she's given up."
"Or she's planning something worse," I countered. "Shadow Witches don't give up. We're too stubborn."
"Clearly," Kael said dryly.
Azrael appeared through a shadow portal, looking equally concerned. "We need to talk. All three of us."
We gathered in my quarters, and both men looked at me with expressions that spelled intervention.
"You're working yourself to death," Azrael said without preamble. "And we're not going to let you."
"I'm fine," I said.
"You're not fine," Kael said. "You're exhausted, malnourished, and running on pure stubbornness. That's not fine."
"We're implementing mandatory rest periods," Azrael said. "Eight hours of sleep minimum. Regular meals. One day per week with no alliance responsibilities."
"That's not possible," I said.
"We're making it possible," Kael said. "The alliance will survive if you take a day off. The Veil won't collapse if you sleep. But you will collapse if you keep going like this."
"And then Morgath really does win," Azrael added. "Because you'll be too burned out to fight her when she inevitably attacks again."
They were right. I hated that they were right, but they were. I was burning out again, pushing myself beyond sustainable limits because I didn't know how else to handle the pressure.
"Fine," I said. "But I choose when I take rest days. And if there's an emergency—"
"We handle it," both of them said.
"Together," Kael added. "Like we've been handling everything else."
"Since when did you two become so coordinated?" I asked.
"Since we both realized you're going to work yourself to death if we don't intervene," Azrael said. "We had a conversation. Decided that keeping you alive trumps our rivalry."
"How mature of you," I said.
"We have our moments," Kael said.
They enforced their rules with surprising effectiveness. Kael monitored my sleep through the bond, waking me if I tried to skip rest. Azrael assigned demons to handle Veil monitoring so I wasn't constantly traveling to border territories. Luna managed my schedule, blocking out time for actual self-care.
It helped. Marginally. I still felt stretched thin, but at least I wasn't actively dying from exhaustion.
Two weeks after meeting Morgath, we got our first lead on her location.
"Border scouts detected shadow magic anomalies near the Northern Reaches," Azrael's advisor reported during a strategy meeting. "Same signature as before. She's testing another weak point."
"How far?" I asked.
"Four hours travel through the Shadow Realm. Remote territory, minimal population."
"She's learning from her mistake," Kael said. "Attacking where we can't respond quickly."
"Then we respond anyway," I said. "Even if it's exactly what she wants."
"It's definitely a trap," Azrael said.
"Probably," I agreed. "But we can't ignore it. If she succeeds in tearing the Veil in a remote location, the cascade effect could still destroy everything."
"So we spring the trap," Kael said. "But prepared for it this time."
We assembled a larger team. Thirty demons, ten vampires, five witches. All trained, all ready for combat. We traveled to the Northern Reaches with weapons drawn and powers ready.
The weak point was exactly where the scouts reported. And standing beside it, hands raised and power swirling, was Morgath.
"You came," she said, not bothering to turn around. "Good. I was hoping you would."
"Stop what you're doing," I commanded. "This doesn't have to end in violence."
"Yes, it does," Morgath said. "Because you won't listen to reason. You're so committed to your alliance that you can't see the truth. Supernatural beings are fundamentally dangerous to humanity. The only solution is complete separation."
"The only solution is cooperation," I countered. "Which you'd understand if you'd spent the last three centuries among people instead of hiding in bitterness."
"I've been preparing," Morgath corrected. She finally turned to face us, and I saw something in her hands. An artifact I didn't recognize, pulsing with dark power. "Gathering tools. Learning magic. Planning for this moment."
"What is that?" Azrael asked.
"Insurance," Morgath said. "You stopped me last time because you used the Veil itself against me. Clever. But predictable. So I found something that severs the connection between Shadow Witches and the barriers they create. With this, you can't command the Veil to resist."
She activated the artifact, and I felt my connection to the Veil snap like a broken string.
No anchor. No ability to call on it for help. Just me against a Shadow Witch with three hundred years more experience.
"Now," Morgath said with a cold smile. "Let's see how well your alliance stands against someone who actually knows what they're doing."