Chapter 110 Rings of Power

Chapter 110 Rings of Power
Rhyven POV

"They're ancient." She looked like she might explode from excitement. "And here's the remarkable part."

I leaned closer. "They don't require Leviathan blood."

"What?"

She shook her head enthusiastically. "Anyone can wear them."

Nyros nearly shouted in my head. "SCORE!"

I couldn't help smiling. "There are enough here to arm an entire battalion." The librarian nodded vigorously. "Or at the very least your strongest warriors."

My mind immediately raced. Elemental fighters. Ward specialists. Elite defenders. Suddenly our odds looked much better. "There are dozens more artifacts still being identified," she continued. "Weapons. Amulets. Defensive charms. We haven't even reached the bottom of the fourth trunk."

I felt excitement bubbling in my chest. Aeloria needed to hear this immediately. I clasped the librarian's hands. "You've done incredible work." She beamed. "We'll keep going."

"Please do." I turned and broke into a run, and smiled all the way there. For the first time since the attack...It finally felt like we had found something that might change the tide of the coming war.

By the time I reached the council hall, voices were already echoing through the open doors. Not arguing. Not yet. But getting close. I slipped inside quietly, the small velvet-lined box tucked beneath one arm. Nobody noticed me.

Every eye in the room was fixed on Aeloria. She stood at the head of the massive table, one hand braced against the polished wood while maps of both islands lay scattered before her. Her blue hair had been hastily braided back, though several stubborn strands had already escaped to frame her face. Gods. She looked every inch a queen. Exhausted. Determined. Beautiful. She caught my eye briefly and smiled before returning to the discussion.

"...we still don't know enough." Dorian folded his arms. "We know enough."

"No," Tavren corrected. "We know almost nothing." The rebellion leader pointed toward a rough sketch of the Shadow Realm. "We know Nethrys exists." Another tap. "We know he commands shadow creatures." Another. "We know he somehow survived being locked away." He sighed. "What we don't know is almost everything else."

Calren leaned against the wall. "Numbers."

"Exactly."

"Troops."

"Yes."

"Weapons."

"Unknown."

"Magic."

"Unknown."

Riven spoke quietly. "The terrain."

Tavren nodded. "We don't know where he lives."

"We don't know how heavily defended it is," Dorian added. "We don't know whether those shadow creatures were his entire army or just a scouting force."

The room fell silent. That last possibility wasn't comforting. Not even a little. Zorath scratched the back of his neck. "So..." Everyone looked at him. "We need somebody to sneak over there."

Nobody answered. Because he wasn't wrong. Nyra finally broke the silence. "A scout."

Tavren nodded. "Exactly."

"Someone needs to get eyes on their stronghold."

Arren frowned. "And hopefully come back."

"That would certainly be preferable."

Aeloria sighed. "The problem is..." She looked around the room. "We have absolutely no idea how powerful Nethrys actually is."

Nobody argued. We'd all seen what his shadow creatures could do. And Aeloria herself had barely managed to stop them. If those creatures truly belonged to him...What happened if he decided to fight personally? The thought settled heavily over the room. Dorian pushed away from the wall. "I'll go."

"No." Aeloria answered immediately. Calren stepped forward. "I can go."

"No."Nyra folded her arms. "I'm quiet."

"No."

Arren looked entirely too calm. "I blend into snow."

Everyone stared at him. "...Wrong environment," he admitted. A tiny laugh escaped Aeloria despite herself. Then her expression suddenly changed. Her eyes unfocused.

"What?"Dorian asked immediately. She blinked. Then looked up. "Oh."

"What?"

"I forgot."

The room stared. "Forgot what?" I asked.

She swallowed. "When I was unconscious." Nobody moved. "I wasn't... completely unconscious."

"What do you mean?" Tavren asked. Aeloria rubbed the back of her neck. "I remembered something."

The room somehow became even quieter. Her expression turned thoughtful. "Nethrys spoke to me."

My pulse quickened. "What?"

She nodded slowly. "He found me through the bond... or magic... or whatever terrifying shadow thing he does."

Riven's jaw tightened. "What did he say?"

She took a slow breath. "He congratulated me." Silence. Then: "...What?"

"He said..." She frowned, recalling the exact words. "'Well played, Leviathan Queen. You are considerably more powerful than I anticipated.'" Nobody liked that. Not one bit. Then she continued. "He said he has a proposal."

Tavren's eyebrows shot upward. "A proposal?" She nodded. "And that nobody can know." Another pause. "Except us."

Dorian looked ready to put his fist through the table. "He invited me to meet him."

"When?"

"Midnight."

"Where?"

"The southern tip of the island." Every male in the room immediately started talking.

"Absolutely not."

"He's baiting you."

"It's a trap."

"No chance."

"We're not doing that."

Aeloria raised both hands. "I know."

"No, I don't think you do," Calren said.

"I wasn't planning on blindly walking into danger."

Dorian looked unconvinced.

"I wasn't."

"You have a history."

"I do not."

Every person in the room looked at her. She sighed dramatically. "...ok maybe I have a little history."

"A massive history," Nyra corrected.

"A statistically concerning history," Tavren added. Even I couldn't help smiling. Aeloria pointed accusingly around the room. "I hate all of you."

"No you don't," Zorath replied.

"...No." She smiled. Then I decided I'd waited long enough. I cleared my throat. "I may have something useful." Every head turned toward me. Aeloria's eyes immediately brightened. "Rhyven!"

I stepped forward, placing the velvet box onto the center of the table. "I spoke with the librarian."

Tavren leaned forward instantly. "And?"

"They've identified something." I slowly opened the lid. Silence. Then confusion. Rings. Just... rings. Until I lifted one. The sapphire glowed immediately. Water began swirling around my hand without me casting a single spell. Several people inhaled sharply. The librarian's notes rested beneath the rings, and I slid them toward Tavren. He began reading. His eyes widened. Then widened further. "Oh..."

"What?" Aeloria demanded. He looked up. His voice was barely above a whisper. "They're elemental rings."

Everyone leaned closer. "Fire." He pointed. "Water." Another." Earth." Another. "Air." He looked around the room. "They aren't Leviathan artifacts."

Aeloria frowned."So?"

"So..." A slow grin spread across Tavren's face."...anyone can use them." Silence. Complete silence. Then absolute chaos erupted.

"What?!"

"No way!"

"You're kidding."

"How many are there?" I couldn't stop smiling. "A lot."

"A lot?" Zorath repeated.

"There are enough to arm our strongest warriors."

The room exploded into excited conversation. Nyra actually laughed. Arren picked up one of the earth rings with obvious interest. Calren looked like Christmas had arrived early. Even Riven smiled. Aeloria stared at the collection. Then looked at me. Then back at the rings. Her grin grew wider and wider.

"Oh..."

I knew that expression.It was the same one she'd worn before every wonderfully reckless idea she'd ever had.

"...we're about to become a whole lot more dangerous."

Nobody in the room disagreed.
~

Aeloria POV

The room erupted into absolute chaos. Everyone was talking over everyone else, half the council already trying on rings while Tavren frantically scribbled notes about who should receive which elemental affinity.

The excitement lasted all of thirty seconds before Dorian dragged the conversation back to the much more pressing issue. "Nethrys."

The room quieted again. Damn it. I'd almost gotten away from that conversation. Dorian looked directly at me. "You are not meeting him."

I sighed dramatically. "We're really doing this?"

"Yes Aeloria. I'm getting real sick of you just throwing yourself into danger without a care."

Calren folded his arms across his chest. "I agree. There will be no negotiations."

I stomped my foot, highly aware that it was childish. "He literally invited me, firstly, second I am a very good judge of character. If I remember correctly Dorian, every time I have thrown myself into danger, it has been to save everyone's lives. It's almost as if you don't trust me at all."

"That is not what I said Aeloria."

"He said he wouldn't hurt me."

Zorath snorted. "And I once told my mother I definitely didn't eat the last honey cakes."

I looked at him. "...You did eat them."

"I absolutely did."

"Then your point sucks."

"My point is people lie."

Fair....annoying, but fair. Riven finally spoke, his calm voice somehow carrying more authority than anyone else's. "If he truly wished to negotiate, he would come here."

Tavren nodded immediately. "Or send another message."

"Exactly." Dorian stepped closer. "You're not walking into the Shadow King's territory alone."

"It isn't his territory," I argued. "It's the southern beach." Calren pointed a finger at me. "And who chose the location?"

"...Him."

"And who chose midnight?"

"...Him."

"And who specifically told you to come alone?"

"...Also him."

He raised an eyebrow. I sighed deeply. "...Fine, when you put it like that it sounds suspicious."

"It IS suspicious."

Nyra leaned against the wall. "I don't trust him." Arren nodded once. "Neither do I."

I looked around the room. Every single face held the same expression. Concern. Not control. Concern. That made this harder. Much harder. Because they genuinely believed they were protecting me. The problem was...I couldn't ignore the opportunity. Nethrys had reached out. Not attacked. Not threatened. Reached out. That meant something. Maybe he wanted an alliance. Maybe he wanted information. Maybe he wanted to stab me.

Fifty-fifty. Probably. Dorian gently took both of my hands. "Aeloria." His voice softened. "If anything happened to you..." He didn't finish. He didn't have to. I squeezed his fingers. "I know."

Calren stepped beside him. "We're asking you to trust us." Zorath nodded. "For once."

"I trust you all the time."

Six skeptical looks answered me. "...Frequently?" Nobody bought it. I laughed. "Fine." I threw both hands into the air dramatically. "I won't go."

Six very relieved expressions immediately appeared. "There." I smiled sweetly. "Happy?"

"Very."

"Ecstatic."

"Overjoyed."

"Suspiciously relieved."

Riven stepped forward and kissed my forehead. "Thank you."

Guilt pinched my stomach...because...I was absolutely going. There wasn't a chance in hell I wasn't. Not alone, though. I wasn't that reckless....Okay. I wasn't that reckless anymore. The moment the thought crossed my mind, I quietly reached through my bond. "Kael?" The ancient Leviathan answered almost instantly.

"Little Queen."

"Hypothetically..."

His amusement rolled through the bond before I'd even finished. "There is nothing hypothetical about whatever you are about to ask."

I smiled to myself. "If I happened to ignore six overprotective idiots tonight..."

Silence. Then..."You intend to meet the Shadow King."

It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

Another pause. Longer this time. Finally, his deep voice rumbled through my mind. "You will not convince them otherwise."

"Definitely not."

"Nor will they convince you...."

"Probably not."

Warm amusement flowed through the bond. "I know you too well."

I grinned. "Will you watch my back?"

This time there wasn't even a pause. "Always my Queen. You are making the right choice."

Relief flooded through me. "Thank you."

"You are not facing shadows alone while I still draw breath."

The connection faded gently. Good. That was settled. Now I just had to avoid letting six bonded males figure out I was lying straight to their faces. Easy. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe.

"Aeloria."

I blinked. "Hm?"

Calren was watching me suspiciously. "Where did you just go?"

"My head." His eyes narrowed. "Thinking."

"That's dangerous."

"I know."

Dorian sighed. "She's impossible."

"I've been saying that."

The meeting finally dissolved as Tavren began assigning tasks. People filtered out of the council hall in small groups, still discussing elemental rings, defenses, and housing. The second we stepped outside, my stomach growled loudly enough that half the group looked at me. I placed a hand dramatically over my abdomen. "I am starving."

Zorath blinked. "We literally ate a few hours ago."

"That was forever ago."

"It was four hours."

"Exactly."

Nyra laughed. "You're hangry."

"I am absolutely hangry."

Arren looked amused. "I've heard legends."

"You should be afraid."

"I am a little."

"You should be a lot."

Calren chuckled. "I vote we feed the Leviathan before she declares war on the kitchen."