Chapter 101- The plan

Chapter 101- The plan
The council chamber burned with lamplight again.
Maps, scrolls, and half-drunk cups of wine covered the long oak table. The air was thick with unease strategy and guilt mixing into something sharp enough to taste.
Ares stood at the head of the table, arms folded, his expression carved from granite. The King of Lycans looked every inch the monarch broad-shouldered, steady, dangerous when silent.
Ariella watched him from her place beside the throne, her fingers curled around the edge of the table. She hadn’t slept since the trial. Claire’s confession echoed still  the tremor in her voice, the way she didn’t beg for mercy.
Now Claire sat across from her, hands unbound but trembling, her eyes downcast.
The silence dragged until Ares finally spoke.
“As we know Cole has Cassian,we heard a private council decision on it, with just few members with Ariella preciding. Now in this general council meeting of all members I am preciding again on this matter.” he said. His voice was even, but the weight behind it made the room feel smaller. “And as long as Cassian lives, he owns Claire.”
Lord Trent cleared his throat. “Then perhaps the simplest solution is”
“Finish that sentence carefully,” Ariella said, her tone soft but dangerous. “Because if you mean what I think you mean, you’ll leave this room without your tongue.”
Trent squeezed his face and fell silent.
Ares didn’t move. “We are not banishing Claire,” he said simply. “Not when she’s the only one who’s been close enough to feed us Cole’s movements.”
Claire looked up sharply. “You want to use me,why are we doing this again after we had a rulling by Ariella”
Ariella’s gaze met hers. “We want to trust you.”
“That’s the same thing,” Claire said bitterly.
Ares placed both hands on the table, leaning forward. “Cole expects you to report back soon?”
“Yes,” Claire whispered. “Before the next full moon. He’ll want proof that the Council fractured after my confession. He’ll want me to tell him that you’re turning on each other.”
Ariella exchanged a look with Ares  an entire conversation in one heartbeat.
“Then that’s what you’ll tell him,” Ariella said. “But on our terms.”
Lady Maren leaned forward, her silver hair catching the light. “Your Majesty, even with deception, Cole has forces along the southern border. If he suspects”
“He won’t,” Ares said. “He’s arrogant. He thinks we’re drowning in politics and grief. We’ll use that.”
He turned to the map spread across the table. “Cole’s fortress is built on the remains of the old watchtower. That means there’s a tunnel beneath, the one that runs from the Elgid Fields.”
Ariella’s brow furrowed. “That tunnel collapsed years ago, I read of it.”
“Collapsed,” Ares said, “but not sealed. My scouts found air movement through the western ridge last month.”
Claire’s voice broke the tension. “You’re planning to send someone through it?”
Ares looked at her directly. “You will.”
The chamber erupted in protest  Clara, Trent, shouting at once. Ariella didn’t move, didn’t blink. When the noise grew unbearable, she slammed her hand against the table.
“Enough!”
The echo silenced them.
She looked at Claire  not with pity, but with grim recognition. “You were willing to risk your life to save Cassian. I believe that’s still true. But if we go in blind, Cole will smell the lie. You need to play your part , perfectly.”
Claire’s throat worked as she swallowed. “You’ll send me back to him.”
Ares nodded. “Under guard until you’re inside his camp. Once there, you’ll give the signal.”
“And what signal will that be?” Maren asked.
Ares’s eyes darkened. “Fire like you did before in this palace.”
Ariella placed a hand on his arm. “Ares”
He met her gaze. “You wanted precision. Fire is the only thing Cole respects.”
She didn’t argue. She only nodded once, quietly understanding. When Ares made his mind up, the only thing left to do was shape the world around it.
“Then we need a distraction,” Ariella said. “Something that pulls his wolf away from the watchtower.”
Clara, still pale but fierce, stepped forward. “I’ll lead it. My sister goes into danger for the one she loves. I’ll face danger for her.”
Claire turned, startled. “Clara, no”
Ares raised a hand. “It’s not up for debate. Clara will lead a small detachment to the northern ridge. Enough noise to draw his scouts north while our main strike comes through the tunnel.”
“And Cassian?” Ariella asked softly.
Ares looked at Claire. “Can he fight?”
Claire shook her head. “He’s weak. Starved. Cole uses his pain to keep me loyal.”
“Then we get him out before the fight begins,” Ariella said. “Not after.”
Ares considered this for a long moment, then nodded. “You’ll have one of my trackers. He can scent him from miles away.”
The plan was taking shape, the air in the room thick with renewed purpose. But Ariella felt the weight of it pressing behind her ribs.
If this failed, if Cole sensed the trap ,they would lose Claire, Cassian, and their advantage all at once.
She stood, pushing her chair back. “We’ll need to brief the troops at dawn. And the scouts must ride tonight.”
Ares looked at her, studying the strain beneath her composure. “You should rest.”
She smiled faintly. “So should you.”
His expression softened, the iron in his tone giving way to something warmer. “When this is over.”
She reached out, her fingers brushing his wrist  a touch that grounded both of them.
Claire’s voice interrupted the quiet. “If I do this… and he finds out…”
Ariella met her eyes, steady. “Then you’ll have to trust us to be there before he can touch you.”
“And if you’re not?”
Ares answered, voice like a vow. “Then I’ll burn his rogues to the ground myself.”
The conviction in his words silenced the room. Even Claire seemed to draw strength from it.

Hours later, when the council had dispersed and the torches had burned low, Ariella and Ares remained alone.
She traced the map with her fingertips, following the path that would take Claire into Cole’s den. “Do you think she’ll survive it?” she asked quietly.
Ares stepped behind her, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders. “I don’t build plans that fail,” he said. “But this one… this one’s tighter than most.”
“She reminds me of us,” Ariella whispered. “Doing the wrong things for love. Hoping they turn out right.”
He leaned close, his breath warm against her hair. “Then let’s make sure they do.”

When dawn finally touched the castle walls, the riders were already saddling their mounts. Claire stood at the gate, a cloak of gray wrapped tight around her shoulders. Clara embraced her once  hard, wordless  then stepped back.
Ares raised his hand. “Ride swift, speak little, and don’t die before the signal.”
A ghost of a smile touched Claire’s lips. “I’ll try to make that the order of events.”
Ariella watched as the gates opened and the riders disappeared into the mist.
The war wasn’t quiet anymore.