Chapter 36 The Hunt Begins
The Triune Chamber
The chamber was warm with firelight and quiet power.
Thick velvet curtains muffled the noise of the capital beyond the palace walls, leaving only the soft crackle of the hearth and the faint rustle of parchment as Vespera turned a page.
Othran paced.
He had been pacing for nearly an hour.
The general’s boots struck the stone floor with the steady rhythm of restrained violence, his broad shoulders tight with anger he had not yet decided where to place.
Across the table, Vespera did not look up.
“That was an insult,” he said finally.
The words landed like thrown stones.
“He spoke to us like we were junior officers,” Othran continued. “In our own council chamber.”
Vespera did not look up from the parchment she was reviewing.
“Elias has always had difficulty remembering his place,” she replied mildly.
“He didn’t forget,” Othran snapped. “He challenged us.”
Now she did look up.
Slowly.
Her dark eyes regarded him with a level calm that made lesser men shrink.
“You are confusing confidence with treason,” she said. “They are not the same.”
Othran scoffed.
“He defied the Triune. He took the girl without permission.”
His mouth twisted as he spoke the last word.
“The omega.”
The way he said it carried a difference.
Vespera noticed.
“You are upset for reasons that have very little to do with politics,” she observed.
Othran’s expression hardened.
“I was owed compensation.”
There it was.
At last, honesty.
“You promised an evening,” he continued bluntly. “A taste before she was shipped off to the prince.”
Vespera leaned back in her chair.
“How charmingly delicate your phrasing is.”
His glare deepened.
“You agreed.”
“I allowed the possibility,” she corrected.
Her fingers tapped lightly against the table.
“And circumstances changed.”
Othran laughed harshly.
“You mean Elias decided they would.”
“No,” Vespera said quietly.
“I decided.”
That silenced him.
For a moment.
Then he straightened, folding his arms.
“You let him walk out of here with her.”
“Yes.”
“You let him insult us.”
“Yes.”
His brows lowered.
“Why?”
Because, Vespera thought, you are a hammer and cannot imagine anything that cannot be solved by striking it.
Aloud, she said simply,
“Because stopping him would have complicated matters.”
Othran leaned forward.
“He would have obeyed.”
Vespera tilted her head.
“Would he?”
The question lingered between them.
Elias was many things.
Disciplined.
Precise.
Loyal to the kingdom.
But not blindly obedient.
And certainly not when he believed he was right.
Vespera sighed softly.
The storm outside had thickened, rain streaking the glass like silver threads.
“Consider the alternatives,” she continued. “If we had denied him, he would have pushed harder.”
Othran snorted.
“I would have enjoyed that.”
“Yes,” she said dryly. “You enjoy many things that create unnecessary mess.”
She turned back toward him.
“And if Elias had refused to stand down?”
Othran shrugged.
“We remind him who commands this kingdom.”
“Meaning we arrest him,” Vespera said.
“Or kill him.”
Othran didn’t blink.
“Correct.”
She smiled faintly.
“And in doing so, we remove the most competent commander we possess on the eve of a border operation.”
His jaw tightened again.
“And expose ourselves to questions from the council,” she added.
“And the prince.”
“And the envoy.”
The last word lingered.
Both of them knew the implications.
Othran exhaled sharply.
“He overstepped.”
“Yes,” Vespera agreed.
“But he is still useful.”
She returned to the table and rested her fingertips lightly against its surface.
“What matters,” she continued, “is that the girl remains exactly where we need her to be.”
Othran’s gaze darkened.
“Here in Drakovia.”
“Yes.”
“Waiting to be delivered to the prince.”
“Yes.”
“And then,” he said slowly, “their court opens its gates to us.”
Now Vespera smiled.
That was the heart of it.
The omega.
A clearly high noble of Aeloria.
important to a kingdom that had stubbornly refused Triune influence for decades.
Until now.
“Marriage is a remarkably efficient tool,” she said softly.
Othran barked a laugh.
“Not if Elias decides to interfere again.”
“He won’t.”
“You sound very certain.”
“I am.”
She paused.
Vespera’s gaze drifted toward the window, thoughtful.
“There are… possibilities we must consider.”
Othran snorted.
“You mean the pregnancy.”
She did not answer immediately.
Her fingers drummed once against the wood.
“Yes,” she said at last.
Othran leaned back.
“You think it’s his?”
“I think,” Vespera said carefully, “that Elias is not a man who interferes without reason.”
The fire crackled softly.
Othran folded his arms, watching her.
“If it’s his, that’s a problem.”
“Then we remove it,” Othran said bluntly.
Vespera’s gaze flicked up.
“You are sometimes breathtakingly inelegant.”
“It’s practical.”
“It’s messy,” she corrected.
Another quiet pause settled over the chamber.
Then Vespera exhaled softly and lifted a hand.
A guard stationed by the door stepped forward immediately.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Go to the Vera residence,” Vespera said. “Bring me the omega servant with silver hair.”
The guard bowed.
“At once.”
He left quickly, the door closing behind him.
Othran frowned.
“The door closed behind him.
Othran leaned back in his chair.
“And why exactly are we fetching servants now?”
Vespera moved back toward the window.
“Because Elias has already left for the border.”
“So?”
“So,” she said patiently, “if the girl remains in the manor, he will have stationed guards to watch her.”
Othran nodded.
“Reasonable.”
“But those guards,” she continued, “serve the Triune.”
He paused.
Understanding crept across his face.
“They won’t refuse us.”
“Exactly.”
“And if she’s there,” he said slowly, “we collect her quietly.”
“Yes.”
He grinned.
“And if she’s not?”
Vespera didn’t answer immediately.
Instead she studied the storm outside.
Rain lashed the courtyard below.
Torches guttered in the wind.
“If she is not there,” she said at last, “then we have a different problem.”
Othran’s grin sharpened.
“I enjoy problems.”
She ignored that.
Instead she returned to the table and unrolled a large map.
Aeloria spread across the parchment like a jewel.
“Assuming everything proceeds as intended,” she said, “we present her to the Aelorian court once the prince arrives.”
Othran leaned over the map.
“And if they resist?”
“They won’t.”
“That’s optimistic.”
Vespera tapped the map lightly.
“They value bloodlines. Tradition. Legitimacy.”
Her finger traced the royal crest.
“She is mated to someone of importance.”
“And if they don’t care?” Othran asked.
“Then the child becomes a bargaining chip.”
He grunted.
“You think she’s worth that much?”
Vespera tilted her head.
“The envoy seemed to think so.”
Othran frowned.
“He did ask about her.”
“Yes.”
“And the way he asked…” she murmured.
Something thoughtful flickered behind her eyes.
“Perhaps we underestimated her value.”
Minutes passed.
Then more.
The fire burned lower.
A servant replaced the wine and quietly withdrew.
Still no word.
Vespera’s fingers began to tap again.
Finally Othran noticed.
“You’re impatient.”
She did not look at him.
“No.”
But something in her tone had shifted.
Another ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Now Othran frowned.
“Taking longer than expected.”
“Yes.”
Vespera rose slowly from her chair.
Something cold had settled behind her eyes.
“I do not like delays.”
As if summoned by the words, the door opened.
The guard stepped inside, rain still clinging to his cloak.
He bowed.
“My lady.”
“Well?”
“There is no servant matching that description at the Vera residence.”
The chamber went still.
Othran blinked.
“What?”
The guard swallowed.
“We searched the manor and the surrounding houses. No silver-haired omega is registered among the staff.”
Vespera did not move.
For a long moment she simply stood there.
Then the realization struck.
Her hand slammed onto the table.
“You incompetent fools.”
The words snapped through the room like a whip.
Othran straightened.
“Wait—”
“He’s gone.”
Vespera’s voice was ice.
“Of course he’s gone.”
Her lips curled with sudden fury.
“I allowed myself to believe Elias would follow the rules of this game.”
Othran stared.
“You think he took her?”
“Think?”
Her laugh was sharp.
“Elias would never have been foolish enough to leave her here while riding to the border.”
She began pacing now, skirts sweeping across the stone.
“He planned this.”
“When?”
“When he first requested custody.”
Othran swore.
“That arrogant bastard.”
“Yes.”
Vespera stopped at the hearth.
“Which means we must act carefully.”
“Carefully?” Othran snapped. “He just stole a royal omega from under our noses.”
“And if we react too quickly,” she replied calmly, “we reveal our hand.”
Othran frowned.
“We send riders.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Elias is escorting the caravans to the border.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“If we suddenly send soldiers racing after them, every noble in the capital will begin asking questions.”
Othran grimaced.
She turned to the guard.
“Lock down the palace.”
The man bowed.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Interrogate the servants at the Vera's residence.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“And the guards.”
“Yes.”
Othran watched her, impressed despite himself.
“You’re making a show.”
“Of course.”
Her smile returned, thin and cold.
“Someone will be blamed.”
The guard left quickly.
Othran leaned against the table.
“You think someone helped her.”
“I know someone did.”
Images flickered through Vespera’s mind.
The quiet servant with the watchful eyes.
The silent guard who never spoke.
faces she had dismissed too easily.
Her jaw tightened.
“I grew complacent.”
Othran chuckled darkly.
“Not something you usually admit.”
“It is not something I usually do.”
Silence returned.
Then Othran pushed off the table.
“If we can’t send riders…”
He smiled slowly.
“…we send assassins.”
Vespera looked at him.
“Hunters.”
The word hung in the air.
She considered it.
Then nodded once.
“Yes.”
Othran grinned.
“I know a few who’d enjoy the work.”
Her gaze hardened.
“They are not to kill the girl.”
“Shame.”
“They bring her back alive.”
Othran tilted his head.
“And Elias?”
Vespera’s expression didn’t change.
“If there is… an incident,” she said softly, “while retrieving the girl…”
Othran’s grin widened.
“…then the matter resolves itself.”
Vespera turned back toward the fire.
Far to the north, caravans rolled through mud and storm.
And somewhere among them—
A stolen prey.
“Find them,” she said quietly.
“And bring her here.”