Chapter 22 The meeting
ARTHUR'S POV
I was still in my chambers when I heard the knock.
"Your Highness, I'm coming in."
The door opened before I could respond.
Duke Corvus entered, looking entirely too composed for a man bringing news in the middle of the night. "Your father wants to see you. But before we go, I need to tell you something."
I looked at him from where I stood by the window, keeping my expression neutral. "What is it?"
"It was Raven who poisoned her."
My chest tightened. "What do you mean? Raven isn't even in the capital."
Corvus's smile was cold. "We found him tonight. Breaking into Lady Silver's chambers through the window. Rather suspicious behavior for an innocent man, wouldn't you say?"
"That doesn't prove he poisoned her—"
"The four founding houses have gathered, Your Highness." Corvus moved to my mirror, adjusting his collar with deliberate casualness. "And I feel you should know—your wife was having an affair with the vampire."
My heart skipped a beat. "That's not true."
"That's not my business," Corvus continued smoothly. "I'm just telling you what will save you. The founding houses won't accept vague denials or emotional pleas. They need something concrete. Something believable."
He turned from the mirror to face me directly.
"All you have to say is what you noticed. That you suspected something was wrong but couldn't prove it." His voice was reasonable. "That will be believable. And it will help you out of the mess you've put yourself in, Prince."
"This is nonsense," I said.
"Of course it is." Corvus's smile didn't waver. "But I won't repeat myself again. Consider what I've said carefully."
I understood everything then. This wasn't about justice or truth. This was about giving them a convenient story. A narrative that cleared me while damning Raven and Silver's memory.
My freedom in exchange for betrayal.
"What is the situation with my wife?" I asked carefully, changing the subject.
Corvus turned toward the door. "Everything will be discussed in the war room." He paused, looking back. "Don't waste my time, Prince. We're waiting for you."
The way he said it made my stomach turn.
I stood and followed him down the corridor.
~ ~ ~
The war room.
I'd always hated this place. Every meeting here brought disaster. Policy changes that hurt people. Declarations of war. News of defeats and deaths.
Nothing good ever happened in the war room.
The heavy doors opened, and I stepped inside.
Four men sat around the long table, each representing one of the founding houses. Their personal guards lined the walls behind them, hands resting on weapon hilts. The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on.
My father sat at the head of the table.
When I looked at him, he turned his face away. Like he couldn't bear to see me.
That hurt more than the accusations. More than the imprisonment. More than any of it.
I scanned the other faces quickly. House leaders I'd seen at formal events but never truly knew. Old men with old power and older prejudices.
And notably absent—any representative from House Noir. Duke Noir was missing.
"Thank you all for gathering on such short notice," Corvus began, standing at his place. His voice carried authority, like he was chairing this meeting instead of my father. "I'm afraid I have grave news that requires immediate attention from the Council."
The room fell completely silent.
"I hate to be the one to tell you this." Corvus paused, letting the tension build. His eyes swept across the table, landing on each face before moving to the next. "But Lady Silver Noir is dead."
The words didn't register at first.
Dead?
No. That was impossible. She was alive. Fighting the poison, yes, but alive. The healer was treating her. She was—
"What?" The word came out strangled.
Murmurs erupted around the table. One of the house leaders, a heavy-set man with a gray beard, leaned forward.
"Dead? When? How?"
"What the hell are you saying?" I found my voice, stepping toward the table. "That's impossible. She was alive. The healers said she was stable—"
Corvus looked at me with something like pity. It made my skin crawl.
"She passed away less than an hour ago." He paused. "I'm truly sorry for your loss."
"I don't believe you." My hands clenched into fists. "I want to see her. I want to see her body."
"That can be arranged," Corvus said smoothly. "After we discuss the circumstances of her death. Because Lady Silver wasn't simply a victim of poison, gentlemen. She was murdered."
The room erupted.
"Murdered?"
"By whom?"
"In the royal palace?"
Corvus raised a hand, calling for silence. "By the vampire lord known as Raven. He broke through the window of Lady silver, but I believe he has an ally who helped him to escape."
"Raven didn't—" I started.
"Crown Prince." Corvus cut me off, his voice sharp. "I would advise you to act like the noble you are. You're not seeing the full picture—your status is at risk, and here you are defending a criminal."
I turned to look at my father, but he seemed composed. Like everything happening here had been rehearsed.
One of the other house leaders—a thin man with sharp features—nodded slowly. "You said he has an ally, can you please explain."
"We don't know who they are yet," Corvus continued, "but that's not all. I believe Raven was sent to kill her—and he tried to frame the Crown Prince to cover his tracks."
I wanted to shout that it was all lies. But I knew—this was the only mercy Corvus would offer me. Silence in exchange for my freedom.
"Furthermore," Corvus continued, his voice dripping with false sympathy, "the vampire was always in the Lady's chambers. Always alone with her." He paused, letting the implication sink in. "One might say she was unfaithful to the Crown Prince. Some might call what happened... karma."
Murmurs rippled through the room. I couldn't stand it anymore.
The trap was closing. I could feel it.
"It's a lie!" I interrupted.
Corvus turned to me, eyebrow raised. "Crown Prince—"
"Don't." I stepped forward. "Don't you dare say another word. You planned this, didn't you?"
The other house leaders shifted uncomfortably.
"I see." Corvus's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps I misjudged you. Perhaps... you planned this with Raven."
"How petty." I nearly laughed. "I didn't know you could stoop this low."
"Enough." The King's voice cut through the chaos like a blade. We all fell silent. "Corvus, I appreciate your diligence. If Raven killed Lady Silver, do you have any idea where he is now?"
"Right here, actually."
The voice came from the shadows in the corner of the room—a corner that had been empty a moment ago.
Guards drew their weapons. House leaders lurched back in their seats. But Raven simply stepped out of the darkness like he'd been waiting there all along, arms crossed, looking entirely too amused for a wanted man.
"I see you're all having fun without us," he said dryly.
"Raven!" I moved toward him before the guards could react. "What about Silver? Is she—"
"My, my." Raven tilted his head, a smirk playing at his lips. "Didn't you hear? They said she's dead." He gestured vaguely toward Corvus. "I actually came here to bring flowers."
My heart stopped. "Raven, don't—"
The door opened.
And there she was.
Silver stood in the doorway, a stack of documents clutched in her hands. Alive. Breathing. Alive.
"How—" one of the house leaders stammered, half-rising from his chair. "This is not possible!"
I stared at her, unable to speak.
Maybe it was because I'd genuinely believed I lost her. Or maybe it was something else entirely.
This wasn't the Silver I knew. This wasn't the desperate woman who'd begged for my attention, or even the cold stranger who'd threatened divorce.
This was a queen.
"Corvus." She said his name like it was something foul. No title. No honorific. Just the name of a man she was about to destroy.
"I must say, I'm impressed." Her voice was cold, measured—almost admiring. "But that amount of poison wasn't nearly enough to kill me."
Corvus's composure flickered. Just for a moment.
She looked at me—just for a moment—and something passed between us. Something I couldn't name.
Then she turned back to face the room, her green eyes finding Corvus with deadly precision.
"My question is this." She held up the documents. "Where is Duke Noir? Where is my father?