“Xaigan is as guilty as me,” Jatzal roared, then teleported out.
“Have you anything to say to defend yourself?” Drekkoril asked Xaigan.
“The destruction of the Fae and every tradition you profess to hold dear will crumble under your poor leadership,” Xaigan spat.
“Get out of my castle and do not return.”
Once he was gone, Drekkoril leaned back. “Is there anyone else who would like to make a confession before we ferret out your dishonest work?”
“Noble Protector, you must not allow your desire for revenge against those that disagree with you to override your good sense. You need us,” Midrera protested.
“I need sioskallos who will advise me and know their roles. What I do not require is a group of people concerned with how to gain power for themselves.”
“You are a very foolish man,” Christianti accused. “You stripped our world of the laws that protect v’airsell niolls. That is more egregious than anything in the Vol’Gon era, and yet you expect us to trust you. I do not. You are a menace to the Fae, and none of us sitting in this room wish to help you destroy our world, though I have concluded it may be inevitable anyway.”
“I am the first one to admit I made a mistake in lifting those laws,” Drekkoril responded, and there was grief in his voice. Although he was sorry that he’d done it, his decision was only a fraction of the issues surrounding them, and since he’d put it all in place again, it was not contributing to the draining of their light. “I am not perfect, nor is any sioskallo. I will err, and that is to be expected. A good leader will admit that. It is not a sign of weakness but one of not being faultless.”
“That is a string of excuses,” Trevyl snapped. “Christianti is right. As sioskallos, we disagree on many things, but the one thing we can unite behind is our desire not to aid you in the downfall of the Fae.”
“You must give us additional authority if you wish to confront any of the problems which plague us,” Christianti added.
“One of the most pressing issues is the fact that you already have too much power. There is no way I shall ever give you more.”
“Then you may consider yourself alone in your foolishness,” Cozisan informed him. Sioskallos around the room stood, and their chairs turned to smoke. Within seconds, there were three people sitting in the siofllar’am.
“That did not exactly go according to plan,” Drekkoril muttered when the doors whipped open to allow a swarm of D’Vaires entry.
“I thought you did very well,” Rorie told Drekkoril, getting to his feet and offering his surprised bemollo a hug of support.
“I agree,” Renny remarked, embracing Drekkoril.
“I’m so fucking furious,” Chander snarled. “This is the exact shit that the elders used to do to me. I supposedly needed them because I couldn’t handle my role. That’s a bunch of fucking nonsense and couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“I have grave fears for your safety,” Alaric stated.
“If an attack is imminent, you cannot stop it,” Drekkoril reminded him.
“That may be true, but you won’t be fucking hurt in your own damn castle,” Chander said.
Rorie’s eyes widened as a dark spell covered the castle completely. It was a familiar one; it mimicked one of the layers which protected D’Vaire.
“Darn right,” Renny enthused, adding a thin gold one.
“Wait,” Drekkoril demanded.
“Man, we were so close,” Brogan muttered. “I practically have hives trying to keep my anxiety in check over everyone roaming around without our magic bubble.”
“I do not mean to stop it from happening. There are servants inside. I am uncertain where their loyalties lie. Allow me to gather them and ask them to leave the castle. Then you may surround it with as much protection as you wish,” Drekkoril said.
Noirin rubbed her hands together. “Yay, Kendrick and I get to cook again.”
“Fabulous, who do we kill so I can get a burger?” Dark Indigo Duke Macardle D’Vairedraconis asked.
“Make Tallosaur shift and kill him. He’s the biggest beast, we’ll have meat for years,” Dra’Kaedan teased with a grin for Aleksander.
“Nice try, Squirt. If I die, I revert to my human form.”
“Plus, no one’s fucking killing my mate,” Rafe growled.
