Chapter 7: The Burning Veil

"Sienna!" Cassian's roar echoed through the stone chamber like a crack of thunder. Before the glass vial could shatter against my face, a wall of pure obsidian Lycan aura surged past me.

Cassian moved with blinding speed, wrapping one broad arm around my waist and pulling me hard against his chest. With his free hand, he caught the glass bottle mid air, crushing the thick vial into powder inside his iron fist.

Branick scrambled backward on his knees, his face twisted in absolute terror as he hit the heavy oak doors. "No! Stay away from me! You are monsters! All of you!"

"You dare throw nightshade venom at my Queen?" Cassian's voice dropped into a bone rattling growl that made the stone floor tremble beneath our feet.

The fifty elders huddled together in the upper gallery, gasping in terror as Cassian stepped forward. The sheer weight of his Lycan aura was so suffocating that several older councilmen dropped to their knees, clutching their throats and gasping for air.

"Cassian, wait," I said, putting a hand on his forearm. The heat radiating off his skin was scorching, but at my touch, his aura receded just enough for the room to breathe again.

"He doesn't get a quick death. He owes us answers." Cassian turned his head slightly, his silver eyes searching my face.

When he saw I was unhurt, the wild edge in his gaze softened into a cold, lethal calm. "Speak fast, old man. Your life is measured in seconds."

Branick was sobbing now, dark sweat soaking his velvet robes as Commander Vane dragged him up by his collar and threw him onto the central marble stone.

"Who instructed you to sign over the western ridge?" I demanded, stepping up to the stone bench and pressing the tip of my silver blade against Branick's trembling throat. "Jaxon's father died four years ago. The trade documents were updated three months ago. Who are you shipping the Silver Moon iron to?"

Branick swallowed hard, a line of fresh red blood trickling down his neck where my blade rested. "I... I can't say! If I tell you, he will slaughter my entire family!"

"And if you don't tell us, I will let Commander Vane handle your interrogation in the lower dungeons," Cassian said, his voice as smooth and lethal as polished ice. "I assure you, Vane is far less patient than the Queen."

Vane grinned savagely, resting his heavy hand on the hilt of his broadsword. "My dungeon cells are very cozy this time of year, Branick. We can start by removing your fingers one by one."

Branick broke completely under the pressure, his nerve snapping like a dry twig. "It's Jaxon! It was Alpha Jaxon!" he shrieked, tears streaming down his fat, pale cheeks. "He knew the Silver Moon pack was going bankrupt after you revoked the trade contracts, Sienna! He needed gold to pay his mercenaries! He sold the raw iron to the Shadow Pack warlords along the northern border!"

A wave of loud, angry shouts erupted from the gallery. Elder Garren slammed his cane against the wooden railing. "The Shadow Pack?! Those are rogue murderers! They have raided our border villages for decades!"

"He traded our ancestral iron to our worst enemies just to keep his title?" another elder yelled, his face turning red with fury. "Traitor! Jaxon is a traitor to the High Laws!"

I looked down at Branick, my stomach turning with disgust. For ten years, I had believed Jaxon was simply an arrogant Alpha who took me for granted.

But the truth was far worse. He was a weak, greedy coward who was burning down his own pack's legacy just to maintain his illusion of power. "Commander Vane," I said quietly, stepping back from the bench.

"Strip Chief Advisor Branick of his robes, his lands, and his title. Chain him in the sub level dungeons until the High Council tribunal is convened." "With pleasure, my Queen," Vane grunted, dragging the weeping advisor off the floor like a sack of grain.

The chamber fell into a tense, heavy silence as the guards dragged Branick and the three bound mercenaries out through the iron gates. The elders remained on their knees, staring at me with a mixture of reverence and fear.

The three drops of blood I had spilled onto the High Bench were still glowing with a faint, luminous silver hue, a permanent mark of imperial authority. Elder Garren slowly stood up, bowing his head deeply toward me.

"Lady Sienna... Empress Sienna. We were blind. We allowed corruption to root in this chamber while you were exiled. We submit to the true bloodline." One by one, the fifty elders bowed their heads, their quiet pledges echoing across the vaulted ceiling.

I looked at them, my heart hardening. "I don't want your submission. I want justice. From this day forward, the Citadel's iron belongs to the crown, and every contract signed by Jaxon is null and void."

"As the Queen commands," Garren said respectfully. Cassian stepped up beside me, placing his hand over mine.

His grip was warm, solid, and reassuring. "You handled that like a true sovereign, little bird."

"This is only the beginning, Cassian," I whispered, looking down at the glowing blood seal on the marble floor. "Jaxon still thinks he can hold onto the Silver Moon pack. He doesn't know his supply lines are gone."

"Then let's go finish him," Cassian murmured, his silver eyes flashing with dark anticipation. "My legion is assembled at the northern gate. By sunset, Silver Moon will belong to you."