All Chapters of Ember Academy : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

"That's not possible." Kael's voice carried immediate, sharp denial, though something flickered uneasily behind his usual easy composure. "My household staff are thoroughly vetted. I would know if someone with Corvane history served among them.""Would you." Cassia's eyes remained fixed on him, something cold and certain settling behind her earlier fear. "Or would a steward, perhaps, handle such arrangements quietly enough that a young lord focused on diplomacy and charm never thought to ask."Lord Corvane's expression had gone carefully, dangerously still, calculation moving visibly behind his composed features as he studied Kael with fresh scrutiny. "The name, Cassia. Who.""Mabel Thorne." Cassia lifted the ledger higher, voice steady despite her obvious exhaustion. "Served as a household scribe for House Corvane for nearly a decade, dismissed after a disagreement with my father's steward. Three years ago. Records show her transferring immediately into House Dravenmoor's employ."Se

"Keep your voice down." Oren's whisper carried barely above the wind rustling through the dense canopy overhead as the small group crept carefully through unfamiliar forest, the old shrine supposedly waiting somewhere ahead. "If Renna's right about compromised ears, we take no chances today.""I still don't understand why Dorian couldn't come," Mira murmured, picking her way carefully over a fallen log."Because House Vale's political standing remains too delicate for him to vanish on an unsanctioned expedition," Sera said, the words tasting bitter even as she spoke them. "Lord Corvane made that quite clear."She hated leaving him behind again, hated the political chess game that kept pulling them apart precisely when she needed him steadiest, but Renna's quiet insistence on secrecy had left little room for argument."There." Renna's voice was hushed, urgent, as the trees finally thinned ahead, revealing a weathered stone structure half swallowed by creeping vines, ancient and forgott

"Three days." Oren's voice was tense as the small group gathered the following evening, planning carefully around a hastily sketched diagram of the academy's ancient bell tower. "That's when Mabel's next check falls due, according to her own schedule.""We need to be positioned well before dusk," Renna said, tracing the tower's winding stairwell with careful precision. "Multiple vantage points, in case whoever arrives attempts to flee quickly."Dorian, finally freed from his council obligations, studied the plan with visible frustration. "I should be stationed closest to Sera, not relegated to a secondary position again.""We need coverage across multiple exits," Oren said patiently. "Sera's position requires someone capable of countering unexpected magical defense, which happens to be considerably more useful near the main stairwell than beside her directly."Dorian's jaw tightened, though he said nothing further, clearly recognizing the tactical logic despite his obvious reluctance.

"We need everyone's full attention on this," Lord Corvane said grimly, the following morning's emergency council session carrying none of the summit's earlier formal pageantry. "This council has spent weeks chasing individual threads, Halric, Mabel Thorne, hired mercenaries. We require, immediately, a unified approach toward identifying whoever actually commands this conspiracy."Sera sat beside Dorian, exhaustion heavy beneath her eyes despite the previous night's urgent planning session stretching well past midnight. "The message specifically mentioned the summit's conclusion. One week from now.""Which means," the older woman in green and silver said, "whoever this is intends decisive action before this gathering disperses, while thirty one houses remain conveniently concentrated in one location.""Or," Oren said slowly, "precisely because thirty one houses remain concentrated here, creating exactly the chaos necessary to mask whatever they're actually planning."Lord Corvane's exp

"My father's study," Kael said quietly, leading the small group carefully through House Dravenmoor's guest quarters under cover of darkness. "If there's evidence of deliberate planning, it's likely there.""This is considerable risk," Renna warned, "for a man who may yet prove entirely innocent.""If he's innocent," Kael said, voice tight with controlled tension, "then I'll apologize properly, and we'll search elsewhere. But I need to know for certain."They slipped into the quarters, Kael's familiarity with the layout guiding them swiftly toward his father's private study, and Sera's fire cast careful, dim light across the room's ordered shelves as Kael began searching methodically through his father's correspondence."Here." His voice carried sudden, sharp tension as he lifted a bundle of sealed letters, breaking the wax with trembling fingers. "These aren't addressed to anyone within House Dravenmoor's usual correspondence."He scanned quickly, and his face drained further of color