On Death's Honor

Chapter 37: The Circle Council

Craen's little home was as suffocating as could be with five other Circle members awaiting me inside. I didn't even have to knock; the door was thrown open as I approached the porch and, just like how I entered Canden earlier, was gestured swiftly but silently inside.

The first thing I noticed was that Craen wasn't there. At least, she wasn't in the main area. Given the amount of strength she'd have had to use to wipe out Mutnya's mini army of cursed trees and beasts, she shouldn't have even been outside. She was probably resting - at least, I hoped so. I wasn't entirely sure if she had known about the nymphtan or not; as my former mentor, Bonosoli was the one meant to interpret my contracts before handing them to the council for approval, although I knew she had someone else do it for her.

She wouldn't have known, I decided. Craen wasn't the type of person to risk other people's lives on the chance that someone else would put a stop to it. At the very least, she'd have prepared for it long before the nymphtan came. Judging from how the night was almost gone by the time she was able to take action, she most certainly was not prepared.

Sighing, I resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. I was far too tired to be overthinking like this.

"By the gods, this is one of our most seasoned erlas?" Sniped an awful, stuffy voice belonging to a man wearing a similar white cloak as a runkin, only the seams, collar, and rim of his hood was a dark, twisting shade of red. Dark, sunken eyes studied me with a curled lip that he didn't bother trying to hide. "She barely looks like she could hold her own against a pup."

Instead of rising to the bait as he'd expected, I took a few more steps forward across the open floor until the two of us could get a proper look at each other, fixing my own gaze on him without speaking a word. He stood taller than me by a couple of heads, and though he was more on the thin side, I could detect a faint shimmering of magic radiating off his person. Still, my silent glowering had its intended affect, and he broke eye contact to glance over at Bonosoli, who stood in the quiet shadows of the room.

"Frenza, you have the most peculiar choice in apprentices. Not a lick of natural magic residing in her blood."

There were three others dressed like this man - two men of average size and height who appeared to be identical twins with dark skin and darker eyes, followed by a tall, willowy woman with flaming red hair and eyes the color of a clear, open sky. One of the brothers stood closer to the door, while the other one stood between him and the man who liked to greet strangers by insulting them. The woman stood on the other side, next to Bonosoli - and it was her that spoke before my mentor could.

"Councilor Pyre, let us not forget the reason we are here to start with." I did not miss the underlying warning hidden beneath her tone, either. Do not underestimate her.

Pyre grunted, fixing his dull, sunken eyes on me once more.

"Do you know why we are here?"

"I was told Bo- runkist Bonosoli wished to see me," I replied curtly, mentally chiding myself for the slip. The last thing I needed was for a few members of the Circle Council thinking that I believed myself their equal. "I do not know why you are here, specifically."

Although I did have an idea.

Pyre opened his mouth to spit something out when the red-haired woman interjected.

"Your wayguard came to us with concerns that you are not of sound and stable mind. He claims you had the chance to kill the nymphtan before the attack, but you let her go. Is this true?"

I bit back a snort, forcing myself to take a breath, instead. "Sane" and "stable minded" were not words I'd ever use to describe Bogdan, yet they didn't seem to care about that little fact.