The Empress' Descent

Chapter 51 - It Begins

My heartbeat pounded loudly, hammering against my ears. Shadows loomed over Derek's amethyst eyes, his jaw clenched taut. He held my stare with bated breath as if what he was about to say would unleash ill omens along with it.

Tonight, I was resolved on pulling out the unwanted weeds on Kazriel's lawn. Said weeds would be his advisers. Obviously, I had to start with them. Without Ethan's cronies, he'd have no one to back him up. The Emperor's advisers had done nothing but exploit their power to feed on the weak and turn a blind eye on the raids and the South's dwindling economy. They were parasites, sucking the life out of the land. Without them, Solaria would heal. The relationships among the individual regions would heal.

So why was Derek acting like I'd done something I shouldn't have?

It was when he said it, at last, that my question was answered. The howling of the wind that rustled the curtains and rattled the windows-these soft sounds coming from the surroundings were muffled, as though a veil had been slammed onto the room and obscured the senses.

"They're planning a coup, Clary. Everything has been set in stone. He's going to take the throne."

It rang hollow, but the effect made the floor and walls cave in. But I did not want to accept it. Ethan was not competent enough to do that. Because that's what I'd assume at first.

I curled my fists, not letting Derek see that I was trembling. "That-that cannot be..."

Derek took a step forward. He held both of my shoulders, perhaps thinking I was still in a daze. "Clary, look at me."

I nodded, immersing myself into those deep violet pools.

He exhaled. "I should have told you earlier. I was being irresponsible and now I let you act out on your own."

I lifted a hand to his knuckles, giving them a hard squeeze. "Enough, this is not your fault. I am not a child for you to babysit. Don't burden yourself with my own doing. All I want right now is for you to tell me everything."

He was very shaken and I was yet to grasp why. Was killing Lord Miller the last thing we should have done? If anything, with how useless he was, his death shouldn't matter much.

Derek dipped his chin an inch and began. "My spies have reported back to me after I finished talking with the advisers. When we were in Cherville, we scoured the Scarlet Skulls' base and looked into every account there was. And we managed to find bits of scraps in their transactions. They were fake names but we searched deeper and mobilized every connection we had. Erix relayed the confirmation two hours ago. We did not only discover the advisers' relationship to the Scarlet Skulls but their real identities as well."

My throat burned. "Who are they?"

"Ethan had replaced the previous advisers one by one so it wouldn't be clear what his real intention was. He faked their backgrounds and personal information. He made the entire court assume they were Southern noblemen, even though no one had even heard of them." Derek's lips formed into a tight line before continuing. "Truth is, they come from the North's fallen court."

I blinked several times. With my hand that didn't grip Derek's, I pointed to the body lying on the carpeted floor. His gaze followed my finger.

He shook his head. "No, Lord Miller is Southern. The last one that Ethan hadn't gotten rid of yet. Until now."

"Until now? Derek, what—"

I stopped short.

Gradually, it sank in. Like a disease that had begun spreading throughout my body, the grim understanding swallowed my whole being. However sick the thought of it may be, it was becoming truer by the minute. Ethan had pushed me around like a pawn to do his bidding. And I let him do it, taking my outburst to his own advantage.