Page 90

Zira strikes her staff again.

"Korgath is stripped of every title, holding, revenue claim, and house privilege. His lands return to the Crown. His household records remain under Council seizure."

The silver caps on Korgath's broken horns gleam as he jerks his head toward her.

"My house predates this Council."

"Your bloodline predates it," Zira says. "Your authority ends now."

Two guards remove the metallic gold mantle from his shoulders. Another cuts the house clasp from his armor. Korgath strikes the guard's hand aside.

Spears lower around him.

For one instant, I expect him to fight. His claws spread. Rage pulls his mouth away from the scar beneath his blind eye. Then he looks toward the Grand Arena guards positioned at every door and calculates what violence would cost.

His arms lower.

Zira's red eyes remain fixed on him.

"For conspiracy against the throne, Korgath is sentenced to immediate and permanent exile from Galmoleth. He will be taken to the lower gate before the next storm bell. Return will carry death by arena judgment."

The punishment is the one he demanded for Draxon.

Korgath's functioning eye finds us across the chamber. Hatred has replaced every trace of triumph. The guards bind his wrists with black restraint chain and turn him toward the side doors.

No noble moves to defend him.

The three lords he bribed watch the floor. His former allies retreat from the aisle to avoid contact with his stripped armor. Only his household servants follow his departure with their eyes, their futures still tied to a house the Crown has seized.

Korgath passes within ten paces of me.

"Human," he says.

The guard behind him drives a spear shaft between his shoulders.

He stumbles once, recovers, and disappears through the doors without finishing whatever threat he intended.

Vindication offers no warmth.

It gives me room to breathe.

Zira waits until the doors close.

"The challenge to Royal Edict Seventeen remains."

The chamber settles into a sharper quiet.

She takes the metallic scroll containing Asmodeus's revisions.

"The Council recognizes that the edict's stated purpose differs from its earliest construction. Its purity language has protected Crown control while undermining alliances capable of strengthening demon houses. Continued enforcement presents a credible threat to the survival it claims to preserve."

The Matron with the gold-capped horn speaks from her throne.

"A royal edict cannot be erased by Council preference."

"It can be suspended under a sustained challenge until the Crown and Council examine replacement law," Zira says.

Her staff strikes the dais.