Lucen's words left the chamber with a tension that hung thick as morning fog. Selene leaned forward in her seat, her golden eyes fixed on Lucen.

  "Where is this descendant that you speak of?"

  Lucen smiled as there was nothing more he wanted to do than to tell her, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Morgan interjected,

  "First, tell us how you managed to destroy all the remaining Demon Hearts in the Continent." The first witch asked mostly for herself. She couldn't see how this young Saint could pull this off. "Even if you could be anywhere on the Continent at a moment's notice. Actually destroying them is something else entirely."

  Selene's focus snapped to her grandmother, the question pulling her from her original concerns. Destroying a Demon Heart was as difficult as destroying the Demon it was formed from. And only powerful Demons could produce Demon Hearts at all. Each one was unique, requiring careful study to find the proper method of destruction. Even with considerable knowledge and skill, Selene knew such work would take days, if not weeks, to destroy each individual heart, even for her Grandmother.

  "Unless you're a demon yourself," Ravokar added, his crimson eyes gleaming in the chamber's light. "Demons can easily manipulate and destroy such things. But considering the volume of Demon Hearts that remained—eight in total on the continent—it would have taken you several years to destroy them all." He paused, tilting his head with mock curiosity. "Unless you're claiming to have more knowledge and understanding than Morgan when it comes to Demon Hearts. Understanding that rivals demons themselves."

  Lucen shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know about all that." He shifted his weight, his expression thoughtful. "But what I do know is that during the past few years hunting Hearts, I manifested an ability." He lifted his finger, and electricity flared around it.

  "It allows me to find the fault lines in the gems. I can see the weak points where they can be shattered." Then he tapped the table in front of him. The electricity sparked on the table, and several cracks formed at different locations along the massive table. His gaze floated around the room until it landed on Darius and then moved down to Devotion that rested at his side. "That ability can also be translated to all forms of magicraft as well. Over the past two months, I have focused on that ability and further enhanced it. Necessity is the mother of invention, after all."

  The words settled into silence. Then Lucen's eyes found Selene's, holding her gaze with an intensity that was laid bare for all to see. There were no words that needed to be spoken; she was his necessity, and being in her presence was his need. Words meant nothing in the face of grand actions.

  Selene stared back at him for a moment and then turned her eyes away. A smirk curved her lips. Lucen saw, and a bright smile stretched across his face. He didn't care who saw him; he never cared about much of anything, save for one person.

  Cassian scoffed at the open display of affection from a High Saint towards his future wife. He took a breath to maintain his decorum. Darius remained outwardly calm, but his grip on his blade tightened until his knuckles whitened.

  The Grand Master of the Inquisitors cleared his throat. "Not all the Demon Hearts have been destroyed. The Hallow still houses four of them." His eyes fixed on Morgan with barely concealed demand. "I don't suppose you'll be willing to let us destroy them?"

  "No," Morgan replied without hesitation.

  The Grand Master smiled, "May I ask why?"

  "Because those Demon Hearts are what keep the lights on around here," Morgan responded without withholding any information.

  Shock rippled through the chamber like a stone thrown into still water. Even those who prided themselves on composure couldn't quite hide their surprise.

  Morgan continued, her voice matter-of-fact. "Demon Hearts are filled with near-infinite Vaylora, and they are self-sustaining and replenishing. Unlimited renewable energy. You'd have to be a fool not to use them."

  The revelation hit like a second wave. Suddenly, everything about the Hallows made sense—why they had no use for trade with the outside world, why their defenses were so impossibly robust, why the Vaylora here was so thick and bountiful it practically hummed in the air.

  The Cardinals covered their noses as if breathing the air itself would infect them with corruption. The Elven representative shook his head at their display.

  One of the Cardinals found his voice, though it trembled slightly. "You are a messenger of the Gods, one with nature. How can you stand to live in such a place?"

  The Elf's response was quiet but cut deep. "Shouldn't the fact that we choose to live here speak louder than your doubts?"

  The Cardinals withdrew into their seats, still visibly uncomfortable but lacking the words to continue their protest.

  Rhydan leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing at his lips. "That's a fascinating idea. Perhaps we should do the same."

  One of his sons nodded eagerly. "That sounds excellent. It would go a long way in the desert territories." Then his enthusiasm dampened. "But I doubt Morgan will lend us a Heart."

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Morgan smiled at their words, giving them their answer. The Princes sighed, and Rhydan simply chuckled.

  Valerion's eyes narrowed, his calculating gaze sweeping across the chamber before settling on Morgan. "Perhaps she won't need to."

  Morgan looked at the Emperor with a knowing smile, as if she'd been waiting for exactly this moment. "Go on. Ask your question."

  "How are Demon Hearts created?"

  Before anyone else could respond, Selene cut in with a laugh that rang clear through the chamber. "Doesn't the Sanctum teach that? Every child in the empire should know that at this point."

  One of the Cardinals frowned, his voice stiff with recitation. "They are formed when the malice of a powerful demon is so great that upon death, its corpse molds itself into a crystallized vessel of filth."

  "Yes, yes," Valerion waved his hand dismissively. "And their very presence threatened to bring ruin to humanity. I've heard what the Sanctum thinks." His words were sharp but absolute. "I don't want human theory. I want the Demon's knowledge." His eyes turned to Rav with predatory focus.

  The Pontifex made the sign of the thorns at the Emperor's words. All the members of the Sanctum felt an unease wash over them. Augustine closed his eyes and took in a breath.

  Rav smiled. "There are two ways. The first is voluntary—to leave something behind for future generations. Both dragons and angels do the same. The other is by force, usually as a form of execution."

  "Why should we believe you?" the Grand Master demanded.

  Rav's smile widened. "Because all the Demon Hearts on this continent were created by me." He paused, letting that sink in. "Except the four in the Hallows. Those were Morgan's doing—four rebellious demons during the Hallow's founding."

  The room went deathly quiet. Even the sound of breathing seemed muted. Everyone was in deep thought, but none more so than Darius. His mind raced as everything over the past several months rolled through his mind. He had gathered his thoughts and then asked,

  "Humans can make Demon Hearts... from the corpses of demons?"

  "Yes," Rav confirmed. "As long as they have the know-how."

  Darius's next question came quickly. "Does the Sorcerer's Circle have the know-how?"

  Selene gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "The Kindred." She always found it strange that they would go through the trouble of making such things. Sure, they were powerful, but not enough to justify their existence over the usual ghoul. At first, Selene thought it was just morbid curiosity, or perhaps to experiment on, before they experimented on themselves. She had never thought of,

  "Artificial Demons..."

  At Selene's words, Rav's eyes widened in rage. He all but leapt from his seat. The Vaylora flared around him, reducing his chair to dust. The air around the room became heavy. Even the Emperors felt the pressure exuded by the enraged Demon. "They want to create artificial demons to produce Demon Hearts? Unacceptable!" His voice rose with each word. "How dare they... How dare they try to use us as cattle!"

  Morgan raised a single finger, her voice cutting through Rav's building rage. "Calm yourself. We aren't sure that's their goal. It's just a theory—a very good theory, but conjecture nonetheless." Morgan sent out a wave of Vaylora that clashed with Ravokar's rage. The pressure disappeared, and Morgan tapped her finger on the table twice. This produced a new chair for Rav, who sat down rather aggressively. His well-crafted calm was all but gone, and he had no intention of trying to maintain it.

  "It's something to keep in mind moving forward," Emperor Valerion added, his tone brooking no argument. He didn't press for more questions about Demon Hearts. It had become abundantly clear that the sooner they took down the Sorcerers Circle, the faster he would get the answers he sought.

  Selene scanned the room for an instant and then seized the moment before more arguments could erupt. "What about the First Coven descendant? Where are they? How do you know they are a descendant?"

  Lucen's expression softened into a genuine smile. "They are here with me. They are the new Saint I've been placed in charge of." He smiled as he stared at Selene once again; the image of them as children flashed through his mind. "When I met the kid. It was... it was like looking at you again, back when we were kids."

  The Pontifex sat up straighter in his chair, interest sharp in his aged eyes. "You think Saint Lumin Arcallis is a descendant of the First Coven?"

  "I do," Lucen confirmed. "From all the known descendants..." He tilted his head towards Cassian, "Crown Prince Cassian with his impossibly potent illusions." Some of them flinched at Lucen's words. Many of the delegations there, including some of the priests, were not aware of this. Selene sighed and rubbed her temples. Cassian's brow knitted close together. His fist tightened until his knuckles whitened. Lucen saw the looks on their faces but didn't care,

  "Or that Lyssara Caelthorne, and her Sunfire magic." There were more murmurs, but most of the delegations were aware of this fact. One of the downfalls of the Caelthorne was their supposed ties to witchcraft.

  "Not to mention, Meme. I mean Princess Selene. They all have abilities that exceed comprehension, even by witch or Saint standards." He turned his attention back to Selene and said, "Lumin is no different." He paused, something almost like wonder crossing his features.

  "How so?" Selene asked.

  "The way he wields Lightning. It's like he was born from it. For every one thing I teach him, he learns three more. I'd love to say I'm just that good a teacher, but..."

  "We both know better than that." Selene joked, and the two of them began to laugh.

  Lucen continued, "The only way my pride could take that kid being real is if he's a descendant of the First Coven."

  Selene's smirk returned, sharp and decisive. Her voice carried the weight of command that came so naturally to her bloodline.

  "Bring him to me."

  "Hold on." Varin Solgrave, the Grand Master of the Inquisitors, interjected.

  "Pontifex, you can't possibly intend to let her take a Saint from us?" The Pontifex closed his eyes and thought of the moment when Augustine would intervene and say,

  "Such things fall within my purview, don't they?"

  "Perhaps, but everyone knows you're soft on that girl. You're bound to give her whatever she wants. I'm half tempted to bring you up on charges of corruption." Varin smashed his fist on the table. Selene's laugh cut through the tension as she looked at the Grand Master.

  "I believe you all are forgetting where you are. This is the Hallows. I get whatever I want within these walls. This is no different." Grand Master Varin stared at Selene, but could say nothing. His eyes just darted between her, Morgan, and then the two Emperors. All of whom exerted a wordless pressure on the leader of The Thorn Path.

  "Bring me to him... and let him decide what he wants."