The room was shut tight. The windows were covered with thick cloth to block the light from inside. A single lantern burned on the table in the center of the room. Its weak glow revealed the faces of the people gathered around it.

Thirteen wolves were present in the room. Eight of them sat around the wooden table while five stood. Some were nobles. Some were elders in councils. Some were officials. Others were men who operated quietly behind the scenes. All of them shared the same secret.

They served the Dark Lord.

The air in the room felt tense. No one spoke at first. Each man waited for someone else to begin.

Elder Toben sat at the head of the table with his arms crossed. His shoulders were stiff, and his jaw remained tight. Next to him was Elder Hiram, who kept his hands flat on the table, his eyes looking from face to face. Across from him sat Elder Varon, watching the room with the patience of a man used to waiting.

The others watched the three men carefully.

Finally, one of the younger men broke the silence. "Are we certain about the information?"

The man who had delivered the news nodded. The source had been reliable. They had paid him well for years.

"Our source inside the castle confirmed it. The heiress went down to the dungeon and spoke with Eirene for nearly an hour. The guard has helped me a few times, so there’s no reason to doubt him."

The room grew uneasy.

"She must have said so much to the heiress. They will offer her something, and she will give them everything." One of the men who stood near the wall said. He was an official who had gotten into a huge debt he could not pay, but was saved by Toben.

Another man across the table nodded in agreement. "Our names. Dates of transaction. She has everything. If she spills, everything we have worked for will all come out."

Another young man leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. "This is bad."

"It might not be," Toben said quickly.

Several heads turned toward him.

"She could have said nothing. Eirene has always been careful." Toben said.

Varon scoffed quietly. "You still trust her after everything?"

Toben glared at him. "I don’t trust, Eirene. But she knows the consequences of betraying us." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

A man near the far end of the table shook his head. "You are missing the point. She is sitting in a dungeon. Her life means nothing now."

"If the heiress offered her freedom, she might speak," another man said.

A murmur spread through the room.

Hiram finally spoke. "That possibility is exactly why we are here tonight. We need a solution."

The men looked at one another. An older man with grey in his beard pointed a finger at Toben.

"This is your doing. You had the chance to end her. But you gave her poison and told her to do it herself. You should have gone in there and finished it quietly. Now she sits in a cell giving speeches to the heiress while we cower in fear of being labeled traitors!"

Several men murmured in agreement. Toben’s jaw tightened, he balled his fists and slammed them on the table. "I did what seemed prudent at the time. The safest method, and none of you objected then."

"Because we did not think she would lose her nerves," the grey-bearded man shot back. "She was supposed to die. That was the plan. Clean. Simple. No loose ends. But you trusted her to kill herself."

"Why would she do that when she has something to protect?" A blonde-haired woman questioned.

Toben’s patience snapped. "You think I did not consider that?!"

"You clearly did not consider it enough. Could you drink poison? If someone put a cup in front of you right now and told you it would protect your family, your name, and everything you built, would you do it?" The grey-bearded man demanded.

Toben stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. "Do not speak to me of courage. I have done more of this cause than any of you! I have risked everything."

The room erupted into chaos. The voices began rising around the table.

"You should have handled it quietly."

"You had the chance."

"You allowed this problem to grow."

"If she reveals our names, we will all be executed for treason."

"She will trade us for her freedom. That is how these things work. She gives them us, and she walks free."

"Then we are dead men."

"All of us are dead men."

Toben stood with his fists still clenched and his face red from fury. He tried to speak, but no one listened. The room was filled with anxious voices. They placed blame. Repeated their fears in louder tones. They all knew what was at stake if Eirene named them.

Each man imagined the same future. Chains. Public trials. Execution for treason. Exile for their families.

"Enough of this madness!"

Elder Varon slammed his fists on the table. The sharp and loud sound echoed through the room. Everyone went still, and all eyes turned toward him.

Varon was not the oldest man in the room, but he was the most dangerous. He was known to be a cunning man, yet he still carried authority.

"You are acting like children!" His voice remained calm, but his expression showed irritation. He looked around at each of them. "Like children who have been deprived of bread and cannot think of anything but their hunger."

No one dared to speak.

"Fools!" He spat.

The insult hung in the air, but still no one challenged him.

"This is not the time to fight each other. This is the time to think. We have a problem at hand. It is a serious problem. But fighting amongst ourselves will not solve it. We need a solution. We need to decide what to do and then do it. That is all that matters now."

One of the men by the wall cleared his throat. "Do you have a plan then?"

Varon looked at him. "There is one solution, provided she hasn’t rattled us out yet."

Hiram spoke. "If she had said anything, the heiress wouldn’t be quiet. I can sense that the heiress has something more in mind since the bonding ceremony."

"Then the best way is to get rid of Eirene tonight before she meets the heiress again. A dead prisoner cannot testify."

"How do we get it done without raising suspicion?" Hiram asked.

"The dungeon is heavily guarded," Toben added.

"You seem to forget that not every guard is loyal to the crown," Varon replied.

A knock came on the door, and everyone in the room tensed.

"My Lord, urgent matters." A voice said from behind the closed door.

"Come in, Cassian," Toben ordered.

A man dressed in black overalls, his face masked, stepped in. He bowed his head immediately. "News from the dungeons. The Beta joined the patrol tonight and is guiding the dungeons with strong men."

Panic erupted among the men. They began murmuring again. Toben dismisses Cassian.

"The Beta guiding the dungeons doesn’t mean anything. I know men who can get into places they shouldn’t be able to. Our goal is to get rid of the problem."

The men exchanged glances. Some looked relieved. Some looked uncertain. A few looked afraid of what they were agreeing to.

Toben sat back in his chair. He looked at each of them. "We have to do what needs to be done. To protect ourselves. To protect our families. To protect everything we have built. If Eirene lives, we are all traitors. If she dies, we have more time to plan."

"Do we have an agreement?" Varon asked.

The men exchanged glances and chorused their response. "Yes."

Varon nodded slowly. "Everything ends tonight. Go to your homes and rest easy."

The men began to talk again, but this time their voices were lower as they left the room in twos until Varon, Hiram, and Toben were left behind.

"They will panic again if something goes wrong tonight," Toben said.

Varon shrugged. "They always do. But they have no choice but to do our bidding. We are all in this together."

Hiram nodded. "I don’t like that the Beta is watching the dungeons tonight? What if something goes wrong? You know he’s skilled."

"I’ll tell my men to take him out if the need arises which will also help our cause. The goal is clear." Varon stood up. "Go home, Hiram, and drink to your full for we do not know what tomorrow holds." He walked out of the room.

The decision had already been made. Eirene would not see another sunrise.