CHAPTER 250: COUNCIL MEETING

ERIS

Soren’s eyes flashed with ice-cold fury, the temperature in the room dropping so sharply I saw my breath mist in the air.

"Absolutely not." His voice came out flat, deadly. "She’s recovering from saving this entire city. The physicians ordered complete rest."

Aldric shifted uncomfortably, clearly caught between his emperor and the Regent Empress. "I told her that, Your Majesty. She insisted. Said if Lady Eris is too weak to appear before the council, perhaps she’s too weak to be empress."

The trap snapped shut with audible clarity.

I understood it immediately, saw Vetra’s strategy laid out like pieces on a game board. If I didn’t come, I looked weak, unfit, unable to handle the responsibilities of an empress. If I did come... exhausted, vulnerable, barely able to stand... I became a perfect target for her pointed questions and carefully constructed accusations.

Either way, Vetra won.

Unless we turned it around.

"I’ll go."

Both men turned sharply at the sound of my voice.

I was already pushing myself up from the bed, forcing muscles that screamed protest to obey. My legs shook slightly as I stood, but I locked my knees and kept my expression neutral.

"Eris, you shouldn’t... " Soren started, moving toward me.

I ignored him, taking one careful step, then another. Testing my balance. Finding the rhythm of movement again.

"I know what she’s doing," I said, cutting him off before he could finish his objection. "And I’ll go anyway."

Each step was measured, deliberate. I hid the exhaustion that wanted to drag me back down, hid the weakness that made my hands tremble if I didn’t concentrate. Years as the villainess had taught me how to wear masks, how to project power even when bleeding internally.

"She wants to use yesterday’s attack against me," I continued, meeting Soren’s eyes directly. "Against us. Against our alliance. I won’t hide. Won’t give her that satisfaction or that ammunition."

Soren studied me for a long moment. I watched him war with himself... wanting to argue, wanting to protect me, wanting to lock me in these chambers where Vetra couldn’t touch me. But also seeing the determination in my expression, the set of my jaw, the way I stood despite every physical protest.

He knew he’d lose this argument.

"Fine," he said finally, the word tight with reluctance. "But I’m with you. Every second. She doesn’t get to corner you alone."

I nodded, then turned toward the door. "I need the maids. Now."

They descended on me with practiced efficiency.

Three women who’d clearly been waiting nearby, summoned by Aldric or perhaps anticipating the need. They worked with speed born of years serving the imperial family... stripping away my sleep-wrinkled clothes, washing my face and hands with warm water, brushing ash-streaked hair until it shone.

The dress they chose was perfect for psychological warfare. Deep crimson silk that caught light like living flame, high-collared and long-sleeved to hide the faint cracks still visible on my skin. Gold embroidery traced patterns along the bodice and hem... not flowers or delicate designs, but flames. Stylized fire that seemed to move as I breathed.

They painted my face with subtle cosmetics that made me look rested instead of half-dead. Rouge to hide pallor. Powder to smooth the bruise-like shadows under my eyes. A touch of gold on my eyelids that made my brown eyes appear to glow.

When they finished, I looked in the mirror and saw the Fire Queen staring back. Not the exhausted woman who’d burned herself saving a city. Not the villainess trying to retire in peace. The empress-to-be. Strong, composed, dangerous.

Better than I actually was.

Much better.

"Magnificent," Soren said quietly from behind me. His reflection appeared in the mirror, standing close enough that I felt his presence like warmth at my back. "You look like you could burn the world and not break a sweat."

"Good." I turned to face him. "That’s exactly what I need them to see."

We walked through the palace halls side by side.

Servants stopped what they were doing as we passed, bowing deeper than protocol required. Their eyes tracked us with something between awe and fear... the ice emperor and the fire queen, moving together with unified purpose. Whispers followed in our wake, speculation spreading faster than wildfire.

Did you see her? She’s already recovered?

I heard she nearly died.

She saved us. Banished all those demons herself.

But they came because of her, didn’t they? Fire calls to fire.

I kept my spine straight, my expression serene, my steps measured and graceful despite the exhaustion pulling at my bones. Every inch the future empress. Every inch the woman who belonged at Soren’s side.

The council chamber doors loomed ahead... massive things carved from ancient ice that never melted, etched with scenes of Nevareth’s founding. Two guards pulled them open as we approached.

The room beyond fell silent.

Every duke was there. Every high noble. Every house with voting rights in the Imperial Council. Witnesses, all of them. An audience for whatever spectacle Vetra had planned.

And at the head of the long table, in the seat reserved for the emperor, sat the Regent Empress herself.

Vetra looked every inch the ruler... ice-blue gown, platinum hair arranged in elaborate braids, hands folded calmly on the table’s polished surface. Isolde stood slightly behind her left shoulder, eyes downcast, playing the perfect obedient attendant.

Somewhere in the room, hidden among servants or shadows, I felt a presence like a cold spot in warm water.

Every head turned as we entered. The silence deepened, became weighted with expectation.

Vetra stood slowly, a smile spreading across her face that looked warm if you didn’t know how to read the calculation behind it.

"Your Imperial Majesty," she said, voice carrying perfectly across the chamber. "Lady Eris. Thank you for joining us. I know you must be exhausted after yesterday’s... ordeal."

Soren didn’t respond to the pleasantries.

He simply walked to the head of the table, to where Vetra stood in his seat, and waited. The gesture was subtle but unmistakable. A reminder of who actually held power here, regardless of where she chose to sit.

Vetra’s smile tightened fractionally.

"Of course," she said smoothly, stepping aside with exaggerated grace. "Your seat, Your Majesty."

She moved to the right side of the table instead, settling into the chair immediately beside where Soren would sit. The position of chief advisor. Second in command.

Soren sat without acknowledging her, and I took the seat on his left. The position of honor. The place reserved for the empress or empress-to-be. Not across from Soren but beside him, unified, equal in all but title.

Vetra noted it. I saw her eyes narrow fractionally, saw her fingers tighten on the armrests before deliberately relaxing.

"Well then," she began, her voice carrying the practiced authority of someone who’d been running this empire while Soren played at politics. "We’re here to discuss yesterday’s events. The attack on our capital." She paused, letting the weight of those words settle. "By fire demons."