Hadin's question hung in the air unanswered as the others in the room shared nervous glances with each other, the bravado they previously displayed vanishing as they silently communicated with each other. "I made a request for you to explain yourselves. I will not ask again," his voice was colder than usual, eyes tracking each member of the room, daring them not to answer him.
"You have no right to demand anything," a woman's voice cut through the tension, all eyes in the room locking onto her; "Not anymore. You and your family are no longer recognized as one of the five families of Amber Plains, and from now on, you and your family will comply to the rules imposed on the lesser lineages," her voice started off trembling, but grew stronger with each word she spoke until it filled the room, "Aside from fulfilling your new duties, the Arkwright family will pay the following as a yearly tithe," she placed a sheet of paper on the table and slid it forward before taking her seat, watching with a proud expression as Rozie picked it up and read.
"You must be out of your mind," Rozie retorted after she spent several minutes reading the document, her hands moving as she spoke to shred the document, littering the floor with its remains. "Fifty thousand hunts a year, sixty percent of all family profits, relinquishing our control over our production rights and our hold over the legal district," she listed the demands that had been written down. "If this is a joke, it is far from funny," she told the gathering.
"Watch your tone you insolent beast!" the woman yelled at Rozie; the veins in her neck bulging in anger as her muscles strained against her ill-fitting suit, her hair rising and writhing with a life of its own in response to her anger. "Just because the Arkwright's treat you different doesn't mean you're anything more than subhuman filth! You and your kind will be reminded of your place very soon!" her breathing was heavy as she glared at Rozie and then at Mia with a mixture of disgust and hate.
"You are quite bold to threaten my right hand in my presence," Hadin's voice cut through the impending violence, turning all eyes to him, "Now let us play a hypothetical game. What happens if I say no?" Hadin asked. "We all know that the moment any word of this reaches the ears of a Sanctifier; and be sure it will, you and your entire families will be wiped from the face of the earth," he took a step forward, then another, each footfall bringing him closer to the table, empty eyes watching their movements, daring them to test him even further.
"Despite that fact, not only did you all stride into my home to threaten me, you even have my replacement ready. This can only mean one thing," he paused for effect, "The higherups don't care about what happens here. That means I can kill you all right here, right now, and nobody would bat an eye. How wonderful"
"You actually think you can survive against us?" the muscular woman scoffed from her seat, her words causing the others to burst into laughter, "I'll be sure to add mental instability to the reasons for your execution,"
"A show of hands if you can comfortably defeat Rozie?" he asked, watching the laughter fade from the room. "Exactly. So illuminate me on the situation. If not one of you can comfortably defeat Rozie, what makes you believe that you can defeat me?"
"This," the muscular woman clapped twice and watched the as space rippled around Hadin before cracking and breaking as six pairs of hands grabbed him and pulled him into the empty void before closing around him, leaving Rozie and Mia alone with the five perpetrators. "And then there were two," she chuckled as the newcomer appeared behind Mia in a burst of speed and wrapped his arms around her, locking her arms in a full nelson, restraining her as the other family heads stood from their seats and began to advance on Rozie who stepped forward to meet them, the air crackling with tension and barely restrained bloodlust.
"Don't focus on them," the voice of her captor whispered in her ear, his arms tightening around her as he pressed himself closer to her, his lips brushing against her ears while his hips thrust forward against hers, "You and I are going to have a wonderful time," his words and voice made her skin crawl as she understood exactly what he was insinuating.
"Charming," Mia hissed, raising her foot and taking careful aim, brought down the heel of her foot on his toes with all the superhuman strength she could muster, the sound of bones breaking and the squelching of flesh letting her know that her blow had hit the mark even before he screamed and his hold on her vanished. Digging her heel deeper into the ruins of his toes, she spun on the heel, using the momentum to smash her foot into his leg; the force of the kick causing him to buckle. "But you are not my type," she brought down her fist on his chin, the force of the blow rattling his brain in his skull, the shaking of his brain disorienting him and dropping him to the floor like a sack of potatoes. "And here I thought you were going to show me a good time," she scoffed, delivering a kick to his torso, making sure her kick landed squarely on his kidney before delivering another kick between his legs.
Turning her back to his downed form, she turned her attention to Rozie; eyes widening as she watched the woman that raised her throw the muscular woman across the room, her other arm gripping the neck of another family head, smashing his face into a marble statue with enough force to crack the marble as her foot pressed down on the spine of another as waves of fire washed over her skin to no avail.
"What the hell," Mia swore softly as she watched a lance made of marble shoot out of the wall and pierce inro Rozie's skull and emerge from the back of her head; the earthen construct dripping with brain matter and flecks of bone. Reaching towards the spike, Rozie pulled it out of her skull and tossed it aside before returning back into the fray, bellowing a warcry that Mia couldn't quite make out.
"Like squabbling children," the voice of Hadin came from behind Mia, startling her. His suit was immaculate, his features unbothered as he turned his attention to the downed body of his replacement. "If this is my replacement, then the other heads truly have a single braincell between them all," he scoffed, taking note of the bruising and bloodied foot. "You have performed adequately," the praise was unexpected, leaving Mia stunned and flustered.
"Thank you sir," she tried to keep her excitement under control, turning her attention back to Rozie, noting that the fight had ended with Rozie limping towards them, the bodies of the family heads arranged neatly before the meeting table awaiting judgement from Hadin
"You've gotten sloppy. I've let you lounge around for far too long," Hadin commented as he took note of her rapidly healing wounds and ruined suit.
"Blame your inability to properly perform paperwork," she replied with a snort as her limp vanished, her wounds fully recovered. "Who were they?" her question was directed to the individuals that had grabbed Hadin and pulled him into a subspace.
"Hired help from a major lineage," he replied calmly. "I'll pay a visit to them soon," he said, making his way to his chair. Flicking a finger at the throne, Mia watched it crumble away, turning to dust in front of her eyes before as a new, even more opulent throne rose from the ground, the other chairs disintegrating while the table was reshaped, centering itself around Hadin who was staring down at the disgraced leaders and his supposed replacement.