The council chamber was immediately full.
Adrian was the first one to come, adding a weapon belt to his formal attire. Helena arrived moments later, while Morgana was the last one to enter.
They all stopped when they saw Lyanna standing beside Azrael.
"This is about her family. She needs to hear it." Azrael said before anyone could question her presence.
Victor walked to the centre table, spreading out documents. All were bearing the seal of The House of Graves.
Then King Damien opened the door and barged inside. He was furious.
"Azrael." He growled. "Fifty of my people are slaughtered in coordinated attacks. And now I'm told the intelligence that made those attacks possible came from your bride's family?"
"That's what we're here to discuss." Azrael replied.
Victor cleared his throat.
"If I may, Your Majesty. The documents recovered from the attack sites are authentic." He pointed to the documents. "Queen Isabelle's handwriting, her personal seal, dated within days of Graves Castle's fall, detailed information about Shadowmere's eastern border patrols, the locations of safe houses where vampire families shelter during daylight."
Lyanna felt nauseous.
"But there's something more." Victor continued. "Look at these references."
He pointed to coded lines in the margins.
L's safety is most important, everything else is secondary.
Continue cooperation only if guarantees regarding L remain intact.
If they fail to honour protection agreements for L, no intelligence will be shared.
"The "L" is certainly you, Lady Lyanna." Victor said as he looked at her. "Your mother was brokering a protection deal. Intelligence in exchange for your safety."
"From what?" Helena asked. "The Order? They killed everyone in Graves Castle anyway. If there was a deal, they clearly didn't honour it."
"I don't care about the Graves family dynamics. I care that Isabelle's intelligence got my people killed." Damein snapped. "Were they planning to betray all of us? Were they working with the Order to wipe out vampire society completely?"
Lyanna's hands were trembling. She pressed them against the table edge, trying to calm herself as she leaned forward to read the documents over Azrael's shoulder.
The handwriting was unmistakably her mother's. But the words weren't of the mother she knew.
My mother had been trying to protect me. But from what?
"I didn't know." She whispered. "My mother… she kept me away from all political matters. She never told me anything about alliances or intelligence."
"Convenient." Damien replied coldly.
"It's true!" Lyanna replied in her cracked voice. "She kept me sheltered deliberately. I thought she was just being protective, keeping me away from the ugliness of politics."
She gestured to the documents with shaking hands.
"She was trying to save me from something. I don't know what, but she was desperate enough to…" She couldn't finish.
"If Isabelle was playing some deeper and dangerous game, she wouldn't have included her daughter." Adrian, surprisingly, defended her.
"Or Lyanna was the perfect cover. The innocent princess who knew nothing, making Isabelle's actions seem protective rather than treasonous. What's better than using your sheltered daughter as a shield?" Morgana replied.
"Enough speculation." Azrael ended the debate. "We need facts, not theories."
He turned to Victor.
"Have the Graves Castle ruins been searched completely?"
"Partially, Your Majesty. The initial investigation focused only on identifying bodies and securing valuables. The castle was heavily damaged in the attack, and there were fires as well. Many areas are unstable, dangerous even for vampires."
"Victor, take a team to the ruins of Graves Castle at dawn. Search the archives, the private studies, anywhere where the documents might be stored or hidden. I want to know exactly what she was hiding, why she chose to betray us all."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He then turned to Lyanna.
"It seems your mother was even more duplicitous than we thought. Let's hope we don't find anything that makes me regret offering you marriage instead of execution."
"At least you're investigating properly. Find the truth. My people deserve justice. If this girl is innocent, fine. If she's involved…" He didn't finish. "Either way, I expect answers before your wedding." Damein said.
"Understood." Azrael replied.
The council began discussing who would go to Graves ruins, and how to get the documents found in the burned sections.
Lyanna stood there feeling like she was drowning, like the walls were closing in around her.
Her kind mother who'd read her poetry and taught her embroidery and held her when she had nightmares was the same woman who had provided intelligence that killed dozens of vampires.
And she didn't know anything. She had lived her entire life in ignorance while her mother was playing a dangerous game with both vampires and the Holy Order.
Finally, after what felt like hours but was only thirty minutes, the council dispersed, leaving only Lyanna and Azrael in the council chamber.
"I didn't know." She said again, her voice breaking. "I swear to you, I didn't know about any of this. I was kept in the dark about everything."
Azrael stood with his back to her, staring at the window.
"I believe you."
Lyanna blinked.
"You do?"
"Yes." He turned and looked at her. "Isabelle kept you deliberately ignorant. It's clear from the documents. And your shock, horror, and confusion, are too genuine."
He stepped closer.
"But politically, it doesn't matter whether you knew or not. What matters is that I'm marrying into a bloodline of catastrophic surprises." He cupped her face.
"If Victor finds evidence of your mother planning something even worse than we currently know, I'll have to make difficult decisions."
"You'd kill me?" She whispered.
"I'd do what's necessary to protect Thornfield." His thumb traced her cheekbone. "The wedding can be called off if the circumstances demand it. I've invested a lot in this revenge marriage, Lyanna. I would hate to have to end it before it begins."
The casual way he discussed her execution made her skin crawl. As if she were a business investment that might not pay off rather than a person.
"I can't control what my mother did. I can't change the past or make those vampires alive. I can only tell you that I had no part in it, no knowledge of it, and I would never…"
"I know." He cut her off. "Which is why you're still alive. But remember, my protection has limits."
He stepped back, putting distance between them.
"For now, we'll proceed as planned. You'll marry me tomorrow evening. We'll deal with whatever revelations come out about your family as they come. But if they cross a certain line…no one can save you."
Lyanna nodded and turned to leave, desperate to be alone with her thoughts, to process everything that had happened.
Azrael's voice stopped her.
"Where are you going?"
She turned back, confused and exhausted.
"To my chambers?"
"It's after midnight." He gestured towards the window. "Our wedding day has begun. And according to Thornfield traditions, the bride and groom share sleeping chambers from this moment until the ceremony. It's to ensure the bride doesn't flee at the last moment, and to establish the intimacy of the union."
He walked towards the door, expecting her to follow.
"Get used to it, Princess. Your last night of solitude just ended."