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“Well, you missed most of the fun, in any case,” I told him.

“I am not here forfun.” He stiffened, which was an impressive accomplishment considering how stiff he already was. “I am here to secure my new castle in the Veil.”

He waved his hand, and the two soldiers standing guard outside the Vault marched off to join their comrades.

“Your castle?” I repeated. “How is thisyourcastle? I did all the work to get it. If anything, it should bemycastle.”

“Running a castle is a lot of work,” Faris said, dismissive. “I am doing you a favor by taking it off your hands.”

I frowned. “Somehow, whenever you do me a favor, you end up doing yourself an even bigger one.”

“Naturally. That is how you accumulate power, Leda. You would do well to learn from my excellent example.”

I had a feeling he thought he was doing me another favor by ‘teaching’ me that.

“Gotcha!” I declared, snatching a roll of faded, yellowed paper off the shelf.

Faris watched me unroll the cracked, crinkled parchment. “What is that?”

“This is an ancient map of a very special part of the Veil,” I explained. “It contains the locations of many Immortal grave sites. I can use it to discover more Nectar and Venom. You know, the big, important mission the gods’ and demons’ councils gave me?”

“If this is true, then that map represents the single largest discovery of Nectar in well over a millennium.” Faris moved in for a closer look at the map. “It’s in code,” he observed.

“Of course it is. You didn’t think the Immortals would make it that easy, did you?” I rerolled the map, then tucked it carefully into my backpack.

One of Faris’s soldiers returned to report that the slave lords—the so-called ‘princes’—had fallen and the castle was ours.

“Excellent,” Faris said. “I claim this castle in the name of the gods. It shall serve as our base of operations in the Veil for finding and mining Nectar.”

CHAPTER 21

A TALE OF TWO COUNCILS

The other gods and demons had something to say about Faris’s grand claim. After several long hours of discussion between the two councils, they finally agreed to give me command of Midnight Castle while I sought out new sources of Nectar and Venom.

I expected Faris to object, given his enormous ego and all, but he didn’t. All he said was, “Do whatever you must to find that Nectar for us, Leda. Because our very survival depends on it.”

“Fantastic,” I said, rising from my uncomfortable throne. “Now that we’re done?—”

“We are far from finished here,” Violet, the Demon of Nature, cut me off. “We must still discuss the matter of the treasures recovered from the Night Prince’s Vault.”

I sighed, sitting back down. I leaned forward so the big, fat gemstones weren’t digging into my back. Seriously, who had decided it was a good idea to cover a throne in bumpy stones? Someone who never actually had to sit on said throne, that’s who.

“There is nothing to discuss,” Faris told Violet. “My army secured control over the castle, so the Vault’s treasures are mine.”

“Ridiculous,” hissed Sonja, Demon of the Dark Force.

“Spoils of war, dear Sonja,” he said, a smile curling his lips.

“Perhaps my army should secure control overyourcastle, Faris,” said Khalon, the Demon of Hell’s Army, “and then I shall claim your treasures for myself as spoils of war.”

“You do not want to go to war with me, child,” Faris warned him.

Saphira, the Goddess of Shifters, sighed. “Calm down, all of you. And remember who the real enemy is.”

“The Guardians,” said Eros, God of Vampires.

“We are well aware of the threat the Guardians pose,” said Valerian, Demon of Technology. “But you cannot expect us to stand idly by while the gods stockpile Immortal artifacts.”