Page 28 of Infernal Crown (Cursed Darkness (DarkHallow Academy) #3)
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
VERIK
We walk the familiar hallways, but the air has changed. The suffocating pressure of the grimoire is gone, leaving a vacuum in its wake. The academy’s magic feels neutral again. Waiting. Watching.
Lysithea walks beside me, her steps lighter than they’ve been in days. She’s no longer a god, but the power of this place still clings to her like a second skin. She is the key to this entire insane venture. My anchor.
My mind is already a whirlwind of blueprints and arcane physics. Grafting a hell realm onto a dimension built on a magical nexus point isn’t just ambitious; it’s unprecedented. The sheer, beautiful impossibility of it makes my hellfire hum.
Blackgrove’s office looms at the end of the hall. He won’t be easy. He sees everything in terms of assets and threats. I have to present this as an acquisition, not an invasion.
We stop before the heavy oak door. The gargoyles leer down at us as the door swings open.
We enter cautiously to see Blackgrove sitting behind his desk.
He doesn’t look up. Just continues signing a document with a pen that drips shadow instead of ink.
He finishes with a flourish, sets the pen down, and finally raises his gaze.
His eyes are chips of blue ice, and they assess us one by one.
“I assume by your continued existence that Tenebris Vinculum is no longer a concern,” he says.
“It has been destroyed. Erased once and for all,” I state.
Blackgrove’s expression doesn’t change. He steeples his fingers, waiting.
I don’t bother waffling or giving details. We need to move on. “Lysithea’s connection to DarkHallow, her authority as Sovereign, gives us access to the academy’s core nexus. I can build a bridge between here and my home realm, so she is free to leave here.”
The silence stretches.
“A permanent, stable connection,” I continue, pressing the advantage. “A territorial expansion for you. An alliance with a hell realm for DarkHallow. Access to resources, power, strategic advantages.”
Blackgrove looks past me, his gaze settling on Lysithea before it flicks back to me. “Your home realm is in turmoil. Why would I allow you to bring that to my door?”
“The turmoil is a temporary management issue,” I say, my voice cool. “One I am about to resolve. Violently.”
Blackgrove’s expression remains unreadable.
“You gain a stable, powerful ally,” I press on, laying out the deal. “I handle the clean-up. You get the benefits. A new territory, new resources, and a Sovereign who isn’t plotting to burn down her own prison.”
“And you get to watch him set things on fire from a safe distance. It’s a win-win,” Dathan murmurs.
Blackgrove ignores him. His gaze drifts back to Lysithea, who stands silent, her power a quiet storm contained within her small frame. She is the real currency in this negotiation.
“The cost of this ‘alliance’?” Blackgrove asks.
“Her freedom,” I state, the words hanging in the air. “She remains tied to DarkHallow to live, but the bridge gives her a way out.”
He considers this, calculating the angles. He’s weighing the value of a willing Sovereign against a caged one. A happy asset versus a resentful weapon.
Finally, he nods once. A sharp, decisive movement.
“Clean up your house, Mr Verik. Then we will discuss the construction of your bridge.”
It’s not a yes. But it’s not a no. It’s a challenge. One I fully intend to meet.
Only…
“Okay, but there is one problem,” I say slowly. “We can’t leave here without the bridge. I need to create it first. Then defeat the rebels.”
He stares at me for a long time. “This is your mess, Mr Verik. Figure out a way to fix it without a single rebel stepping foot on DarkHallow grounds.”
End of conversation.
“Understood,” I say, and we step back, bracing for the forceful removal that seems to befall us every time we are in here.
Instead, he simply waves his hand as he turns back to his paperwork, and we file out under our own steam.
“Well, that was okay,” Lysithea breathes when the door closes behind us.
“Okay, but not good,” Dathan says, turning to me. “You need to go figure this out and do it fast.”
“Fast will be an understatement,” I say, striding off, restless to get started. “Victory is so close, I can almost taste it. First, things first. I need to think about how to make the bridge. Then I go back and take what's mine. This needs to be an extermination.”
The rebels in my realm have had months to entrench themselves. They think they’ve won. They’ve grown comfortable on my throne, ruling my people, plotting their pathetic little future. They’ve forgotten what real power looks like.