Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 660: A Compromise ()

As her foot hit the edge of the first step leading up to the elevated dias, Neveah paused briefly.

She lifted her gaze up, her eyes met Imagor’s and briefly Kaliana’s, and Lady Kaliana offered a small smile of encouragement.

’Not that we need it... this scene suits us best.’ Neveah’s wolf thought to her.

Neveah did not respond, there were times when her wolf had her own thoughts and convictions, from the start, Neveah had been alone in her distaste for stepping up.

Neveah’s gaze moved to Kirgan and finally to Menarx where it lingered for a short moment.

No words could be said at this moment, but Neveah could read Menarx well enough to understand the words in his gaze that reassured his full support.

The night had been spent hunting down the Black Network, there had not been enough time to let everyone know of her intentions, but Neveah knew Imagor had conveyed the information to those who mattered most.

"Lady Neveah, we were yet to deliberate on your presence in Dragon Keep and the consequence of your involvement in the discord between Lords Everon and Decaron..." Lady Fiona began to say but she trailed off in astonishment when Neveah continued up the steps.

Neveah climbed up to the elevated dias where the King’s guard sat, but she did not stop there.

Much to the astonishment of everyone watching, she ascended the last few steps, till she stood before the central seat of power of the Asvarian Stronghold... the throne of the Dragon King.

It took just a few heartbeats for the outrage to begin.

"Lady Neveah! What is the meaning of this?!" Lord Conrad roared from where he stood on the council.

"Neveah, you should know better. That is not a level just anyone can stand on. You can say your piece from down here." Elina, another one of the riders Neveah had made acquaintance with in the rider academy spoke up.

A lot of other exclamations of outrage were aired by the council but Neveah did not pay attention to it.

Her gaze lingered on the throne for a moment, a heavy feeling of dread gripped her but she swiftly suppressed it.

Neveah then took a step to the side, she turned around and sat on the arm rest of the throne, an action that she believed would send the hall into complete pandemonium, but instead, the hall fell into pin drop silence. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Neveah did not react, she also kept silent and watched the dragon lords and riders, her gaze moved from one look of conflict to the other and it carried on for a short time before Menarx finally broke the silence.

"Does anyone fail to understand? If so, you need only look closely." Menarx said clearly.

The dragon lords were silent, even Conrad did not seem able to muster a protest and he passed a subtle look to his rider to deter her from speaking.

The silent exchange did not escape Neveah’s notice. It was because as Menarx had said, one who took a good look at Neveah could tell,

All the dragon lords on the rider council knew clearly, and if they had not known for sure, they did in the first moment Neveah stepped through the doors.

"In the presence of the convener, this council may now commence." Imagor announced when no one spoke up, he passed Neveah a look and nodded.

"As we all are aware, Keep grounds faced an unusual situation the night before, one which would certainly be a cause of concern."

"The council must be eager to know what exactly happened last night, and I will explain the part I played in it." Neveah began, her tone was calm but firm.

"I arrived at the Keep a day ago... I will admit to concealing my identity on purpose, as the cause for which I came here is one of great controversies. My intention was to leave swiftly and tend to the urgent matters before addressing the council."

"But as it stands, some matters can no longer be pushed forward." Neveah said.

"Last night, on my instructions, the Hidden Archives were opened from which I retrieved the scrolls related to..." Neveah trailed off for a moment.

"Asrig, Our Liege’s predecessor." Neveah completed.

Unsurprisingly, the outrage was once again stirred by Neveah’s revelation. And Neveah waited in silence for her words to settle, however, it did not settle so easily.

"That is tantamount to treason! On whose authority do you access the Hidden Archives?" A dragon lord demanded.

"Authority?" Neveah asked.

Neveah sighed, lowering her head for a moment, she prayed for patience to get through this day but when Neveah’s head lifted once again, her eyes had changed and there was a dim golden glow emanating from them.

"Are my words insufficient?" Neveah asked in a darker tone,

’Words are never enough, Neveah...’ Demevirld’s voice whispered in Neveah’s mind.

A small flame sparked to life around Neveah’s clenched fist and gasps of surprise quickly spread through the hall.

"Is that...?!" Lord Decaron exclaimed in shock.

Neveah glanced down at her hand and shook it gently to get rid of the flame.

’You just focus on aiding Jian through our bond and stop channeling his flames to me...you know I am only letting you linger on the surface for Xenon’s sake. If you get distracted and Jian fails...’ Neveah threatened.

Demevirld hummed quietly and receded slightly.

Neveah cleared her throat slightly and continued addressing the now silent council.

"Asrig’s writings are still in my possession and I intend to explore the contents in search of one that I believe will provide enlightenment on the disappearance of King Jian, Lord Xenon and his party." Neveah continued.

"After last night, I understand the council’s reservations on the exposure of these records and the risks surrounding it falling into the wrong hands. With the Black Network alerted, these records cannot be allowed to leave Dragon Keep."

"As such, I propose a compromise. I must access Asrig’s records, but I am willing to do so in a monitored environment, here in Dragon Keep." Neveah said, her voice once again calmed.