Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 763: Be Ready ()

The Infernal castle was silent. It had been since Neveah returned to it after turning her back on the battlefield and the aftermath of it.

She stood at the head of the council table, her gaze was fixed on the map of Fort Inferno laid out on it, though the far away look in her eyes hinted at her mind being elsewhere.

The door came open and Xenon’s entrance drew her out of her thoughts. He crossed the room in just a few strides and was by Neveah’s side in a moment, like it had not been only a few moments since they were parted at the watchtower, but years.

Neveah did not mind it. Since Xenon’s return, being apart from him for even a single moment filled her with anxiety and with Jian still gone, it was only in Xenon’s presence that her mind found some much needed ease.

She had never thought herself to be a clingy lover but Neveah was certain when Jian returned, she would glue herself to his side if it was physically possible. The moment she let either of them out of her sight, fate swooped in, eager to snatch. She had no intentions of making the same mistake a third time.

"What does it look like?" Neveah asked. She had portaled back to the infernal castle, leaving the final details to Xenon’s command. He was better suited to wrap up a battle, he had commanded more than his fair share of them... for Neveah, this was her first and it still left a bitter taste in the back of her throat.

This taste, Neveah knew would linger for a long time. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Xenon hesitated, but only for a moment. "There are no survivors." He relayed to Neveah. His gaze held hers captive, eyes searching hers.

Neveah diverted her gaze. Inhaling deeply, she nodded. "Good. That is for the best." She said, forcing a smile to her lips than did not quite reach her eyes.

"You... sympathise with the Fae?" Xenon asked in surprise and a measure of bafflement.

Neveah glanced over to Xenon, raising a brow. "Sympathize?... I already knew what the result of my strategy would be. Better them, than us." She murmured.

"There is something... I can read you well enough now, love." Xenon insisted. He closed the distance between them, placing both hands on her shoulders, he moved Neveah slightly so she sat on the table facing him.

"Tell me." He coerced. "There’s no one else here, just me. You don’t have to put up that front with me... never."

Neveah was quiet for a moment, contemplating her own perplexing feelings.

Commanding a battle, she realised, was no different to taking a life. The only difference was perhaps the fact that she could only take one life at a time if she had done it with her own hands. But in this case, hundreds...had fallen at her word.

Neveah had never had a problem with taking a life. She had been raised knowing the world to be a fight of the fittest, the playground of the strong and a death game to the week. Oftentimes, it was either her life or theirs.

And the Fae had done her no favors. Constantly disregarding rules and pushing the dragon court to the edge, they had done the stronghold no favors either.

They declared war and were willing to harm the innocent civilians. They had pushed too far that even Jian had granted leave to suppress them.

They had it coming and deserved everything they got. Again, she had no personal ties to them anyways and had long been fed up with their antics, only tolerating for Jian’s orders.

So what was it then? What was this unpleasant feeling?

"I walked past her in the halls," Neveah began, "On more than a few occasions...when I was your attendant, when I became a Lady of rank..."

"And I would always wonder. How did someone so calm and gentle end up with a sister like Adrienne?" Neveah chuckled dryly. "It didn’t seem to make sense. We were never close, but she was the very definition of contentment... and Adrienne could barely hide her greed. They were polar opposites... black and white, the good and the evil."

Xenon did not interrupt but the weary look in his eyes confessed that he had probably at some point wondered the same. Just how wrong they all had been.

Neveah was quiet for a long moment. "She killed her own sister and fled... without even claiming the body like their customs demand."

"Is she truly... worth dying for?" Neveah asked in honest confusion.

"Adrienne...all these Fae lives, Lodenworth’s betrayal... the death and destruction. She’s a traitor and a murderer! And she hurt Menarx so badly!" Neveah hissed. "How is she worth any of this? This... sacrifice?"

"This feels... pointless." Neveah murmured, more to herself than to Xenon. "I should have killed her in the volcano when I had the chance. Every moment she lives on, many more will suffer for my decision...to let her go."

"It wasn’t your fault." Xenon said firmly. "You honored the final request of a fallen comrade, at any cost... this is the dragon way."

"One thing we cannot control is the choices people make. So we do not need to understand it...we just need to protect our own." Xenon said quietly. "And you did that. Excellently...it was necessary to send a strong warning to the Fae and every other race watching."

"They started this war, Veah. Accused you of murdering their royal representative...never forget that." Xenon’s tone turned chilly at the recollection of the Fae’s excuse for war.

"You didn’t kill those Fae, Veah. Their Queen sent them to their death. They are not our responsibility... not anymore. They lost that privilege the moment they turned on the stronghold." Xenon reminded, tilting Neveah’s chin so she stared up at him.

"I know." Neveah murmured. "Word will reach the Fae by dawn. And then comes their next move..."

"We will be ready." Xenon assured.