“The non-human races can’t afford to lose access to the First Tiamat so Lady Verhen’s life is a threat to their future plans. Sure, they can access the children as well, but what if there’s a special interaction with the various Awakened bloodlines that only Verhen can unlock?
“After all, Elysia’s wings are normal and so are Tista’s, Aran’s, and Leria’s whereas Verhen’s are unique.” Jiza showcased pictures of the kids from the Gala, of Tista from the battlefield, and Lith’s Magus profile.
“It makes sense.” Jirni pondered the Elder’s words, finally finding the missing piece of the puzzle that had eluded her for so long.
She knew something was missing but she lacked the knowledge of the inner workings of Awakened bloodlines to understand what it was.
“Indeed.” Jiza nodded. “The problem is that there are too many suspects. As the Gala has proven, everyone wants a literal piece of Verhen. Undead, Beasts, elves, plant folk, and I bet that in a while some cute merfolk maiden will go to his house for a ‘visit’.
“As for me, I wouldn’t waste Verhen on my niece Cylla. She’ll have children that with a bit of luck will marry his children. Just like you hoped to do with Phloria, I can play the long game but unlike you, I have plenty of descendants.”
The remark stung Jirni because both statements were right. Jirni hated being seen through like that but if her displeasure showed, Jiza showed no contempt for that.
“What I can tell you, however, is that you can strike Dragons and Phoenixes off the suspect list. Verhen already carries their blood and there’s nothing to gain from it except maybe a shift toward one bloodline.
“Also, none of them would be stupid enough to do something like that. The moment they are discovered, their whole race would turn against them, leaving them alone and helpless. No one forgives betrayal against your own.”
“Thanks for your help.” Jirni gave the Elder a curtsy. “You’ve just made my work much easier. This narrows down the list of suspects quite a bit.”
“Don’t thank me.” Jiza’s face returned to be a stone mask. “Consider this as my parting gift.”
“Parting gift? Are you going somewhere?” Jirni assumed that maybe her ancestor would move to Jiera to help with the colonization, maybe never to return.
“I’m not, but you are.” Jiza replied. “You were right about the fact that I’m out to kill someone but you were also wrong about my target. You.”
“What?” Jiza released a sudden burst of killing intent that made Jirni lose her cool and checked on the arrays of the Ernas Household, making sure they all worked.
Much to her surprise, they did.
“When after I refused to Awaken you and your husband you didn’t even try to change my mind, I knew you had a plan b at the ready.” Jiza said. “The fact that you suspected me to be a killer and dared invite me here confirmed it.
“You’ve seen Awakened fight. You wouldn’t have called me here just because of a bunch of arrays because you know Spirit Magic ignores them. You wouldn’t trust yourself fighting me with a mere human body, even if you are wearing the Myrok’s Royal Fortress armor.
“Sure, I bet that your husband is hidden somewhere with his own Royal Fortress armor, but that’s not enough when facing an old monster like me. Not for the likes of us.”
“I-”
“Don’t try to deny it.” The Elder cut Jirni short. “According to the intel I got, Orion is allegedly away on a secret mission, but hiding the fact that both Royal Fortress armor are taken is impossible to hide.
“I praise your scheme and resourcefulness, but even if I still had a shred of doubt, the way you reacted to my killing intent proved me right. There’s no way a non-Awakened could withstand that pressure with a pathetic orange core.
“The fact that Life Vision shows me no mana flow and such a weak vitality only means that your husband is as good as the rumors say. Wherever you are, Lord Ernas, that’s one amazing cloaking device.” Jiza spoke while looking at the walls and the ceiling.
“If I had to make a guess, I’d say that you now have a yellow core. No, I was forgetting that you are pregnant and your baby is no Divine Beast. You can’t take risks practicing breathing techniques so you must be a bright orange, deep yellow tops.”
Everything Jiza said was right, even her analysis of Jirni’s deep yellow core was accurate. The breakthrough had happened naturally and with no consequences for her baby but after that, she had not used Accumulation for months now.
“Why do you want to kill me and why did you come here if you knew this was a trap?” Jirni asked, wondering whose trap it was and which one of them was going to be cornered if she sprung it.
“Because, as I told you when you came to me, Oghrom left us only two orders before taking his life. To protect the Kingdom and to prevent anyone like him from Awakening. That’s you.
“You’ve been warned but you thought yourself too smart to abide to our rules. In a few months, you’re going to pay the price for it. I won’t kill you until the baby is born. We cannot risk losing another Phloria.”
Jiza knowing the gender of the baby made the threat real but Jirni wasn’t scared. Yet.
“As for your so-called trap, why refuse an invitation to take a look at your arrays and study them while we talked? I mean, sooner or later someone will break in here and kill you.
“They can use the solid intel that my breathing technique has been giving me since the moment I stepped into your house. Now, the question is: do you want to fight me now or do you want to wait for your baby girl to be born as well?”
Jirni didn’t move nor react, knowing that there was no point fighting against one opponent who had come prepared for the ambush.
“I thought so.” Jiza nodded. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave. Goodbye, Jirni Ernas. The next time we meet, it will be at your funeral.”
A Spirit Warp opened, breaking through the magical formations and bringing the Council Elder hundreds of kilometers away. It was just one small gesture to prove that no matter what Jirni did, the Gernoffs couldn’t be stopped.
“May the gods burn her!” Orion emerged from a secret dimensional space that Friya had created for him. “Why didn’t you give me the signal? We could have taken her.”
“Too many risks.” Jirni smiled at his concern, giving her husband a sweet kiss before turning back into her heartless self. “You are not Awakened and the baby is still in danger. We could have won, but our losses would have been incalculable.
“I’m not going to lose another daughter let alone you.” She turned back toward the window, looking at the statue of Juria Ernas.
“Today is a great victory for us. We should celebrate.”
“Celebrate?” Orion echoed in disbelief. “This is terrible! Your days are numbered if we don’t find a solution.”
