Of High Lords and Heirs

22

The Hewn City appeared to be in revolt. In fact, the hustle and bustle quite reminded Nesta of her memories of the war a decade before. When Nesta mentioned it, however, she was simply told that she knew nothing about the moving of armies. And that as a female, she had no business poking her nose into affairs of men.

But that didn't mean that she was capable of making her own observations. And what Nesta had observe these past few days was a sense of panic as Thanatos and the other Lords of the Hewn City realised that Thanatos' daughter, Saraiyu, was missing. Had likely been missing for days.

Not that Nesta particularly cared about the disappearance of her stepdaughter. As long as the little pest stayed out of her way, she didn't especially care what happened to her. As long as the girl turned out not to have betrayed them, she didn't care what happened to her. Nesta had never truly warmed up to her.

But the longer the girl was missing, the more likely it was that she had betrayed them. And that was something that Nesta could not, would not, ever forgive. The rage she felt when it became apparent that her stepdaughter was currently not even in the Hewn City was unfathomable.

Thanatos hardly seemed interested, though, in his own daughter's disappearance. He more concerned, it seemed, about the fact that he had not heard from her since the disappearance. All he cared about was finding out what had happened to his daughter. All he cared about was discovering why he had not heard from her since her disappearance.

As Nesta was forced to sit back and listen to her mate rant and rave about how his daughter had betrayed their city and their people, she was able to begin to piece together what must have happened.

Saraiyu had engineered the fight with her that day, not just in order to stop Nesta from leaving, but so that no one would notice that Saraiyu herself could leave the Hewn City without detection. It took little imagination to presume where she had gone upon her defection. Velaris, the City of Starlight. That little bitch had betrayed them all for the very people who had always hated and despised them. Betrayed them for the very people they wanted so desperately to overthrow.

Nesta simply didn't understand why Thanatos was so angry about it all. After all, if his daughter wanted to leave this damnable city, then so be it. She didn't blame her. Nesta just wished that the bitch's escape had not depended upon her own imprisonment.

When Nesta attempted to broach the subject with Thanatos, he just exploded with rage. Hearing him say that she had no business whatsoever in meddling with his relationship with his daughter hurt badly. He as much as said that just because she had no wish to have a relationship with her family, did not mean that others did not get along with their own families. Which was bullshit, as far as she was concerned. He did not get along with her, did not get along with his daughter.

He then went on to inform her that his daughter knew his place, even if she did not. Thanatos went on to say that his daughter knew that as soon as she reached Velaris she was to act as a spy for them all. Feeding them all vital, crucial information about the city and the High Lord and Lady.

Nesta was not happy about that. She sniped at him that she was easily able to provide him with whatever information about them that they wanted. She sniped that she had been all but begging to help their cause for months now, but he had always shut her down, saying that women had no place in politics. Hell, he might as well have told her that women had no place in his life, that's how it felt to her.

"And it would seem that you have still to learn your place," Thanatos snapped back at her. "And as it has been over two months since you have been in that pathetic city, Saraiyu ought to be able to gain access to much more relavant, up-to-date information. That is, unless she has decided to truly turn traitor and abandon our cause. Because that certainly seems the ever more likely reason for her actions. Not that there is ever an excuse for such treason."