Ruthless 🗡️/ Fourth Wing

Chapter 59

I stepped into the study, the heavy wooden door creaking shut behind me with a resounding finality, its echo lingering in the cold stone walls. The room was dimly lit, the flickering firelight from the hearth casting long, jagged shadows that seemed to stretch like dark fingers across the weathered stone. The air was thick with the scent of burning wood and something older, something embedded in the very bones of the house. My gaze immediately found the figure at the head of the long table—a presence I knew all too well.

Xaden Riorson.

He sat there at the center, a figure of absolute command, his posture unyielding, as though he were a king upon his throne. The dim light caught the sharp angles of his face, striking and almost cruel in its beauty. His dark, tousled hair seemed to mirror the untamed intensity that radiated from him. When our eyes met, his were dark and watchful—piercing, assessing, always waiting for something, though I couldn't quite figure out what. The scars on his face caught the firelight, lending him an air of a man who had endured storms and come out the other side, forever marked by them.

"Don't worry, there's no need to bow," I said with a dry chuckle, my voice breaking the heavy silence. "I've become quite humble."

I made my way further into the room, my eyes never leaving his. His expression didn't change, but the flicker in his gaze—a mixture of sharp intelligence and something deeper—told me he wasn't fooled by my words.

As I glanced around the room, the others were all there, watching me. Violet Sorrengail. Rhiannon Matthias. Ridoc Gamlyn. Garrick Tavis. Imogen Cardulo. Bodhi Durran. Mira Sorrengail. And, of course, none other than Brennan Sorrengail.

Bohid quickly got up running to me and hugging me. The action caused me to be lifted off the ground and spun.

"I've missed you" he whispered in my hair as he put me down

I raised an eyebrow, my lips curling into a smirk. "The gang's all here," I said,Walking over and picking up a chalice filled with wine and inspecting it as if it held the answers to the mysteries of the room.

"Well, except for Liam," I added, glancing at Xaden with a raised eyebrow. The dig was meant to hurt. I didn't realize just how harsh it came from my tongue

"He died honorably, he was protecting me," Violet chirped, her voice light but edged with something darker.

"Then it wasn't honorable," I replied flatly, sitting down at the other end of the table, directly across from Xaden.

I took a sip from the wine, letting the rich taste linger on my tongue before setting the chalice down. My gaze swept over the room, meeting the eyes of those present before settling back on Xaden.

"I've been summoned, so let me hear it," I said, my tone as steady and unyielding as the stone walls surrounding us.

Xaden's eyes narrowed, but the silence stretched on as he made no immediate move to speak.

Finally, he broke the stillness, his voice low but carrying an unmistakable weight.

"We have many pressing matters that must be discussed."

—-

"And how do you suggest we outmaneuver them when they can literally pull from the very essence of the world itself?" I questioned not understanding how Xaden thinks he can take these things on.

Xaden's gaze never wavered, his mind already several steps ahead. "We strike first. Hit them where it hurts. We need to divide their forces, isolate their strongest and most dangerous leaders, and force them into a position where their raw power can be their downfall."