Zeke remained rooted in place as more and more people streamed into the hall. For a long time, he absentmindedly watched the different groups mingle and interact as they spilled out across the different seating tears.
Why had he turned the offer down like that? He could have at least told the matriarch he would think about it, or that he would have to meet the girl first — anything to keep the conversation going. This was not like him at all. He always considered the outcome, always acted diplomatically…
But this time, he had flat-out refused.
Eventually, Zeke was awoken from his contemplation by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Lara standing there, a wide smile on her face. "How's it going, Zeke? Had a talk with Lady Thorsten?"
"What do you care?" Zeke said, turning back. "Is there someone else you can sell my secrets to?"
"I bet I could find many who are interested," Lara said, stepping up next to him. "But I'm not one to trade in gossip."
"That's rich, after what you did," Zeke said.
Lara sighed. She turned toward him, her face serious. "Listen, Zeke. I like you, but I am not your subordinate, nor am I beholden to you in any way. It would be a mistake to believe that I would keep your secrets even at great cost to myself. When Tristan asked me about the source of those documents, I didn't hesitate."
"I bet," Zeke murmured, but a lot of the fight had left his eyes. It truly had been a mistake to just assume Lara would stay silent about this. Why would she?
The woman bumped him with her shoulder. "Hey, it's not all bad, is it? I did consider your position in this as well."
Zeke didn't respond. He knew what she was trying to do, but he wasn't willing to forgive her this easily.
"Ohh, come on. Do you have any idea how many people have access to those reports? You couldn't have possibly believed that your involvement would have stayed a secret anyway," Lara said. "By telling Tristan ahead of time, I had already raised your value in his eyes."
"So you did it for me?" Zeke mocked.
"Definitely not," Lara admitted flatly. "But I would not have told him if I had thought it would cause you serious harm. The way I see it, I merely accelerated the process. This was well worth getting a favor from somebody like Tristan Bloodsword."
Zeke didn't reply, but inwardly, he knew she was right. Even though he had not expected to remain anonymous forever, learning that she had been the one to sell him out had stung nonetheless. Despite all his knowledge, Zeke wasn't used to guarding himself against people he considered friends.
Now, more than ever, he appreciated the effects of the Sealing Ritual. Removing the option of betrayal was the only thing that could give anyone true peace of mind… Zeke paused — something about that train of thought felt off, but he couldn't point out anything that was blatantly wrong with the statement.
"So?" Lara asked. "Are you still gonna hold a grudge?"
"No," Zeke eventually said, "but you owe me one!"
Lara smirked. "Ha! Nice try, you cheeky brat, but no. You still owed me one for when I protected you at your auction. We are even now."
"Fine," Zeke said as a small smile returned to his own face. "Who was the guy you were with earlier by the way?"
"Him? That was Arlon Finsternis;" Lara explained. "I'm not surprised you didn't recognize him. He likes to stay out of sight, most of the time."
"Nightweaver?" Zeke questioned with wide eyes.
Lara slapped her forehead. "Ohh god, you read those books, didn't you?"
"…Maybe?"
Lara sighed. "Those are all fictional! Don't believe a word, you hear me? The real Nightweaver is nowhere near as easygoing, elegant, impressive, handsome—"
"Looks like I'm not the only one who read those books," Zeke interjected with a smirk.
Lara coughed. "Anyway… what I was going to say was that the Finsternis family probably wrote those books themselves in order to boost their image. Being a family of spies and assassins, they don't have the best reputation — even in Equinox."
"Aren't they the other ruling family, besides yours?"
Lara nodded slowly. "My aunt, Anna Sonnenstrahl, is the queen of Equinox, but that doesn't mean she has complete authority. In fact, she only has direct control over the Royal Guards, the rest of the army is under the command of the four generals. I command the Aurora battalion, for example, and Arlon commands the Nightweavers."
Zeke took in this new information. However, there was something else that struck him as odd. "Aren't you worried the Finsternis family is planning to take over at some point?"
"Not even a little bit," Lara said. "Ruling a country is a lot of work, you know? Besides, they prefer to remain in the shadows while we choose to stay in the light. We are good at our role, while they are good at theirs. And it's not like my aunt can just do whatever she wants either. Every important decision is run by the elders beforehand. Furthermore, we are linked by so many vows of marriage that we could almost be considered one family at this point."
This made a lot of sense. If the power was divided like this, then there wouldn't be much reason for tension. At least not from the inside. Zeke glanced at her, before quickly averting his gaze again without saying anything.
"What is it, you little shit?"
Zeke grimaced. Apparently, his glance had been noticed. "I was just wondering why you weren't married. With your position and power, you should be one of the most sought-after partners."
"Ha! You would think so, wouldn't you? But the truth is that I'm not. There is nobody around my age that is even remotely interested in me."
"Why not?" Zeke questioned. "You are strong, and accomplished and… erm… not bad looking?"
Lara smiled. "I am quite the catch, aren't I? Jokes aside… for someone in my position, marriage is not a light subject."
"Tristan has five wives though…" Zeke said.
"Ha! You call those his wives? Do you even know any of their names?"
"Isabella, Emily, Ava, Sophia, and Grace," Zeke responded right away.
Lara glared at him, her expression dancing on the edge between annoyance and bemusement. After a moment, she shook her head with a chuckle. "…My point is this: nobody, who isn't a complete freak, has ever heard of any of them. That's because those five have no accomplishments to their name, no achievements, no nothing. Do you know why that is?"
Zeke considered the question. It was true, he had never read or heard about any of them before meeting Tristan. It was only during their drunken storytelling that Zeke learned their names. Why was that? Because they were married to Tristan Bloodsword, he had just assumed that they would be equally impressive, but maybe there was more to it.
"I don't know."
"I thought you might not know about this. Maximilian would have never taught you about many of our customs, after all."
Zeke nodded. This was something he had noticed as well. The old man had never even tried to have him fit in.
"Listen up, Zeke. For people like me or Tristan, there are only two types of relationships:
"The first is marriage for connection. This is when you are paired with somebody of equal power and status from another family. The aim of such a relationship is to strengthen the ties between two groups; such as the Sonnenstrahl and Finsternis family.
"The second is a marriage for affinity. This is when you marry one or more partners with a high affinity for the same element in order to produce as many talented children as possible. For obvious reasons, this is more common for men."
The moment Zeke heard about the second type, his thoughts were involuntarily drawn to Lilly. His childhood friend had agreed to 'marry' Samuel during their first year. Was this going to be her fate? Did she know about this? He remembered the forlorn look in her eyes when he had defeated her during the tournament. Thinking back to that scene… had she even tried to fight?
Zeke shook off those dark thoughts. Lilly's fate was out of his hands, their friendship a thing of the past. Even if he wanted to help her, there was nothing he could do for her now. He returned his attention to Lara. "What about a marriage out of love?"
Lara grimaced. "More often than not, that's not an option. If I were you, I'd get used to the idea as well. Your house might someday depend on you making that sacrifice."
Zeke remained silent. Lara was bringing up a good point. He could solve a lot of his current problems by just accepting either Aurelia's or Tristan's offers. Was he robbing his family of its future by being so reticent? Maybe - he couldn't rightly say. But the one thing he did know was that his entire being rejected such a compromise.
He felt like he would be going against his very nature by bending to their demands. As if he was sacrificing his pride by giving in. The picture in his mind was of a dog doing tricks for a petty treat, with its tongue hanging out and its tail wagging…
A deep rumbling chuckle from the back of his mind dispelled the image. "A Dragon does not bend to the will of others, flesh bag."
"I am no Dragon, you scaly corpse," Zeke shot back. But as usual, there was no reply. The Dragon had said his piece and then returned to ignoring him. It was extremely annoying that it could read his thoughts, while Zeke could not even detect its existence.
Zeke noticed that he had still not even acknowledged Lara's statement, but before he could formulate a response, the lights in the room dimmed. Immediately, Lara grabbed his hand and pulled him along, and only a moment later, he found himself seated in the first row of spectators.
Zeke observed his surroundings with [Perfect Spatial Awareness]. This was incredible! Only moments before, everybody had been talking and jesting, now, they were all quietly sitting. The hierarchy of the seating didn't appear to be random either. In the first row, where he and Lara sat, were only Arch Mages and their companions. On her other side sat the man from earlier, Arlon Finsternis. Tristan, Vanessa, and Mordred sat close by as well.
One row up, there were the Grand Mages. And finally, the few True Mages in attendance sat at the very top. Zeke was glad that Lara had brought him with her, otherwise, he might have been forced to join them in the very back.
"Thank you all for coming," a familiar, soft voice announced.
Zeke looked at the brightly lit stage, where Aurelia Thorsten still stood. She had not moved a step from the position he had originally found her. Now that Zeke thought about it, this must be where the ritual was going to take place. Was she guarding their secrets personally?
"I am Aurelia Thorsten, but most of you probably know me better by my Mage name: Eternexus." There was absolute silence in the room. "Today, my family and I have invited you all to witness something truly magnificent. One of my descendants, Celine Thorsten, has awoken to a perfect Lightning affinity."
There was a small murmur of appreciation going through the crowd. Apparently, a perfect affinity wasn't something common, even in these circles. Zeke couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy. How unfair was this? When he had awakened to a perfect affinity, there had been no event, no great announcement, no nothing. He had only experienced unending mockery and derision.
Zeke immediately quelled those thoughts. It would do him no good to blame the girl for her fortune. This was not how he wanted to be, nor would it help him get stronger. Every new challenge was a chance for growth, and it was up to him to make the best of the hand he had been dealt.
"Without wasting any more time," Aurelia said. "Let me introduce to you the girl in question. Come here, girl."
From the crowd sitting opposite Zeke, a lithe figure emerged. Her movements were a blur, and all that could be seen in the darkness was a mop of extremely pale blue hair. Despite her young age, the girl looked impressive. She had a straight and narrow nose and a sharp jaw, highlighting her otherwise feminine features and big eyes even more.
The girl came to a halt right next to Aurelia, boldly staring into the older woman's eyes. "Here I am, Aunty. Can we finally begin now? I am sick and tired of waiting!"