Brexton sipped a flamboyant cocktail in front of Hadrian. He liked to keep people on their toes, and Hadrian was so self-assured that it was easy to fluster him.

  “Must you always be a clown?” Hadrian asked.

  “Only during important business meetings.” Brexton crossed one leg over the other, leaning with both arms over his leather couch. “How can I help you? It must be pretty important for you to come to The Nest.”

  “I felt it was important to establish that I’m willing to come here. Because as much as I’d rather sever my feet than set foot in this disgusting roost, I will enter this building if you don’t kill Aiden Roe before your contract runs out. But it won’t be for farce meetings with clownish children. It will be the first step in destroying your family. Not just here—but in all domains—on every planet your family operates on.”

  Hadrian stood as Brexton’s eyes locked on him.

  “One piece of blackmail,” Hadrian said. “Release one piece of blackmail to remind us of your position, and we will murder your entire lineage.”

  “Before the auction?” Brexton asked.

  “As grand as your revelation originally was, it became insignificant the moment Mira used an epic request to propagate the forest—and didn’t die. There are other ‘guardians’ in Wraithwood—and they’re desperate. Pray you can give them more than that.”

  Brexton watched Hadrian leave, emotions burning. No amount of skill could make up for a terrible position—and Brexton was in the worst of them.

  Hadrian was right—Mira hinted at Areswood’s grand secret the second she made Wraithwood. Then, she revealed it when she used the first epic request—let alone the second. What were the odds that no one could live a year in Areswood, only for thousands to do it with ease?

  Mira had the aid of “guardians”—and they were desperate.

  Were.

  Mira had amassed incredible strength. If it was hard enough to survive with just Mira and the “guardians”—now she had an army.

  No one cared about who was helping Mira—

  —they wanted to know how to defeat them.

  It didn’t matter if the Drokai the Jacksmore briefly mentioned were real; it didn’t matter what power Mira held. He had mined plenty of valuable information no one else had due to her soul pacts, but it wasn’t enough to justify a grand trip from gods and empires.

  Brexton didn’t need to simply kill Aiden. He needed to obtain stronger information from him. That meant a full dive.

  Sorry, Aiden, Brexton thought. I was going to spare you, but… the stakes are too high.

  He opened the door and addressed one of his guards. “Summon Reasan.”

  Not an hour later, Reasan Melhan, one of the most powerful individuals in the multiverse, came at his beck and call. The man didn’t like to do so, but he knew who the boss was for the next few years. So he stood stoically.

  Brexton regarded the person with a slight smile. Then he leaned forward with his forearms on his knees and said, “Would you be opposed to controlling one hundred percent of Mira’s imports for the next year?”

  2.

  Everan Heath was woken in his private skyrise suite at one in the morning. “Go away!”

  “It’s Brexton,” his guard said.

  Everan shot up, dreading the impending confrontation. Everan had everything—high-rise buildings, property all across the First Domain, women, glory, and the best food. Heath and Roe had made him inexpressibly powerful and wealthy—

  But it didn’t give him freedom.

  He and Aiden were still under a Claustra soul pact—they were unavoidable. So he said, “Tell him I’m coming.” He quickly got dressed and opened the door, only to find Brexton staring at him. “What?”

  “My apologies, Mr. Heath,” Brexton said in his head guard’s voice. “I wanted to greet you myself.”

  Everan looked out the door and saw three dead guards bleeding out on the steps. His amygdala told him to run, but there was nowhere to run. He didn’t have any strength or power—that’s why he hired top second evolutions, but Brexton had killed three.

  Everan quickly opened the window, only to look down twenty floors in the nighttime air.

  So he turned around and said, “Your contract said you couldn’t harm me.”

  “My contract says that I can’t destroy your business,” Brexton said in his actual voice.

  Everan laughed harshly. “Killing me is the very definition of destroying this business!”

  “That’s not true. If you die, Aiden can assume the position. He simply needs to sign a piece of paper on Theovale property…” He scribbled the air with an invisible pen. “And poof. Aiden owns Heath and Roe, and you're second in command… What's her name? Elia? She’ll assume your role in running the company.”

  “You think Aiden would come here? Now?”

  “It’s that or… Heath and Roe has no leader, and Reasan Melhan will assume almost one hundred percent of Mira’s imports. Of course, he’ll bleed her dry, and that’ll be detrimental after importing thousands of people.”

  Everan grimaced, pushing his back against the wall. “What do you want?”

  “To kill you. Definitely to kill you.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “You wouldn’t be monologuing my position if you don’t want something.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not true. I just wanted to man up and tell you why I, personally, killed you. Believe it or not, I have some morals.”

  Everan tried to run, but Brexton grabbed him and injected him with a needle. Everan’s body suddenly lost function, and his vision blurred. He stumbled twice, crashing into his dresser as Brexton walked out the door. As his vision faded, he saw his guards, who were very much still alive, rush into the room. “Everan! Everan! Hold in there! Get Garel!”

  Everan felt hope when he heard the name of his on-site healer—then his heart stopped.

  He never woke again.

  3.

  Aiden received the news the next morning, along with the details of his legal position. Aiden had just given Brexton information two days before as part of the harvest, so he was in Wraithwood with Mira for the entrance ceremony. As a result, he was able to convey the news immediately.

  Mira was surprisingly calm. “I’m shocked,” she said sarcastically.

  “So?” Aiden asked. “What do we do?”

  “It’s simple. We survive on alien imports for the next… forever. We can selectively choose planets that use space travel and import goods when the people arrive. It won’t last forever, but it’ll buy us time.”

  Aiden smiled wryly.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Brexton’s claiming that I also need to sign off on Halten’s release at the cursed aviary.”

  “Okay, counteroffer. You take four hundred elite second-evolution beasts and kill people until Brexton releases that contract. In fact, that’s what I’m going to write right now. Lithco, I want you to write up the ideal letter that says, If you want to enforce your laws, Aiden’s going to bring an army of beasts into Theovale with a thousand Wraiths—and we’ll destroy it. I want them to—”

  “You shouldn’t act so rashly,” Weddan said. He was her new advisor, and his voice was so calm when he spoke that she calmed down. “I recommend you contact Ferna first,” he said. “She has been a diplomat during many wars.”

  Mira sighed. “Cut that, Lithco. I’ll send my letter once I find the right strategy.” She rubbed her temples and took deep breaths. She looked at Weaden. “Get Ferna.”

  “As you wish.”

  Aiden watched the man disappear with an impressed face. “Just like that? Even Ferna can’t make you calm down that fast.”

  “I think it’s because he’s strong and not an asshole at the same time,” Mira said. “It’s like, I won wars and didn’t need to be a dick to do it.” She leaned back and looked at the ceiling. “Something like that.”

  Not long after, Ferna arrived, and he and Mira explained the situation. She nodded.

  “A war threat is the most viable option,” Ferna said.

  “Seriously?” Mira asked, as if she was surprised she didn’t just destroy Wraithwood with an impulsive decision.

  “Yes, but you can’t approach it poorly. Usually, you say, Do this, or we’re going to go to war with Theovale, and it’s implied that you’re not going after innocents—you’re going after a country, and innocents are going to suffer. Then, politicians and business leaders, and citizens put pressure on the offending party to change their rules. But in this case, it’s different. The Claustra also holds a guillotine above everyone’s necks, but they’re more brutal. Between you and them, they’ll take you—unless...”

  Ferna explained her strategy, and Mira grinned sadistically. Aiden couldn’t blame her. He was no friend of Everan’s, but the man had done them right—and whether Aiden liked it or not, he was one of them.

  Brexton crossed a line, and he wanted to make it clear that he wouldn’t be pushed around.

  Aiden may have been the same man who was forced to become a Claustra—but he was no longer weak. He was going to make that clear.

  4.

  Brexton sat across from Hadrian again, this time in a restaurant. The two were staring at each other in silence for a solid minute before Brexton took out his flask.

  “It’s noon,” Hadrian said. “You haven’t even recovered from last night.”

  Brexton took a long drink from his flask for spite. He felt sick, his head throbbed, and he was weak. He didn’t have time for a lecture.

  “There’s no point to having immortality if you just live like you’re dying,” Brexton said.

  “If you waste my time, I’ll kill you to prove how weak you are,” Hadrian warned.

  Brexton laughed. “Martyrs live forever.”

  Hadrian took a deep breath when he realized that Brexton was serious. “Well?” he asked.

  “Well what? If you insist we do this, I’ll announce that the reason we can’t have a mortal auction is because the first domain is overrun with Areswood’s beasts.” Brexton took another drink. “Though I think it would be charming. Once investors see one of those beasts shrug off the attacks from twenty regular soldiers and guards, they’ll know how costly it’ll be to enter the forest.”

  Mira posted a public letter that said that Everen Heath’s death was suspicious, and so she didn’t trust Theovale’s diplomacy. So if Theovale insisted Aiden be present in Theovale for inconsequential paperwork instead of bringing it to the Mouth of the Bramble, Aiden would bring security. Security, of course, meant five hundred of Areswood’s most terrifying second evolution beasts.

  It wasn’t a declaration of war—it was a promise that if anything happened to him, there would be gruesome consequences. It was effective because it was a matter of beasts. Most people could handle the concept of war, but no one could stomach the thought of being eaten.

  Hadrian rolled his eyes with his full neck.

  Brexton rubbed his head. “Yeah, they got you.”

  Hadrian snapped his eyes on him. “They got you.”

  “No. They got you. Because you control all matters of security in Theovale. And if you allow Aiden to bring hundreds of beasts to Theovale as guards, you’ll be to blame for the aftermath.”

  “Not when I annihilate Aiden and his entire army the second they walk out that gate.”

  Brexton gripped his head and then slumped into his chair, chuckling weakly. “Do you think you’re fighting children, Aiden? They have some of the most competent people in the universe in that forest. The second you accept his terms, they’re going to release a statement saying that they’ve received intel that you planned an ambush, and even junked-out street walkers will say, What? The Dante didn’t actually plan to let hundreds of beasts enter this domain?” Brexton used a clowning voice. “Grow up and listen to your advisors, Hadrian. Mira’s clearly listening to hers.”

  Brexton stumbled to his feet and started walking out of the private room without touching his food.

  “You still need something serious for the auction,” Hadrian warned. “And if you don’t have it, I’m going to kill you for wasting multiversal resources. So, unless you want to die, I suggest you interrogate Aiden before I kill him.”

  Brexton took a long drink from his flask with his back to Hadrian and then waved. “Tell Alendrias I say hi.”

  Hadrian felt scorching rage at Brexton’s audacity, but he also felt the sharpness of his lecture. Grow up and listen to your advisors, Hadrian. Mira’s clearly listening to hers. That’s what Brexton said, but Hadrian knew that even Romulan didn’t have total control of Brexton. He was acting as the sole head of his family.

  Brexton Claustra was a self-destructing phenom—and Hadrian hated that.

  Hadrian wanted to be a god, and gods were grand leaders. Yet while Brexton was somehow able to play games with such entities, Hadrian couldn’t think of a solution for this crisis. His only thought was to kill Aiden outside of the Bramble—and he would fail if Mira evolved to the third evolution before then. He was weak and incapable. At least Brexton could quickly devise another counter strategy—and that’s what Hadrian needed.

  Aiden Roe needed to die—one way or another, it had to happen. And as much as Hadrian liked to act strong, he wasn’t ready to fight Mira. The addict who just stumbled out of his room really was his only option.