The council chamber was already full when Bir and I entered.
Not full of people, full of noise.
Raised voices.
Sharp arguments.
Fear disguised as strategy.
The Empire was waking, and the nobles were scrambling to decide what that meant for them.
The moment they saw me, the room fell into a brittle silence.
Bir hovered behind me, uncertain, still raw from the temple. I stepped forward, letting the quiet settle.
“We have much to discuss,” I said.
Councilman Sil rose immediately, too quickly, too eagerly. His robes were immaculate, his expression carefully composed, but his eyes gleamed with something sharper.
Opportunity.
“Your Majesty,” he said with a bow that was just a shade too shallow, “before we begin, the council has… concerns.”
Of course they did.
“Speak,” I said.
Sil clasped his hands behind his back. “We have heard troubling reports. The land is changing. Magic is stirring. People are waking in unpredictable numbers. And yet—”
He paused, letting the silence stretch.
“—You have been absent.”
Bir stiffened behind me.
I kept my voice even. “I was investigating a matter of importance.”
“More important than the Empire?” Sil asked softly.
A murmur rippled through the chamber.
I stepped closer. “Everything I do is for the Empire.”
“Is it?” Sil tilted his head. “Because from where we stand, it appears you are chasing ghosts. Old myths. Lost girls.”
Bir inhaled sharply.
My jaw tightened. “Watch your words.”
Sil smiled, thin, polite, poisonous. “We simply question whether your priorities align with the needs of a kingdom on the brink of awakening.”
Another councilor, Rwin, rose beside him. “The people are frightened, Your Majesty. They need stability. Leadership. Presence.”
“And you believe I am not providing that?” I asked.
Sil spread his hands. “We believe you are… distracted.”
The word landed like a blade.
Bir stepped forward, voice low. “He is doing more for this Empire than any of you—”
Sil cut him off with a raised hand. “And who is this?”
Bir froze.
I answered. “Bir of Saminda. My new advisor.”
The room erupted.
“An unfrozen?”
“A fisherman?”
“He has no training—”
“This is unprecedented—”
“Your Majesty, this is reckless—”
Sil’s voice sliced through the chaos. “You appoint a man who has been awake for mere days to advise the throne?”
“He understands the people better than any of you,” I said.
Sil’s smile sharpened. “Or perhaps he simply agrees with you.”
Bir bristled. “I don’t even know what he plans yet.”
“Exactly,” Sil said. “You are untested. Unproven. And the Emperor is making decisions based on sentiment.”
Bir flinched.
I stepped forward, letting my voice cut through the room like steel. “Enough.”
Sil’s expression didn’t change, but the room quieted.
“The Empire is waking,” I said. “And with it, dangers we do not yet understand. I will not waste time arguing over who is worthy to stand beside me.”
Sil bowed his head slightly. “Then perhaps the council should decide who stands above you.”
The chamber went still.
Bir’s breath caught.
Rwin whispered, “Sil—”
But Sil didn’t back down. “If the Emperor cannot prioritize the Empire’s needs, then the council must consider whether he is fit to lead it through the awakening.”
A challenge.
A direct one.
The first since I had taken the throne.
I stepped closer until I stood eye‑to‑eye with him. “You question my authority?”
“I question your judgment,” Sil said. “And your ability to rule in a time of crisis.”
The bond pulsed beneath my ribs — Kathera’s voice brushing my mind like a warning.
Do not falter.
I didn’t.
“You want a vote of confidence?” I asked. “Call it.”
Sil blinked, surprised I’d met him head‑on.
“You want to test my leadership?” I continued. “Test it.”
A murmur rippled through the chamber — shock, fear, excitement.
“But understand this,” I said, letting my voice drop to something colder. “If you challenge me, you challenge the throne. And if you challenge the throne, you challenge the awakening itself.”
Sil’s smile faltered.
Good.
I stepped back, letting the weight of my words settle.
“We are done here,” I said. “Prepare your vote. I will face it.”
Bir stared at me, stunned.
Sil bowed stiffly. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
The council dispersed in uneasy silence.
When the doors closed behind them, Bir exhaled shakily. “Lyrian… what have you done?”
“What I had to,” I said.
He swallowed. “They might vote against you.”
“I know.”
“And if they do—”
“Then I will still lead,” I said. “With or without their permission.”
Bir stared at me for a long moment.
Then, quietly:
“I believe you.”
The bond pulsed again, Kathera’s voice faint, urgent.
Focus on caring for the people.
I looked toward the window, toward the awakening Empire, toward the threads tightening around us.
“Let them challenge me,” I murmured. “I have work to do.”