Everyone was completely shocked. Twenty thousand was a number that would scare anyone. Lucien wanted to question the pirate further to see if he was lying, but Lorian stopped him.
Lorian counted the remaining prisoners guarded by the Half-Orcs. There were seven more. He turned to Lucien and said, "Interrogate each of the seven separately at the same time. Ask them all the exact same questions. If their answers match, they are telling the truth. If an answer doesn't match, ignore it. If we get different answers to the same question, we go with what the majority said."
Lucien realized this was the fastest and most effective way to do it. Lorian then told everyone to take a two-hour break. The High Council was ordered to meet in the Onyx Gallery exactly two hours later.
As Lorian walked back to his room, he heard a loud argument down the hall. He heard several men's voices and one woman's voice. Lorian asked a Thorne Guard to check what was going on. The guard went and came back with an update. "My Lord, an elf lady is trying to meet with you. The guards are telling her to leave because you need to rest urgently."
This sudden arrival reminded Lorian of when his cousin Lyssian showed up unexpectedly at his oath-taking ceremony.
Lorian realized he hadn't seen Lyssian since he returned. He grabbed the guard's shoulder tightly, "Lyssian! Where is Lyssian?"
The guard gulped, scared by Lorian's sudden intensity, "My Lord... Lord Lyssian is not here."
Lorian shook his head, "I can see that. Where is he now? Is he missing? Since when?"
"He has been missing since the day you left, My Lord!" the guard replied with a shaking voice.
Lorian's eyes widened in surprise, "The very same day?"
The guard tried to remember and shook his head, "No, my Lord. The next night. He went to a tavern and never came back."
Lorian rubbed his face in confusion and disbelief. Lyssian's disappearance added a dangerous new problem to the whole situation.
The noise outside was still going on. Lorian told the guard to bring the lady in. The guard left and returned with Sylfia Moonbrook.
The beautiful elf maiden usually looked very elegant and poised because of her noble upbringing, but right now she looked completely opposite. Her hair was messy and her clothes were untidy, looking like a common woman who had been working at the docks all day. Lorian was genuinely surprised by her appearance and wondered what had happened to her.
The moment she saw him, Sylfia rushed forward and fell to her feet. Lorian was startled. Before he could say anything, she started begging, "Your Eminence, please have mercy. Please save us!"
Lorian had no idea what was going on. He looked at the guards to see if they knew anything, but they looked just as clueless as he was.
Lorian bent down to grab her arms and helped her stand up, "Has someone in the city misbehaved with you? Or hurt you? Tell me their name," he said in a cold voice, "But make it fast. I really do not have much time."
"Your Highness, save Vespera!" she cried, "She is the only one I have here. If something happens to her…" Her voice choked up.
Lorian's mood changed to annoyance and anger, "Was she dragged into this battle against her will?"
Sylfia was startled by his tone, "No, I mean…"
"If I remember correctly," Lorian's voice grew grim, "she was the one who wanted to join the navy. We didn't invite her." His voice got louder, echoing through the hall, "I can promise you that none of my people forced her to fight on the frontline. No one even pressured her. She is fighting because she wanted to."
His grip on her arms tightened. She flinched but was too terrified to speak, let alone protest. Lorian dragged her by the arm toward the balcony. Everyone in the tower stood frozen, having never seen their Lord act this way before.
Lorian brought her to the balcony, where the sea battle was still raging. "Look out there, can you see?" he pointed toward the Goldstar, "That is where Vespera is fighting, alongside my people. My people! She is not fighting alone. Hundreds of citizens of Veridia are out there. They are someone's son, father, brother, or friend. They are fighting while their friends have already died, their bodies sinking into the sea, maybe never to be found again. Do you know why they are doing this? For the people they left behind in this city. They are risking their lives. And you want me to pull your friend out of the fight right now?"
"LISTEN TO ME, SYLFIA MOONBROOK!" Lorian roared, "You can think I am selfish, a monster, or a demon- I don't care. I am not going to bring her back from the fight just to save my own honor and look 'humane,' because that would risk the rest of the navy collapsing and my city getting destroyed. My personal honor means nothing compared to the safety of my city and my people. I will gladly be the most hated, evil, and cruel person alive if it keeps my people safe! So, listen closely. Your friend will either return as a hero, or die as a martyr. But I am not ordering her release. You may leave now."
Lorian let go of her arms and gave her a gentle push away. He left her on the balcony and walked toward his room. Before leaving, he looked back one last time, "And listen, Ms. Moonbrook. It is obvious you don't consider yourself a citizen of Veridia, but just a guest. Let me give you something to think about- if the city falls tonight, the pirates won't treat you or the children any differently just because you are an 'esteemed guest.'"
He left. Sylfia stood there like a stone, as if all her energy had been drained. She slowly walked to the railing, but she couldn't see the battle anymore because her vision was blurred by tears. She dropped to the ground, hid her face in her hands, and started crying. No one disturbed her and they left her alone.
That speech by Lorian was soon going to spread like wildfire through Veridia. It would earn him praise and love as a dedicated lord who would do anything for his people, but at the same time, people would see him as a cold-hearted monster whose heart could neither be swayed by diving beauty like Bianca Bistro, nor be melted by the genuine tears of an elven beauty like Sylfia Moonbrook.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Lorian dropped onto his bed and closed his eyes. His head was throbbing. Elara rushed over and hugged him tightly. In that moment of exhaustion, her hug felt like heaven.
"Thanks, sis," he murmured.
Suddenly, Elara remembered her place and tried to pull away, but Lorian held on tightly. She gave in. No matter how much she tried to deny it, she knew this boy had looked up to her as his elder sister since childhood, and she too saw him as a little brother as well. This was the main reason she never left his side, even when everyone else called her a fool for taking care of an 'idiot' who would be discarded as soon as Cassian or Lyssian took the throne. She stayed because he was like a little brother to her. She sighed and relaxed into the hug.
She could feel that the boy inside the Lord of Veridia was deeply troubled right now. The Queen Mother had gone to the temple to thank Meni for bringing her child back safely, so this boy needed someone to lean on. For once, Elara forgot about hierarchy and became the older sister she truly was.
She teased him gently, "Are you crazy? What if something happened to you out there?"
He smiled, "You mean what if something happened to Kaelen?"
She pulled his ear playfully, "Kaelen is a fool, but he can take care of himself. But you..."
He suddenly became serious and asked her, "Am I a bad guy?"
She ran her fingers through his messy hair, which was covered in dirt, dust, and a bit of blood. "I don't care, and neither do the people who love you. The world can call you anything. But me, the Queen Mother, Kaelen, Jax, Zara, Rylan, Master Gravil, Master Alsnow- we don't care, because we know who you really are." She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "And I don't think Lady Selena would mind either, right?" She giggled.
Lorian blushed and let her go. He tried to act tough, "Watch your tongue, Ms. Elara Monez. Don't forget you are talking to the Lord of Veridia!"
Elara knew him too well to be fooled; he was just acting bossy to hide being shy about Selena. She found it too cute. She bowed mockingly, "Forgive me, my Lord. Now please let your servant wash your hair before it gets completely matted."
Lorian smiled back, "No time, Elara. But if you can, please massage my forehead. It is throbbing like crazy, like someone is hammering my head!"
Elara suddenly felt sorry for him. She realized this boy was dealing with things he shouldn't have to face. He was still too young to handle all these troubles. A wave of sadness hit her heart, and Lorian saw her expression change. He got worried that his joking had hurt her.
He grabbed her hand and said supportively, "Sis, you know I wasn't serious earlier, right? I didn't mean to..."
Elara smiled and pulled him close, letting his head rest against her as she patted him, "Hush. I know you better than you know yourself. Remember one thing- the people who really love you don't need explanations, because they already know your true intentions. Explanations are for the outside world, not for family."
Lorian felt emotional and said nothing. Elara didn't say anything either; she just gently massaged his forehead.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The air in the Onyx Gallery felt heavier than usual, almost suffocating.
Lorian arrived to find the hall full. Everyone except Alsnow was present. They had come early and were waiting eagerly for him. Lorian scanned everyone's faces. They were all looking to him for guidance and instructions. Lorian suddenly felt an immense pressure- the same feeling he had in his past life when meeting his employees when there was a rumor that a larger giant company was going to buy them out, leaving their fates unknown.
Taking a deep breath, Lorian decided to handle the issues one by one.
He asked Lucien if he had gathered the results from interrogating the prisoners separately. Lucien said yes. He mentioned that everyone told the exact same facts and numbers.
Lorian's face became worried. "Everyone said the same thing?" he commented, "Doesn't that look too perfect? As if they were trained beforehand on what to say if they got caught?"
A murmur echoed through the stone walls of the hall. Kaelen and Jax exchanged glances, and Kaelen spoke up, "My Lord, I doubt that is the case. In reality, after seeing the brutal attack by Jax and Zot'r's gang, about twenty people surrendered. Zot'r asked me how many we wanted alive. I hesitated because I wanted to save them all since they surrendered, but Jax said seven or eight would be enough."
He looked at Jax, who nodded in agreement. Jax was about to explain his apparently ruthless reasoning, but Lorian just smiled and signaled that he didn't need to explain. Jax nodded in gratitude. Lorian asked Kaelen, "So you mean those eight people were chosen completely at random, so they couldn't have been prepared beforehand?"
"Exactly, my Lord," Kaelen replied.
"But what if," Lorian remarked, "everyone in the fleet was given the exact same script to memorize as a backup plan in case they got caught?"
Lucien joined in, "Rena Tharford, my adjutant, had the exact same worry, my Lord. So, she came up with a brilliant trick. She created ten new sets of very specific questions that the pirates wouldn't be prepared for unless their leaders were incredibly meticulous. We found that they answered them the same way, except for things that were above their rank. Since the prisoners are from different ranks, Rena and I concluded that they are not just repeating a rehearsed script."