"For my threshold stance, I invoke Article Seventy-Seven, Verse Seven of the Lex Aureliana."
A twitch. Already. Along the crescent of thrones.
"The Protection Act of Witness Source and Submitted Evidence."
The Council leaned forward.
Mirell spoke softly. Too soft to be accidental.
"Are you stating that your source of testimony is at risk of harm..."
Her head tilted slightly. The serpentine pupils gleamed.
"...because intelligence was submitted to the Council. The highest governing authority in the clan."
Still. Cold. Absolute.
Every gaze turned. Sharpened. Daring him.
"Yes, Elder."
He did not hesitate.
"My source will be at risk. Of prosecution. For possession of said testimonial intelligence. Which, under the stated statute, constitutes risk of harm."
Silence tightened.
Mirell's gaze hardened.
"A stance derived from a breach of High Vale law."
Her voice lowered. Precise.
"On what grounds does such a petition stand to be administered before the High Council?"
Chion watched the silence stretch—thinner, tighter—before responding.
"Firstly. The circumstances under which I obtained the intelligence. Not through theft. Not through probing. Not through request."
"It was handed to me. As a gift. No condition. No coercion."
His gaze held steady.
"And out of courtesy, I accepted it—unaware of its contents."
A beat.
"Operational orders of the House of Iron Veil."
Another beat.
"Among others."
"Dated the twenty-fourth. Today."
Silence held. The weight of it pressed against the Circle's edge.
"By inference, the material could be considered classified."
His gaze remained steady.
"Inference is not proof."
"Under Article Forty-One of the Lex Aureliana—the Statute of Actionable Knowledge—a Mantle-bearer is not obligated to report suspected conduct without evidence sufficient to constitute a prosecutable offense."
He held the ring of thrones.
"I had no such evidence. Furthermore, my source holds rank superior to my own within the Spiral of Blood. Under the clan's established hierarchy, I had neither the right nor the authority to demand explanation for the gift's origin."
"To have done so would itself have constituted a breach—an unlawful challenge to the standing of a senior Mantle-bearer without grounds."
He let that settle across the chamber.
"That account alone acquits the stance of any breach of law."
"As for its source—the source remains innocent until proper investigation is lodged to determine the origin of the intelligence. And as that matter constitutes a separate inquiry—"
His gaze did not shift.
"I declare non-involvement. Unless and until sufficient cause or evidence is presented to establish direct participation in any breach arising from said inquiry. A matter which, by law, already acquits myself of involvement under testimony delivered beneath Confessor's Oath."
Mirell took her time.
She truly took her time.
There was a fine line between intelligence... and something else entirely. He stood well beyond it.
How damning.
That tale had never had a happy ending. Not now. Not ever. Not in the Evernight.
He would regret letting that be known. Sooner rather than later.
Her gaze swept the chamber. Whatever the others weighed behind solemn, sharpened expressions, it was not for his sake.
"Mantle-bearer. The High Council grants you leave to present your stance."
He bowed a final time.
His hand slipped into his coat.
A folded parchment emerged.
The eyes along the ring followed keenly as he unfolded it. Crease by crease. Deliberate. Unhurried.
He raised it toward the Council.
"I would request confirmation from Elder Riven of House Artyr."
Silence tightened to a blade's edge.
"That the seal affixed to this document..."
His eyes found Riven's. Held them.
"...is that of the Iron Veil."