Chapter 292: Animals

The palace corridors seemed to stretch and hold their breath as Eris Igniva walked through them.

She moved with purpose, each step measured and deliberate, heat rippling in the air around her like summer shimmer off scorched stone.

Servants pressed themselves against walls as she passed, their eyes wide and fearful. Guards straightened at attention, hands hovering near weapons they knew would be useless.

Everyone stared.

How could they not? The Fire Queen, fresh from publicly torturing a noblewoman in the courtyard, now walked through the palace with murder in her eyes and a smile on her lips. Where was she going? What was she planning?

The whispers followed her like smoke.

“Is she going to—”

“—after what she did to Isolde—”

“—the Emperor should stop her—”

But the Emperor was occupied with his council. And Eris was done being stopped.

She turned into the eastern wing… Vetra’s domain, the heart of the Regent Empress’s power. The corridors here were colder, more austere, decorated in shades of silver and ice-blue that matched their mistress’s aesthetic.

Two guards stood stationed outside Vetra’s private chambers, their postures rigid with the kind of discipline that came from years of service. They saw Eris approaching and stepped forward to block the door, hands moving to sword hilts.

“Lady Eris.” The taller guard’s voice carried authority despite the slight tremor underneath. “The Regent Empress is not receiving visitors at this—”

“If you don’t get out of my way—” Eris stopped directly before them, close enough that they could feel the heat radiating from her skin, see the way her eyes reflected firelight that had no source.

She smiled. “Well. You’re both smart men. I’m sure you can imagine how that sentence ends.”

The guards exchanged glances. Thought about the stories from Solmire. Thought about Isolde’s screams echoing through the courtyard just hours ago.

They stepped aside.

Eris didn’t thank them. Simply walked past and pushed open the chamber doors without knocking, without announcement, without a single courtesy extended to rank or protocol.

The doors swung wide with a bang that echoed through the room.

Vetra Nivarre sat in an elegant chair near the window, a delicate teacup balanced in one hand, her posture the picture of refined composure. She was smiling… a small, satisfied curve of her lips that spoke of victory savored.

She’d won today. Eliminated Cassius, framed Maren, thrown Eris and Soren’s plans into chaos. All while sipping tea in her chambers like a queen surveying her conquered territory.

When the doors crashed open and Eris entered, Vetra didn’t flinch. Didn’t startle. Just looked up with that same small smile, as though she’d been expecting this.

And perhaps she had. After all, she knew exactly who Eris was. The infamous Witch of Solmire.

It was almost predictable.

Vetra returned her attention to her tea, raising the cup to her lips with deliberate slowness. Took a sip. Savored it.

Pretended Eris didn’t exist.

The power play was obvious. Childish, even. Who would break first? Who would demand attention?

Eris stopped in the center of the room, watching Vetra with the patient stillness of a predator sizing up prey. She didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Just waited, heat building in the air around her until frost on the windows began to melt and drip.

The silence stretched. Vetra took another sip of tea, that smile never wavering.

Then Eris spoke.

“Mentis Vinculum.”

Vetra froze. Mid-sip, the teacup suspended halfway to her lips.

“That’s the spell you used, isn’t it?” Eris’s voice came soft, almost conversational.

“The Chain of Mind. Blood magic channeled through a personal item… hair, usually, though fabric works in a pinch. You draw a circle with your own blood mixed with chalk. Place the anchor item in the center. Chant the binding words… they’re in ancient Pyrric, not that you’d know the language. Then you cut your palm, let the blood flow onto the anchor, and the magic seeks its target.” She took a step forward. “Your blood turns black when the spell takes hold. The anchor dissipates. And somewhere else in the palace, your victim’s mind becomes yours to command.”

Vetra’s composure cracked. Just slightly. Just enough.

She lowered the teacup with careful precision, her eyes fixed on Eris with something between curiosity and concern. “How do you know—”

“How do I know exactly what you did?” Eris’s smile widened, and it was the smile of something that had crawled out of nightmare and decided to stay.

“Because I created that spell.”

Silence crashed through the room.

Vetra stared at her. Actually stared, her mask of superiority slipping to reveal genuine shock underneath.

“What are you talking about?”

“The grimoire.” Eris began walking forward, each step measured, closing the distance between them with predatory grace.

“The one stolen from Solmire seven years ago. The one used in the assassination attempt at the market. The one you’ve been using to practice your little experiments.”

She stopped directly in front of Vetra’s chair, looming over the seated woman.

“It’s mine. I wrote it. Every spell, every ritual, every dark and twisted piece of magic in those pages—I created them.”

Vetra’s hands tightened on the teacup. For the first time since Eris had entered, she looked genuinely caught off-guard.

“I’ll give you your praise this time.” Eris’s voice carried something almost like respect. Almost. “You actually caught me off guard. In fact I should have known since you’ve been awfully quiet since the council meeting. That staged protest wasn’t like you. Duke Cassius. The mind control. The systematic elimination of our witnesses.” She tilted her head. “I must say, I underestimated how cruel you can be. I guess killing your own citizens wasn’t enough.”

“Is there a point to this visit?” Vetra’s voice remained controlled, but the edge was there now. Sharp and defensive.

“The point,” Eris said softly, “is that I forget sometimes. I forget what it means to be a villainess. To do everything you can… moral, immoral, doesn’t matter… until you get exactly what you want.”

Her smile turned vicious. “But you’ve reminded me. You’ve shown yourself. Your true face. The monster beneath the refined exterior.”

She leaned down, bringing her face level with Vetra’s, close enough that the older woman could see every detail of the madness dancing in those flame-colored eyes.

“So I will also show myself.” The words came quiet, intimate, terrifying. “We can stop pretending to be civil. Stop playing the game of polite society and careful politics.”

Eris placed one boot on the low table between them, the movement casual and utterly disrespectful. She leaned forward, forcing Vetra to either maintain eye contact or look away, and her smile widened.

“You and I are both after one thing…to tear each other down… Like animals.” she purred. “And from now on, we’re going to act like it.”

Vetra’s composure held by the thinnest of threads. Her mind raced… calculating, assessing, trying to determine if this was bravado or genuine threat. Trying to understand how the Fire Witch had known about the spell, about the grimoire’s origins.

This bitch is crazy, Vetra thought. I should have known. Should have prepared for this.

But even as the thought formed, she couldn’t quite suppress the flicker of respect. Because Eris wasn’t bluffing. Wasn’t posturing. She meant every word.

The monsters had finally stopped pretending to be human.

Eris straightened, removing her foot from the table with the same casual disrespect she’d placed it there. “Till next time.”

She turned to leave, her steps unhurried, utterly confident.

Then stopped at the door without looking back.

“Oh. One more thing.” Her voice carried easily through the chamber. “I know you have my spell book. The grimoire. My life’s work in dark magic.”

Vetra said nothing. Waiting.

“I’d say you give it back to who it belongs to,” Eris continued, still facing the door, “before the book consumes you.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A warning.” Eris glanced back over her shoulder, and her expression had gone perfectly serious. No smile. No mockery. Just cold, absolute certainty.

“There’s a reason that book was hidden from the public. Why it should have never been found. Why I sealed it away even from myself.”

She paused, letting the words sink in.

“If you think you know how to handle the power you’re conjuring… if you think you understand what you’re playing with… I promise you, Vetra, you don’t.”

Her eyes met the Regent Empress’s one final time. “That magic doesn’t just corrupt. It devours. And it’s already started eating you from the inside out. You just haven’t noticed yet.”

The door closed behind her with a soft click that sounded louder than any slam could have.

Vetra sat alone in her chambers, the teacup cooling in her hands, and for the first time in years, felt something uncomfortably close to fear crawling up her spine.

Because she’d seen the truth in Eris’s eyes.

The Fire Queen wasn’t bluffing.

The grimoire was dangerous. More dangerous than Vetra had realized.

And she’d just invited something ancient and hungry into her soul.

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