The corridor ended in a pair of towering doors.
They were black oak, with iron bands running across them in dark lines. Alex stopped a few paces away, cradling his broken arm against his stomach and breathing through the pain.
’This is the Grand Hall.’
The corridor was empty, unguarded.
There were no guards, for a hall like this, it should have been unthinkable. Even in the stories he had read, the throne room of a lord was always crawling with men in steel.
But the memories had an explanation for it.
Edward Vance had a saying. He had repeated it so many times over the years that every servant in the household could recite it.
’I have nothing to fear for I am here. What better security can there be?’
Alex’s lips curled slowly.
’That’s...’
’That’s actually really cool.’
It carried so much weight and would have sounded arrogant coming from anyone else. But memory told him otherwise. The man who had said it had lived up to every word. Edward Vance was one of the strongest humans to have ever walked this world, and nobody had ever dared to test the claim.
Alex straightened his coat, placed his good hand on the door and pushed.
It opened.
Cool air rolled out to meet him, carrying the smell of stone and old wood. Alex stepped inside, and the door closed gently behind him.
The Grand Hall was enormous.
It stretched out before him like the inside of a cathedral. The ceiling rose so high that its beams were swallowed by shadow. Two rows of massive stone pillars ran down either side of a wide central aisle, each of them thick enough to hide a man behind.
And on every pillar hung a banner.
Deep crimson cloth, with a crest stitched into the center in thick golden thread. A long sword, crossed over the head of a wolf.
Alex let out a quiet whistle in his head.
’Ancient but it looks amazing.’
He lifted his eyes toward the far end of the hall. At the edge of a raised dais stood two thrones.
One was empty.
The other was occupied. Alex’s steps slowed.
A man sat there.
He sat very straight, one elbow resting on the arm of the throne, his chin lifted slightly.
’That’s him. Edward Vance, my father.’
His hair was white with a full white beard covered the lower half of his face. A scar ran from his left temple down across the eye and over the cheek, cutting through the eyebrow.
’So that’s a man who can stand against armies.’
At the foot of the dais, a short distance in front of the throne, Daniel knelt on one knee with his head lowered.
Alex walked down the center of the aisle.
He stopped a few paces from the dais.
"Father."
His voice rang out clearly.
"I apologize for being late."
Then the man on the throne moved his eyes. They came down slowly, and landed on Alex,.
"Hm."
The voice was deep and unhurried. It rolled through the hall like distant thunder.
"I see."
That was all.
Alex let out a quiet breath.
But then the gray eye narrowed, and Edward’s gaze slid down.
"Why is your arm broken?"
Alex froze. His mind went blank for half a second.
’What? How?’
The coat was thick and covered his forearm entirely, he didn’t walk in a way that gave it away.
And yet the man had looked at him once and known.
’That’s actually insane.’
A thin line of sweat ran down his spine. Alex continued forward.
He walked until he stood beside his brother, close enough that their sleeves nearly touched, and lowered himself onto one knee. His left arm screamed at the movement. He kept his expression flat, his head bowed, and his voice level.
"It is the result of my carelessness, Father."
A pause.
"Please do not worry about it."
The hall was quiet.
Alex stared at the floor. He could feel the old man’s gaze resting on the top of his head.
One second.
Two.
Three.
The delay stretched longer than it should have.
’Don’t tell me he can see through lies also. That would be too OP.’
At last, Edward spoke.
"I see."
His voice was quiet.
"Very well."
Beside Alex, Daniel’s shoulders eased.
’Lucky you.’
A soft cough echoed through the hall.
"Then let us begin."
Edward leaned back, and his hand rested on the arm of the throne.
"The reason I have summoned you both is to speak of the future of this estate."
His gray eye moved across them, one and then the other.
"Under normal circumstances, this conversation would not have happened for many years. But circumstances have changed."
He paused.
"You were not your own persons when it happened. But you will have heard what became of your mother."
Alex’s breath caught. He had not been expecting that.
"She died of the mana rot."
Alex knew the name.
The mana rot was a disease that attacked those who carried mana, slowly eating at the core from within. It was rare and only affected a tiny fraction of people. But once it began, there was no cure.
Edward Vance continued.
"The sickness began before you were born."
His voice did not waver. But something in the line of his shoulders seemed to harden.
"She knew what it meant. And yet she held on. Her will was stronger than anyone I have ever known. She endured the rot long enough to carry the two of you to term, and to bring you into this world healthy."
He lowered his eyes for the briefest of moments.
"And then she passed."
Edward Vance lifted his gaze and looked at Daniel.
"One of you turned out to be a talent that comes once in a million."
Daniel’s head lifted just slightly. His back straightened.
Then the gray eye slid across to Alex.
"And the other was unable to use mana at all."
His mouth twisted in something that was not quite a smile.
"Irony, I suppose."
Alex said nothing.
’Irony is right. But something doesn’t add up. If the system is to be believed, it wasn’t the rot that did this.’
He kept that thought to himself.
"I take it as a mark of the mana rot," Edward continued. "A scar left on you by what took your mother. I do not blame you for it, Alex. Not once. You are my son, and I love you as I love your brother."
His voice softened by a fraction.
Then it hardened again.
"But my love, and the future of this estate, are two different things."
The air changed. It was as if the whole hall had drawn in a breath.
"I have decided. As of today, Daniel Vance is the rightful heir to everything I have built in this life."
The words rang out, clear and final. Beside Alex, Daniel lifted his head.
He turned slowly, and his blue eyes found Alex’s. There was a small, smug curve at the corner of his mouth, so slight that only a person looking for it would notice. His chin was tilted. His eyes glittered with satisfaction.
Alex looked back at him calmly.
’Smile while you can, little brother. They say a crown is heavy. I hope yours fits.’
He did not let a single flicker of it reach his face.
"Everything," Edward continued, "but one thing."
His father’s gaze moved to Alex.
"I own a small estate in the north. Not large, but sound. Good land. A manor house. A handful of farms and servants."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I am giving it to you."
Alex’s eyes narrowed.
"By our rules, I should not. A son who has not awakened has no claim on the family’s holdings. But you are still my son. I will not send you out empty-handed."
He sat back.
When he spoke again, his voice was calm. Quiet. And utterly absolute.
"If anyone opposes my decision, they are welcome to challenge me on it."
"I will be ready," Edward said, "whenever they wish."
Nobody spoke.
Alex kept his head bowed, but from the corner of his eye he watched Daniel. A muscle twitched along the side of his cheek. He had opened his mouth as though he meant to say something, and then thought better of it and closed it again.
Of course he had.
’Challenge him? You’d be pulped before you finished the sentence.’
Alex lowered his gaze to hide the faint amusement tugging at his lips.
At last, Daniel inclined his head.
"I comply with your decision, Father."
His voice was smooth and respectful, without a trace of the venom he had shown in the bedroom.
"Good."
Edward’s eye moved once more to Alex.
"And you?"
The word hung there.
Alex lifted his head.
For a moment he did not say anything. He met his father’s gaze, and for the first time since entering the hall he felt no pressure at all.
He took a breath.
"I do not."
The silence that followed was absolute. Daniel’s head snapped around.
"I honor your consideration for me, Father," Alex said evenly. "I truly do. I know it was not an easy decision."
He rose slowly from his knee.
His broken arm hung at his side, and every movement sent pain through it.
"But I am the first-born."
His words carried through the Grand Hall.
"And I will take what is rightfully mine."