Chapter Ten: Names That Burn

The halls of the Noble Assembly were silent.

Torches crackled against marble walls, casting long shadows between thrones of gold and iron. Thirteen seats—one for each ruling house of Caldrath. Behind them, guards with enchanted spears stood at ease.

But today, they watched the door.

Because someone was coming.

And he was not welcome.

The Door Opens

The double doors slammed open.

Kieran entered.

He wore a black cloak with no crest. His sword was sheathed. His eyes, glowing faintly in the dim, met each noble without flinching.

No one spoke.

Until Lord Halven—tall, silver-haired, voice like polished stone—leaned forward.

"You're the boy from the outer village. The adventurer with rumors clinging to his shadow."

Kieran stopped at the center of the chamber.

"I'm the son of Elira."

The name struck like thunder.

Half the room stiffened. A few looked at each other.

One—Lady Mirell, of House Carthen—stood slowly.

"That name was purged."

Kieran's voice was cold.

"You tried. But names don't die when you write them out. They die when no one speaks them."

He raised the old page from the Whisperer's book.

And the chamber dimmed.

The Accusation

"My mother was hunted. My family erased. Because she refused to give you what you wanted—access to the Voidborne seal hidden in her bloodline."

Lord Halven scoffed. "You know nothing of that."

"I know you created the Failed One," Kieran said. "You broke a child to test a weapon. And you failed. Now you fear what happens when someone succeeds."

He drew his blade—but didn't raise it.

Not yet.

"You will answer for the purge. For the poison in the Veins. And for the blood you spilled to bury a name."

Lady Mirell's eyes narrowed.

"And what name is that?"

Kieran's voice didn't rise.

"Kieran Veyron."

Silence Slash

One of the nobles snapped his fingers to summon a guard.

He never finished.

The blade moved faster than sound—Silence Slash—cutting the space between breath and voice.

Kieran didn't strike flesh.

He struck the floor. A warning.

The echo never came.

Just silence.

Then: cracks spreading like glass across marble.

"That was a whisper," Kieran said. "Next time, I speak louder."

Aftermath

He turned and left.

The room stayed silent long after he was gone.

But outside, in the higher towers, eyes watched with interest.

And far below, in the Veins… the Failed One stirred.