Veneri's study was so quiet that I could hear myself breathe. Normally, it was a place where he worked in peace, Right now, it felt like a courtroom.
He walked to his chair and sat down. The sound of the chair settling echoed far louder than it should have in the silence. Adelasta and I were kneeling in front of him.
Our hands were raised above our heads with our palms facing upward in a formal posture of submission. It was an old Richinaria disciplinary stance. Normally, it wasn't particularly painful. It was uncomfortable, sure, but manageable.
But Veneri's Divine Presence was pressing down on us. It was subtle compared to what he'd unleashed on the metallic beings outside but even that restrained pressure felt like weights were tied to every inch of my body. My arms trembled from holding them up against the force. My knees ached where they pressed into the polished floor.
I gritted my teeth and tried not to shift. What confused me more than the pain, though, was the situation itself.
Adelasta was kneeling beside me in the exact same posture with her back straight. If anyone in this entire Dynasty was known for being responsible and composed, it was her. She was literally the Grand Duchess.
So why am I being punished?
Veneri sat there silently. His fingers steepled in front of his mouth as he looked at us.
We've always known Veneri was protective by nature but this wasn't just Veneri. This was Protection Veneri, the Pentarch embodiment of that instinct. His entire existence right now was centered around safeguarding Richinaria and everything within it.
Which meant any threat to the dynasty wasn't just a mistake in our part. It was a personal failure in his own way as well. He did tell Ely before that he wouldn't tolerate us being cute and romantic from now on but I didn't expect that shift to happen this fast.
Richinaria was considered the safest dynasty in the world for one very simple reason. We were so high in the sky that most forces couldn't even reach us. Anyone who did manage to get close had to pass through layers of scanning arrays and formal permissions issued by either the Monarch, the Monarchess or the Grand Duchess. Which meant the only way someone dangerous could get inside was if one of us let them in.
"When it comes to Richinaria, I do not tolerate nonsense."
He didn't mix romance with leadership. That was one of the first things anyone who worked closely with him learned. As a beloved, he could be warm, teasing and even soft in ways he never showed publicly. But as a monarch, he was ruthless in a way that made even older Dynasties uncomfortable.
And right now, he was acting as that Monarch.
Seeing him calm was already unnerving. Seeing him serious with no trace of or softness in his expression was honestly terrifying.
"I'm not even mad. I'm just… what's the right word? Disappointed. Adelasta, why did you allow Leones to bring that native inside without informing me or even Phaenora?"
Adelasta remained silent. His eyes moved to me.
"And you. You knew about it."
He wasn't wrong. Leones did bring the man but he felt weak and non-threatening. I assumed Adelasta had already cleared it and I hadn't bothered to double-check.
I opened my mouth. "Veneri, I—"
"I did not give you permission to speak."
I snapped my mouth shut immediately. Adelasta tried to speak next but—
"I did not give you permission either. Now then, do you understand where we are right now?"
Neither of us answered.
"The entirety of Richinaria is currently inside the Second Epoch Cycle. Unlike the other dynasties, all of our Divines are present on this island. We did not leave significant forces outside because we trusted our own defenses and protocols."
His fingers tapped once against the desk.
"If this dynasty is destroyed while we are in this cycle, it is not a temporary setback. It is permanent. There is no external force to return and rebuild. There is no second chance. The other Dynasties have Divines stationed outside the cycle. If they are attacked, they have time to respond. They have redundancies. We do not."
He let that sink in before continuing.
"If Richinaria had fallen today, the economy would have collapsed. The resources that countless other regions rely on would have disappeared once we got back. You know that, right?"
He glanced toward the window.
"Thankfully, we established contingencies in case Richinaria became temporarily unavailable. Because we are currently outside of Spheraphase, those protocols will prevent the global economy from shattering. But that is damage control, not prevention. People died today. Civilians trusted us to keep them safe but panic spread through the city because its guardians were sealed away like children in a toy box."
Guilt twisted in my chest so tightly it hurt to breathe.
"If I had been one hour late, Richinaria would have been completely destroyed. And do you know why it wasn't?"
Neither of us answered.
"Luck."
His hand slammed down onto the desk with a loud crack.
"I do not like relying on luck."
The Divine Presence pressing on us intensified for a split second, forcing a small gasp out of me before it stabilized again.
"If I had been late, there would be nothing left of this Dynasty but drifting rubble and corpses everywhere."
Adelasta's shoulders trembled slightly. It was the first visible sign that his words were getting to her.
"Veneri, I—"
"Be quiet, Adelasta."
She fell silent immediately. He leaned back again, running a hand over his face in a rare display of open exhaustion.
"This is going to be bothersome. I still have to deal with the Unification of the Divines and now I also have to figure out how to help Richinaria handle the mess you two created."
My throat felt tight. I wanted to apologize again, to promise it wouldn't happen but I stayed silent. I knew there wasn't anything I could say that would make this better.
After a long, heavy pause, he exhaled and waved his hand. His Divine Presence vanished instantly. The weight crushing down on my shoulders disappeared so abruptly that I nearly fell forward, catching myself at the last second before my hands dropped. My arms throbbed with the sudden release.
"Leave me alone for now. I need to think."
Adelasta and I lowered our hands. My legs protested as I stood, but I ignored it, following her toward the door. Just before we stepped out, I glanced back once.
He was already leaning over his desk again looking at holograms of the city and the damage dealt.
The door closed behind us with a soft click.