The crystal chamber wasn't the only place in the Citadel with daemons. Outside, the Crownsguards had their weapons at the ready and their backs to the wall.
"Marshal—"
"I know." Cor pushed past without stopping. "Stay here and guard the crystal. A solution is in the works." He hoped.
He rounded the curve without waiting to hear the scattered response, keeping his sword sheathed at his side and his hand on the hilt as he broke into a run. Along the way, he passed more columns of that same black mist. More than once he thought he heard the chittering of daemons echoing through the halls.
He pressed on, avoiding engagement.
Two Crownsguards stood on either side of the doorway leading to the guest wing; both held their weapons at the ready and jumped when he rounded the corner. When they recognized him, a look of relief crossed their faces.
"Hold your ground." His tone invited no questions. "Which is the chancellor's room?"
"Third on the right, Marshal, but—"
Cor brushed past them before they could ask what was going on.
Beyond, the hall was dimly lit with every other sconce alight. So far as he could see, no daemons were stirring.
Though no light showed under the chancellor's door, when Cor knocked, the door opened almost immediately to Ardyn Izunia—fully dressed as if he had been preparing to go out. At four in the morning. Nothing suspicious to see, here.
"Well, well, well." His eyes flicked over Cor as he held the door open. "If it isn't the princess' faithful lapdog. And right when the Crown City is dissolving into chaos. Or is it lion? Mm… 'lap-lion' doesn't have quite the same ring do it…"
The chancellor was nonsensical, even for a politician. He also had none of the urgency that every other person who had noticed the daemons felt.
"I have been sent to escort you to Her Highness," Cor said.
"Is that so?" His eyes widened, but the expression on his face was mockery, not surprise. "Well, I suppose I must leap when Her Highness calls."
"She said to tell you that she needs a favor." Cor folded his arms over his chest. If this didn't work, he was just going to hit him in the face and drag him to the crystal chamber. He didn't have time for this song and dance number. Maybe Reina could waltz with the imperials, but Cor didn't have the patience.
The chancellor's eyes narrowed. He scrutinized Cor, as if he doubted the words.
And then he smiled the most unpleasant smile Cor ever had the misfortune of witnessing.
"How very interesting." The chancellor reached behind the door and produced his hat, which he fit onto his head. "Lead on, lapcat."
Cor turned on his heel and made his way back down the hall without waiting to see if the chancellor would catch up. He did. Unfortunately.
"No," the chancellor said, "The nuance is all wrong. Cats are independent and aloof; they only curl on your lap when they want something from you, not vice versa."
Was he going to keep this up the whole way? It was going to be a very long walk.
He didn't. Or at least, he fell quiet and Cor fell back into thinking and grew accustomed to having a silent—if unwelcome—companion. Eerily, no daemons crossed their path as they followed the same hallways that Cor had run through minutes before. Where had they all gone?
And then he began again:
"Lapcub?"
And Cor realized he had only been thinking of more appropriate synonyms. Did he seriously not care that the city was full of daemons? Did he have nothing better to spend his mental energy on?
Cor resisted the urge to break the chancellor's nose. He kept walking. The faster they reached the crystal chamber, the faster Reina could deal with this clown in his stead.
Inevitably, Izunia discarded this possibility as well. "No—cub implies a certain level of naivete or inexperience, and you have neither of those, do you…? Immortal."
He stared at Cor while he walked. He didn't seem to blink. Cor watched where he was walking. Eventually the chancellor stopped staring and walked on in silence. This time, Cor didn't fall into the trap of hoping he would remain that way and so, when he began to laugh—perhaps at some private joke—Cor was simply resigned.
"But you are aloof and independent, aren't you?" The chancellor's laugh was, if possible, more unpleasant than his smile. "My, but she must hold your leash tightly."
Fifteen minutes of inane monologue later, they reached the center of the Citadel. Their luck held; no daemons crossed their path. Cor didn't find out how incompetent the chancellor would be in a fight. He seemed the sort who would stand back and let someone else get their hands dirty. The Crownsguards were still standing outside the crystal chamber, no worse for the wear, though they looked askance at Cor's companion. Cor pushed the doors open and passed through the control room to the crystal chamber. The chancellor kept at his heel.
Inside, Reina and Regis were both standing before the crystal. The familiar glow—the violet beam of light that pulsed from the center of the Citadel—was back. The Wall was in place once more. But the damage had already been done; the daemons were inside.
"Princess! What a delight." Izunia spread his hands—to all appearances actually pleased to see her. "I've just been having the most titillating conversation with your lapcat."
Reina's eyes flicked toward Cor as he came to stand beside her, then back to the chancellor. "Thank you for coming, Ardyn. I need your help."
The pretense vanished and in its place was honest-to-Gods intrigue and dark glee. "Yes. So you have mentioned. What is it you ask of me?"
"I need your magic," she said.
His magic? Only the royal family or those they deemed worthy had magic of any sort. But if she was asking…
The look on Regis' face said he was just as caught off guard as Cor. And just as disturbed.
"You have my magic, little Dreamer." The chancellor's voice was all slime and oil. Just listening to him talk made Cor want to take a shower.
"No, I have Noctis'—a story for another time. I need yours. You know what I speak of. There is only one you have that we don't."
The look of interest on his face stretched into delight. Anything that delighted a man like Ardyn Izunia boded ill for everyone else.
He laughed. "Am I to understand that you are asking me—" He leaned closer and dropped his voice to an over-dramatic whisper. "—for control of the Starscourge?"
Control of the Starscourge? Cor must have heard him wrong. Never mind that the whisper had been just as loud as his conversational tone; this discussion was getting more absurd by the second.
What the hell was going on?
"Yes," Reina said. "I want the link that will grant me hold on the daemons."
"And what… will you give me for it?" He leaned closer still, so he was practically nose-to-nose with her.
She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him even closer, so she could whisper in his ear. After a moment, Izunia pulled away and stared at her. Then he threw back his head and laughed.
"Oh, little Dreamer, you do know how to tempt a man." He held out his hand to her.
Cor's arm jerked involuntarily as he fought the urge to knock the hand away and prevent her from touching him. He won out over the impulse. Barely.
Reina put her hand in the chancellor's. Red strands of light and power leapt from him and tied their hands together, twisting up her arm and tangling inside her. Behind her, Regis took a step forward, then stopped abruptly. Reina hardly seemed to notice any of that. She was staring only at the chancellor, and him at her. Enraptured.