Saetan reached for the canter of brandy. If would give him such a nasty headache but right now he welcomed it. It was nearly dark and his son… sons… weren't back yet. Chaosti had warned about where they were going and what Lucivar was planning on going. 50,000 years ago it had been the root of a brutal war and the cause that he had lost two of his sons 1700 years ago and a third before the first war. A son that he never seen alive and had only seen in pieces. Hayll had been the rotting cesspool of carrion. And now it would be the most likely to place that would bury his mirror and every living Hayllian along with him.

The glass that was held in his hand shattered with brut force. "Damn" he needed to leash his temper before someone got hurt. No that wasn't true… well not completely true… someone would get hurt and it would mostly likely be himself since is daughter… his queen was trying desperately to hold on to the child while fighting emotions that would be fatal to it…

It would kill him if he was the cause of that loss…

It would kill him when he received the news that Daemon was beyond his grasp…

Either way his heart was about to be torn apart he just knew it.

He wasn't brooding not really but right now he couldn't stop going between cold murderous rage and such a deep unrelenting sorrow his heart wouldn't let his mind think straight. It was then he felt the dark jeweled strength of another warlord prince.

Blazing hot anger and deep rolling thunder followed. Saetan's heart sank as his temper rose to meet his son on the killing field. Oh he wouldn't be standing on opposing sides, but rather walk side by side. If blood was going be shed so be it. He was a warlord prince violence was in his nature… the anger was already running cold in veins.

The only thing stopping him was that he needed to the see the extent of the damage done in order the collect the debt in full.

A heart beat after the roar of thunder had came from outside another wave came from inside of the Hall. This time the stone answered with flashes if bright white and streaks of bright purple lighting. The witches who were here were answering Lucivar's call to battle. The males, both servants and first circle, were gathering to fight. He could feel the growing rage and unease. He could feel the war that was building and damn it that hurt. It hurt because he couldn't kill those who were not at fault... He wouldn't. He could walk out of this room and join every one of them into destroying everything left in Terrielle or…

…May the darkness help him…

He could calmly leave this room and remind the strong witches and strong queens that there were those in the Hall that needed help. There might be more that Lucivar had brought back with him

It was times like this he really hated being the only one so well versed in protocol. To have it so strongly imbedded into his marrow. The only thing left to do was make his body respond to the more sensible side of his temper before it was unleashed on the wrong …

…prey… was the only word that he could think of.

Slowly with great care to mask all of his strong emotions the High lord forced himself out of his study and into the great hall. With all the anger that was barely leashed the hall was eerily quiet. Oh all the males that still served the Queen were present. Or at the least the ones that hadn't left with Lucivar. And the coven were there eyeing the front door with a deadly stare. On second look there were two females still missing. Well three if didn't count coven.

… Now where would a Dea al Mon assassin choose to be while getting a good look at her mark? If he continued to think like that anyone who came thru those doors would be met in a pool of blood. Yet it did raise another question where was the Dea al Mon queen? And more importantly why wasn't the Lady here to begin with?

Unfortunately he didn't have time to ponder that. And Beale had just enough time to jump out of the way before the tall dark wood doors that were the front entrance blew open with enough force to have anyone caught behind it flattened into the stone wall behind it.

Lucivar must have warned Beal. Or someone else on that side of the door must have.

Lucivar too calmly strode into the now open doorway. His dark wings unfurled just enough to block the view of what and who was behind him. Fire and lightning burned deep within his golden eyes. Other than that he showed no other sign of rage… nothing was betrayed on his face. No sign of blood was left on his leather vest.

The High Lord scanned the room very quickly. Nothing had been said but no one was challenging the enraged Warlord Prince who wouldn't hesitate to tear them apart if given the right motivation. Yet the other males seemed calmer somehow. It didn't take long to find out why.

"Leash it Prince." Her midnight barely spoke above a whisper. But it was the Dea al Mon Queen who first was seen.

Her dress was spider silk that much was certain. But how she had managed to make appear like the summer woods in twilight, kissed by a harvest moon was beyond anyone. This wasn't just one of the coven entering the would be slaughter. This was one of the triangle… not the male triangle but the female version that the ladies had determined long ago… this was a queen to dealt with on her terms. A Member of the hourglass and she did not look pleased.

Witch followed slowly behind her Surreal at her side. Her black… black? … spider silk dress conforming to the bump at the small of her belly. A sliver necklace so fine that it looked like a fine weaver's web that had weaved around her throat and a large golden spider broach was clasping a… not cape it was too fine a material to be a cape or offer warm… a shrug or a veil… perhaps

It was then the broach moved slightly. Just one long golden leg.

Beware the golden spider…

… The Arachna were all deadly and kept to their island… so why was one here? No, not even a reasonable question to ask… the little gold spiders were all deadly. The size of the spider told about the potency of the venom and this spider was as large as his fist… a grown male's fist that was loosely holding a small ball rather than making a true fist.

This could be only the queen of the Arachna.

Mother night. And may the darkness be merciful.

"Prince Yaslana I will speak to those involved after…"

"I've been told lady." Any other time he would have yielded. Not today not when his brother was fighting the healing webs. Not when he had been too close to the scrawny bitch that had Daemon's scent saturated into her bone. And not when he couldn't be sure of his own damn sanity. No today he did snap back and with good reason.

Jaenelle just narrowed her sapphire eyes and stared at him.

For more them a heart beat golden eyes locked with sapphire. Gold looked away first. As he did he gently folded his wings and allowed those behind him into the Hall.