“What do you mean Sareina has been kidnapped?!” Keilan demanded as Vanis' private aircraft took off into the sky.

  “Exactly what I said. She has been taken.”

  “How? When? Why?” He asked, extremely confused. His brain could not wrap around the thought that the Duveyar princess had been taken against her will, not with all the protection she'd departed with. Unless… “Was it on the planet?”

  “No.”

  “Then how?!”

  Vanis sighed. “Her convoy was waylaid on its way to her home system. The entire fleet was left in ruins and we could barely find any scraps to piece together what happened.”

  “And her guards? Her Warder? The Ascendant who came to take her?”

  “Gone, likely dead, mother says.”

  Keilan took in a deep breath. “What kind of firepower could take out an entire fleet and an Ascendant at the same time?”

  “More than what the Duveyar Primarch brought, obviously. Far more than that. We won't know more until their immortality is triggered and they return. Mother says that the attack was swift and quiet. They were done and gone by the time patrols responded to the ripple of energies. Only a squad of Ascendants is capable of such an ambush.”

  “Shadow Hall?”

  “We speculate, but we are not sure, yet. It could be the Aveanii, but I doubt they'd send their agents when they have the Hall on their payroll.”

  “The Chirameni, then?”

  “Possibly, but I doubt that. This is not their modus operandi. They do not sneak around when they could simply break down the door.”

  “What about the other nations? Surely, a few are capable of something like this.”

  “All are capable, Keilan, but very few would be willing to risk Grandmother's wrath, as well as those of Uncle Vilsus and Nessus, just for a one in. Besides, only the Aveanii and the Chirameni share a border with us. The others are allies.”

  Keilan breathed out. “So what's going to happen now? What measures are being taken to bring her back?”

  “Grandmother has let loose two Hunter fleets, as well as multiple Ascendants, to find and cut them off. Huiron has ordered the same. He's on his way, as we currently speak.”

  “What's a good hunter fleet—whatever those are—going to do against a squad of Shadow Ascendants? They'll be past the borders in no time.”

  “Not quite,” Vanis shook his head, and Keilan braced himself as the craft picked up speed, punching through into the planet's upper atmosphere. “As of this moment, two places are guarded most extremely in Lese. The core homeworlds, and the borders. If they try to go through any of our borders, the ascendants and Divine Kings of house Filenus, who have been stationed at every corner, including those from the Wardens, will catch them.”

  “That means they're still within Lese? They can't escape.”

  “Again, not quite. The net has been spread wide to detect any penetration by any of the big fishes our enemies might send against us, but it can't catch everything. Eventually, a small enough blip could slip through.”

  Keilan blinked as his mind caught on. “Smugglers, then.”

  Vanis smiled. “Yes. And we know just where to find them.”

  “Your mother knows about this?”

  “Yes of course, but we believe our quarries are not aware that we've caught on, at least not yet. This is a clandestine mission, I should tell you, which includes the team as well as a few high-domain Kings.”

  Just then, their craft punched out of the planet’s gravity, entering space. Keilan waited anxiously as it sped past the long traffic of private and commercial crafts coming in and out of the planet. Their approach must have been forewarned, because the long lines of moving vehicles were held to a pause, waiting for their craft to fly by before continuing on their way.

  Through the reinforced glass windows, Keilan caught sight of a ship hovering well out of the way of the moving traffic. Surprisingly, it wasn't Solis' Dreadship. This ship was sleeker than the behemoth that led the Verrille scion's fleet. It's hulls were midnight black, almost blending into the environment, and it was smaller, way smaller than the Dreadship.

  “We're not taking Solis’s ship?”

  “No, we'll be taking one of the Widowmakers ships.”

  “Widowmakers?”

  * * *

  “I didn't know your House had its own assassin organization?”

  “What House doesn't?”

  “The Widowmakers… very catchy name. Who came up with it?”

  “Oddly enough," Vanis said. “It began as a joke between Grandmother and Lord Vilsus, one of whom came up with a bet to found the most powerful assassin organization second to the renowned Shadow Hall. Grandma created the Widowmakers as a challenge to male dominance.”

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  “And let me guess,” Keilan interrupted. “Lord Vilsus created the uhh… Widower makers? Please tell me I'm not correct.”

  “You are not,” Vanis chuckled.

  “Ascendants…" he shook his head , "competing like a bunch of Spirit lords.”

  Vanis turned to give him a sideways look and Keilan thought he'd stepped out of line, but the Verrille scion simply shook his head and turned away. “You must not have met a lot of Ascendants if you thought them above mortal whims.”

  “They're not?”

  “On the contrary, they are the ones most susceptible to it,” Vanis responded. “Ascendants are the most powerful mortals, you see, and with such powers comes the urges to do things… things that they would not have otherwise had the galls to do when they were in the lower Realms.”

  “Let me get this straight; They're sating their childhood fantasies, doing things that they normally did not have the power or authority to do before.”

  “Exactly.”

  He sighed. “So which of them won the bet? The Widowmakers or their male cousins?”

  Vanis smiled. “None did.”

  Keilan blinked. “Now I'm just confused.”

  “Be patient, you'll understand soon enough.”

  * * *

  Their vehicle continued carried them on for a few more minutes, before they approached the hovering ship.

  Their presence had clearly been expected, because a ramp pulled down from the back end of the ship the moment they got within a short distance of it. Without slowing, Vanis's ship slid inside, coming to hover above the surface of a fairly small hangar.

  The reason Keilan called it small was that compared to the other hangar he'd been in—the Dreadship’s—this one looked far smaller in comparison.

  The hangar was roughly ninety thousand in square feet, judging by the sight of several other smaller vessels that were grounded, each of which was a bit larger than the one they'd come in with.

  The ceiling stretched into the distance, at least half the size of the space, with white glow orbs hovering from the top like mini suns.

  Multiple people moved about, fewer than what was normally required to operate a ship, and yet much more than Keilan had expected would be needed for a clandestine operation.

  A woman approached them as soon as they got out of the transport craft. She was dressed in a full black body-hugging suit, with combat boots reaching up to her knees and equally black gloves stretching up to her elbows.

  She smiled as she came up to them, eyes taking in Keilan and even Vanis in a clear combat assessment.

  “Welcome aboard The Cutthroat, Lord Vanis. I assume your journey was smooth?”

  Rather than respond cordially as he normally did, Vanis sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me simply by my name, Elis? At this rate, I am fairly certain you're doing this on purpose.”

  She let out a small smile. “Caught red-handed. You know how much I love frustrating you,” she said as she turned to Keilan. “You must be Keilan, the new charity case.”

  Keilan frowned but chose not to respond to that. He stretched out his hand. “Keilan Elason, and you are?”

  “Elis, just Elis,” the woman said without accepting his hand. “We Widowmakers cede our last names during operation.”

  “Do not look deep into her actions,” Vanis said as Keilan pulled back his hand, clearly caught off guard. “Elis likes to ruffle people, see how long it takes before she gets them really agitated. Ignore it.”

  “Way to spoil the fun, Van van. I bet Huiron would be more fun if he were here.”

  “He's not? I assumed he would be meeting us here?”

  “On the contrary, good sir, we would be meeting him,” she winked. “We will be rendezvousing with a Saulae fleet half the distance to our destination, where we will pick him up.”

  “He's bringing a fleet?” Keilan said. “Wouldn't that draw even more attention than if he came in quietly? He's putting himself at risk.”

  Elis snorted. “You clearly are not aware of the full capabilities that black devil has in his grip. Of the lot of you, I'd place my bet on him coming out alive in any situation.”

  “You speak treason, Mistress Elis,” Vanis narrowed his eyes. “As your lord, your utmost belief should be in me.”

  “I know you to punch things harder than you should be capable of, Vanis,” the woman said as she turned around, moving back the way she came. They followed. “Not to squiggle out of situations that would otherwise be fatal to the ordinary person.”

  “Do I look ordinary to you?”

  She seemed to scrutinize him closely, black eyes assessing him from head to toe. “Close enough,” she replied.

  Vanis opened his mouth in a clear grasp for a comeback, but Keilan beat him to it. “You still haven't answered my question.”

  She sighed, much exaggeratedly than was needed, if it was needed at all. “Lord Saulae comes with not a simple fleet, but the greatest of his house, that alongside the escorting presence of more than a single Ascendant, that should put his safety out of the question.”

  Keilan nodded. “And that would be enough?”

  She shrugged. “If they cannot dispatch any adversary set against them, then they should be able to escape. That much I hold great faith in. Are you satisfied, now?”

  Keilan nodded.

  “Where's my brother?” Vanis asked as they climbed up a flight of stairs.

  “On the bridge. He's a bit… grumpy.”

  “Let me guess, he wants us to have departed a long time ago?”

  “Yes, but that's not all. He's agitated, clearly frustrated. I'm not always here, so I have to ask; how was his relationship with Sareina before her… departure?”

  “They were okay, I would guess. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “They didn't spend time together, time away from the rest of you?”

  “Not that I saw, no. Solis spent most of his time in his cabin or ship's bridge during our travels, while Sareina spent most of hers either with Huiron or Keilan here.”

  The woman glanced at Keilan, narrowing her eyes. He arched an eyebrow and moved to demand what that was about, but Vanis spoke up first.

  “You think they were in a relationship?” He said, clearly bewildered.

  “Too far-fetched?”

  “Yes,” Vanis nodded with a chuckle. “That was an extremely ludicrous assumption, even by your standards, Elis. What set about such thought?”

  She shrugged. “I don't know… it just came to mind. Solis is not exactly one for affection, you know?”

  “No I don't,” Vanis laughed this time. “For all your great perceptiveness, Elis, you're awfully blind to those close to you. Solis cares, he cares more than you know, far far more. He simply doesn't show it.”

  “That's hardly believable,” Elis said, and even Keilan nodded in agreement.

  “I do not have the inclination to argue this with any of you,” Vanis shook his head. “Just know that my brother would worry if anything untoward should happen to any of you.”

  Keilan looked away, clearly obvious in his disagreement. Elis did the same, if a bit with a little thoughtful look as they continued on their journey.

  Eventually, after several stairs and turns, they came upon a great wide double door, thick and made from a material Keilan had never seen before.

  Before he could inquire, the doors opened into a great room shrouded in light darkness and a soft red glow.

  Multiple people moved about within, all women, like the ones they came across on their way to the bridge. They moved from one corner to the other, focused on operating the ship's controlling systems.

  Solis saw them before they did, and without a greeting, turned to the woman standing just behind the center of the ship's control board.

  “They are here,” he growled. “Now move this ship.”

  Elis gave her assent to the inquiring woman, and soon enough Keilan could feel himself jerk lightly backwards as the ship took off.

  Good, now that all that was done, he turned to Vanis. “Now, would somebody like to explain to me where we're heading?”