Chapter 99: The Hall of Justice
Azriel
"The princes have arrived!" the royal announcer shouted, his booming voice echoing through the massive pillars of the Hall of Justice as I made my way inside. Lumiel walked on my left, while I held Seraphel’s hand firmly on my right.
I led Seraphel straight toward the elevated dais at the center of the hall, where three majestic seats waited. I guided him to the chair set to my right and helped him sit before I took my place on the central throne. Lumiel sat down on my left.
Once we were all seated, I heaved a deep sigh, leaned back slightly, and looked down at the large crowd of servants whose heads were pressed flat against the cold stone floor.
I let go of Seraphel’s hand and gave a slow, indifferent wave of my fingers toward the guards.
"Proceed," I murmured, my tone laced with utter bored indifference as I barely suppressed a yawn.
"Proceed!" the royal announcer’s voice resounded throughout the vast room, commanding instant order.
Lumiel wasted no time. He was already on his feet, gliding down the steps toward Malachi and taking his position right beside him.
"One among you dared to act as a pawn for Elysium, seeking to dispose of the vessel and the child of destiny," Lumiel declared, his cold, imperious voice ringing across the hall. "Step forward now, and this prince shall grant you a swift death."
Lumiel’s words were so direct and ruthless that even I rolled my eyes from the throne. It was classic Lumiel—he did not care for tedious interrogations; he merely sought an excuse to tear a soul apart.
"Your Highness, these are the personal servants of Lord Seraphel," Malachi announced, pointing his fingers toward Analisse, Durin, and Rami.
I easily recognized their names because they had been serving Seraphel faithfully ever since he first arrived at Asmodeus Palace.
All three of them were kneeling right in the very front row with their heads lowered to the floor. They were shaking violently in sheer terror simply because Lumiel was pacing back and forth right in front of them.
Lumiel stopped walking directly in front of the trio. All at once, all three servants raised their heads at the same time. Their eyes rolled completely into the back of their heads, leaving only the whites showing, and their mouths fell wide open in a creepy, frozen stance.
The entire hall fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.
In the stillness, I could clearly hear the frantic, relentless pounding of Seraphel’s heart as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair beside me.
I turned toward him, a look of genuine concern softening my features. I reached out, grabbed his hand gently, and began rubbing the back of it with my thumb to soothe him.
"Calm yourself," I reassured him softly. "This is merely Lumiel’s method of searching memories. If they bear no guilt, you have nothing to fear—they shall remain unharmed."
Seraphel gave me a quiet nod in response, but as he turned his face back toward the scene, I noticed the noticeable shakiness in his hands.
I knew right then that he was not fully convinced.
Deep down, even he was terrified that his own personal servants could have betrayed him and set up the curse.
I stretched my hand out further, taking his cold fingers and placing them securely on my lap. He looked up to stare at me, his eyes filled with a helpless, questioning look.
"I know you are afraid," I said gently, meeting his gaze, "but Lumiel does not strike the innocent."
"They look as though their very souls are being torn away," Seraphel whispered, his voice trembling. "Look at their eyes..."
I chuckled darkly and shook my head at his innocence. "No one is dying, my lotus. What you witness is merely Lumiel’s soul search. It shall prove beyond doubt whether your servants harbored treacherous thoughts."
"And if they did?" Seraphel asked, his bright blue eyes dimming with worry.
A sharp, dangerous grin formed on my face as my eyes locked onto his. "Then I shall grant them the most excruciating demise imaginable. After all, they dared lay a finger upon the cherished mate of the Prince of Lust."
Seraphel immediately broke eye contact, averting his gaze back down to his servants. Watching him pull away, I felt desperate to know what was going on inside his head.
"These three bear no sin," Lumiel announced loudly, stepping away from Analisse, Durin, and Rami. "They are not the culprits."
The moment those words were spoken, I felt Seraphel’s hand in mine instantly relax, losing all its tension. A soft sigh of pure relief escaped his lips.
My eyes shifted back to Lumiel, watching as he moved through the rest of the waiting servants, searching their minds one by one. There were at least fifty servants standing in the Hall of Justice, but Lumiel moved between them so swiftly and effortlessly it was as if there were only ten.
To him, this entire task was child’s play. He was capable of searching the souls of over a thousand warriors in a single day without expending his power.
I could tell he was already growing impatient because he had not yet uncovered the worm who had planted the curse under the bed.
"Peculiar," Lumiel suddenly paused, stopping dead in his tracks in front of a male servant in the middle row. He remained still for a few minutes, and I instantly knew that something was wrong.
"Is there a disturbance, brother?" I demanded from the throne, my tone sharpening.
Lumiel shook his head slowly in response. "This servant’s memories have been heavily tampered with... yet I have snared faint fragments of the truth within his mind," he answered, placing a hand under his chin as he slowly circled the servant whose head was arched backward with pure white eyes.
"Is something amiss?" Seraphel questioned softly, shifting anxiously in the chair beside me. "When he says the memories were altered... does it mean this servant is the traitor?"
I turned my head to stare at Seraphel for a moment. For once, I was not looking at him with purely lustful thoughts. Aside from the fact that I was present in the Hall of Justice to hunt down the traitor, my mind had been constantly filled with endless thoughts of how to take him again.
My focus had been completely divided, but the second he asked those intelligent questions, those impure thoughts faded away. They were instantly replaced by a deep sense of pride at how quick-witted he was to grasp exactly what was happening.
"Indeed, Seraphel," I answered smoothly. "If his mind was altered by dark means, it signifies he is the tool used for this treason."
Lumiel let out a cold sigh down below as he pulled out a pair of heavy dark gloves and started putting them on.
"What is he doing now?" Seraphel inquired, watching Lumiel closely.
"It is Shashti—the Deep Search," I explained. "Since the original memories were woven over with falsehoods, he must force his way through the core of the mind to find out the absolute truth."
"Then why does he wear gloves?"
"You seem far more captivated by my royal brother than by me today, Seraphel," I muttered, a sharp hint of possessive jealousy creeping into my tone. I did not care if it was blatantly obvious; all I ever desired was for Seraphel to bestow his undivided attention exclusively upon me.
Seraphel rolled his eyes at my dramatic reaction, shaking his head. "No, I..."
"Rolling your eyes at this prince, little lotus?" I cut him off, raising an eyebrow. "Are you seeking to rebel against me?"
"I am merely asking a question, Azriel," Seraphel said softly, pointing his slender finger down toward Lumiel. "I only wish to know why your brother must wear gloves before placing his hands upon that servant’s head."