The Onboarding Process, Pt. 3

“Th-the humans in Highcliff… you don’t understand them like you think you do.”

Cynthia hated the way her voice wavered, but there was no taking it back now. “The ones in the cities, maybe they’ll… they’ll come to accept demonkin rule. But the villagers?” She hesitated, forcing herself to meet their gazes. “They’re different. They’re r-reclusive. Afraid. And… and we made them that way. I made them that way. Every second weekend, when I come back, there’s always stupid drama about me throwing my ‘lot in with them.’ Maybe I did. Doesn’t matter.”

No reaction from the panelists yet.

Her fingers curled against her sleeves, but she forced herself forward. “A-and now, look what they’ve done. They—they got their hands on our explosives. Built by our engineers. A-and they used them—on us. More and more from villages like mine are turning coat because they can’t understand. And they are too afraid to.”

She winced internally. Too many ‘ands.’

“Th-they blew up a demon-made carriage.” Cynthia clenched her hands tighter, as if she could force the tremor from her voice. “Which means they’re not just dangerous. They’ve compromised the integrity of our own constructions. If they could do this…” She inhaled sharply. “What else are they capable of?”

The silence stretched.

“The rebels… they—they’re not just fighting because they want to.” Her voice dipped, breath unsteady. “They have families. They fight because you gave them something to fight for.”

She hesitated, then straightened, trying to push the nerves down.

“So, I—I think Kael should go. In person.”

That got some reaction. A few flickers of movement.

She gripped the hem of her sleeve, pressing on before she could lose what little ground she had.

“They—they won’t attack you. They know it’ll make things worse. If you just… if you talk to them—convince them—it’ll do more than just showing force.”

Her breath hitched, but she forced herself to finish.

“Humans care about image. You know that.”

Another pause. The longest one yet.

Her chest was tight, her legs stiff, but she had one more thing to say.

“A-and you hate the Concordant just as much as they do. S-so… remind them of that.”

“…Has her inane tirade ended?”

Elisa scowl was instant, her head snapping immediately toward the offender. One of the winged imp-dragon things to her left spoke.

Voice deep enough it could break glass. A meathead in her mind, but for the demonkin, his word probably carried weight.

“The girl can’t even muster the courage to utter a sentence without stuttering. As if she doesn’t even believe the words she is saying and making them up on the go. Are we to entertain such words when even the words themselves lack conviction?”

Finally, Oraya spoke out. “What Cynthia said was not entirely unfounded, Osako. Out of any of us, I think hers bears the most weight. She has been beleaguered by people all around her telling her to not work for us, and yet she still does. I think that deserves recognition at the very least.”

The words rang sharp through the hall, reverberating against the stone walls.

"Bah! But what use is this talk?" The demonkin lord scoffed, his voice heavy with disdain. "You forget lives were lost thanks to this so-called rebellion. Call them what they are: terrorists!"

He leaned forward, eyes flashing, fingers tapping against the table in slow, deliberate rhythm. "Have they not seen what we’ve done for the average Highcliffian? The technology the Concordant is too stingy to share? Their capital cities benefit while the outer regions rot, and we—we—are the ones giving them what they never had!"

A murmur of agreement rippled through the panel, some nodding, others watching carefully.

"It’s not as if we are the villains of this story and they are the well-meaning underdogs. They knew what they were doing, knew exactly what it meant to attack us—and still, they chose the route of violence."

His voice dropped into something colder, something final. "It’s time they faced consequences. Time they were treated as the threat they want to be perceived as."

And then—

"I wanted to talk with you because my brother died in the attack!"

Cynthia’s voice cracked as she screamed it, raw and cutting through the tense chamber like a knife.

The room went silent.

Elisa’s stomach dropped.

…Cynthia?

Even Kael, the ever-composed, ever-infuriating Kael, looked stunned. Golden eyes blown wide with something close to panic.

Cynthia's breathing was uneven, her hands trembling as they balled into fists at her sides. But her eyes—gods, her eyes—were wet with something that made her look so small compared to the towering lords before her.

"And I just thought that maybe—maybe with a little compassion for those of us you so easily call undesirable, the uncooperative, the ones who don’t bow as neatly as you like—" her breath hitched, but she forced herself to keep going, "—then maybe things wouldn’t have gotten this bad."

"Not only is that not fair," another demonkin sneered, leaning back with a look of sheer incredulity, "seeing as how much we have uplifted the general populace—from living in mud huts to ensuring mothers don’t die at childbirth due to lack of medical understanding—" he waved a hand, dismissive, "I fail to see how that is our problem."

Cynthia’s lips parted slightly, a breath catching in her throat, but he didn’t stop.

"You take a life, be ready to give yours. The rebels were the instigators! Before ever approaching us, they struck first." His eyes were dark, unwavering. "No—negotiations were over a long time ago."

Elisa exhaled sharply through her nose. "Alright, that’s enough from you!"

The demon who had started this whole interrogation turned his gaze toward her, barely bothering to mask his sneer.

"This is Cynthia’s battle. Hers and mine alone. I—”

“I’d appreciate it if you practiced compassion for someone mourning the loss of her family member."

The demon scoffed. "Her brother killed Lycans who were not involved with us, just visiting from a neighbouring state. They are out of control!”

"Precisely why we should investigate. If they are so impulsive now, why haven’t they acted sooner? Anyway, Cynthia couldn’t have possibly been privy to such information while staying in this manor." Elisa’s words came clipped, final. "Have we really stooped so low as to deny people the right to mourn? To feel loss? Is life so cheap to you?"

“The Lycan’s lives were for nothing, then?”

“I find it curious you are looking for any excuses to avoid counteracting whatever points she was making.”

Off to the side, she caught the briefest flicker of movement—Oraya, leaning back in her seat, a slow, knowing smile curling at the edge of her lips. As if she had been waiting, watching, for the moment Elisa would finally fight fire with fire.

And Kael—

Even though Elisa’s very reputation was at stake—he felt something swell in his chest.

A surge that told him, this was the woman he had fallen in love with so long ago.

His fingers curled slightly at his side, but his lips pressed together in the faintest ghost of a smirk.

Go get him, girl.