The Inquisition chamber had the kind of silence that made you want to confess to things you hadn't done just to fill it.
Raziel and Lucian stood before a tribunal of five Inquisitors, no chairs offered.
Which told him everything he needed to know about how this was going to go.
High Inquisitor Aldric sat at the center.
A man whose face looked like it had been carved from the same stone as the walls.
"Novice Raziel Celeste. Novice Lucian Valerius Nyxian." Aldric's voice carried no emotion.
"You are here to answer for the disaster you left in the Crypt."
Raziel had a story ready.
He'd been rehearsing it in his head since the guards dragged them out of the hostel.
Vague enough to hold up under pressure, specific enough to sound true, and most importantly, it kept Lucian's mouth shut.
But Lucian shook his head before Raziel could speak.
'Don't. Don't you dare.'
"With all due respect, High Inquisitor," Lucian said, and his voice only trembled a little, "we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We didn't know anything about—"
"Silence."
The word cut through the room and Lucian's sentence died in his throat.
"We don't want your excuses, young Nyxian. We want the truth." Aldric's eyes stayed fixed on Lucian, ignoring Raziel entirely.
"Let's start with something simpler. What is your relationship with this orphan?"
He said 'orphan' the way someone might say 'rat' or 'disease.'
'Here it comes. The narrative. Naive noble corrupted by the commoner orphan. They're not looking for truth, they're looking for a story that fits.'
"Raziel is my friend," Lucian said, and the firmness in his voice surprised Raziel almost as much as it surprised Aldric.
The High Inquisitor raised an eyebrow.
"Friend? A noble of your lineage, associating with a no-name without family? That's unusual."
"Unusual doesn't mean wrong."
Raziel wanted to grab him by the collar and shake some sense into him.
Every word out of Lucian's mouth was another brick in the wall they were building around both of them.
But the idiot kept going.
Another Inquisitor leaned forward, a gray-haired woman with thin lips.
"And the rumors, Lord Lucian? The ones that say this boy is your servant? Or perhaps something worse?"
"How dare you!" Lucian lost whatever composure he'd been holding onto.
"Raziel is my equal! He's not my servant or any of the crap you're implying!"
Raziel looked at him and felt something shift in his chest. The noble actually meant it.
After everything, after all the posturing and the suspicion and the near-fights, Lucian was standing up for him in front of the Inquisition.
It was stupid, reckless and it was going to make everything worse.
But it was real.
"Lucian, you don't have to—"
"No, Raziel." Lucian cut him off without looking at him.
"I do have to. It's time they understood."
He turned back to the Inquisitors. "I know what you're thinking. You see a spoiled noble and a nobody. You're wrong. Our friendship might be strange, but it's real and if you have a problem with that, then that's on you."
Something flickered at the edge of Raziel's vision.
A translucent blue window materialized in front of his eyes, visible only to him.
[NEW BOND ESTABLISHED]
[Bond of the Shield and Shadow (Rank E)]
Description: A pact forged in adversity and sealed by a public oath of loyalty. The Shield (Lucian) has chosen to protect the Shadow (Raziel), defying the established order. This bond transcends social status and is anchored in mutual will.
Passive Effect — [Shared Will]: The determination of both subjects reinforces each other. Grants slight resistance to intimidation, coercion, and low-level mental effects.
WARNING: Bonds are fragile. Forced severance (death, betrayal) will cause irreparable damage to the survivor's psyche.
Raziel read the warning twice.
'Irreparable damage. Of course. Because I didn't have enough chains around my neck already.'
Aldric leaned back in his chair. "Nice words, Lord Lucian. But words don't prove anything. If your friendship is so strong, then explain what happened in the Crypt."
Lucian glanced at Raziel, and the look in his eyes said everything: I don't know what to say. Help me.
Raziel stepped forward. Time to do what he did best.
"High Inquisitor, what happened in the Crypt is beyond our understanding."
He kept his voice calm, his face open and confused, the perfect picture of a scared novice who'd stumbled into something bigger than himself.
"We were terrified. Lucian stayed with me when he could have run. He protected me, that should be proof enough of his character."
Aldric's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't explain the power you used. A power impossible for someone of your station."
"Power?" Raziel let confusion spread across his face.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Enough games!" Another Inquisitor slammed his hand on the table.
"The Crypt was flooded with divine energy!"
"Seraphina disappeared before the Paladins could stop her!" Lucian cut in, desperation creeping into his voice.
"We're telling the truth!"
Aldric steepled his fingers. "And yet, the reports say that you, Novice Celeste, were the source of the disturbance."
'Thorne. That bastard talked too much.'
"All I know is that I tried to stop Seraphina's ritual," Raziel said, keeping his voice steady.
"Whatever power there was, it just happened. I don't understand it any more than you do."
"You're lying." Aldric's voice went cold. "And we will find the truth. Whatever it takes."
Lucian stepped forward again, and Raziel could feel his panic through the new Bond, a low hum of fear running underneath everything.
"High Inquisitor, please. Raziel isn't a threat. He tried to stop Seraphina. She was using forbidden magic. Isn't that what you're supposed to protect us from?"
Aldric stood, and the other Inquisitors rose with him.
"We will investigate further. In the meantime, you are both confined to St. Celeste."
He paused, and something cruel entered his expression. "And Lord Lucian, your duchy will be informed."
The color drained from Lucian's face. "Don't tell my father. I can handle this."
"That's not your decision." Aldric smiled.
"Your father will be informed. It is our duty."
They filed out without another word, and the door closed behind them with a sound that felt like a tomb sealing shut.
Raziel waited until their footsteps faded completely before he spoke. "We'll figure this out. Somehow."
"You don't get it." Lucian's voice cracked, and the arrogance was gone, stripped away to reveal something raw underneath.
"My father is worse than anything we faced in that crypt. I'm not ready for him."
Raziel had seen Duke Valerian in other lives, always a distant figure, a name attached to political machinations.
But looking at Lucian now, at the way his hands were shaking and his eyes wouldn't meet Raziel's, he realized he'd missed something important.
"Whatever happens," Raziel said, "I'm here."
Lucian looked at him, and there was something desperate in his expression. "Do you mean that?"
"We're in this together now." Raziel felt the Bond. "Unfortunately for you."