Meanwhile, Elizt moved swiftly through the corridors of the Dark Father’s quarters,

She couldn’t understand why Rud, a figure of such immense power, would lower himself to dealing with a group as insignificant as the Distantias.

She stopped in front of a narrow door and knocked sharply.

A young man opened it, his face pale..

“Lady Elizt,” he stammered, bowing slightly.

“Send a message to the Distantias,” she ordered, her voice cold and efficient.

“Tell them that Lord Rud of the Dark Father wishes to meet with their leader. Make it clear that this is not a request.”

The man nodded quickly.

“Yes, ma’am. Right away.”

As he scrambled to prepare the message, Elizt leaned against the wall, her thoughts still clouded with doubt. Whatever Rud was planning, she could only hope it wouldn’t lead to more chaos than they could control.

Back in his chamber, Rud poured himself a glass ofwine..

“Let’s see what you’re made of,Alexander..”

-

Alexander Distantias leaned back in his ornate chair,

Before him stood one of hismen;n; it was a wiry man with a blue jacket and grey pants.

The man fidgeted slightly but maintained a slsmile.le.

“So, the Dark Father wants to talk to us,”

Alexander began,

“Why would an organization with that kind of power and reach waste time on the Distantias?”

The mchuckled.ed.

“Maybe they’ve finally realized we’re not just another group of thugs in the lower levels. They might’ve noticed how resourceful we’ve been. Smart, ruthless.”

Alexander raised an eyebrow.

“You’re either naive or overly optimistic. The Dark Father doesn’t care about our ‘ruthlessness.’ Organizations like theirs measure power in magic and influence, not street smarts.”

The man nodded, conceding the point.

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“True. But there’s one thing they can’t ignore: the assassination. They must be curious about how we pulled it off.”

“That’s assuming they don’t already know. Gareth’s got the kid who pulled the trigger, or in this case, cast the spell. He’s not that of a strong mage, but if they get him to talk…”

The man’s grin widened.

“But that’s the thing, boss—Gareth can interrogate him all he wants. The spell’s mechanics, the preparation, the methods—we kept it locked tight. Even the boy who cast it doesn’t know the full scope. Only you and a few of us know the truth.”

Alexander sat forward, his dark eyes narrowing.

“Don’t underestimate Gareth. He’s sharp. If he starts piecing things together, or worse, shares what he learns with the other organizations, it could spell trouble for us.”

The man took a deep breath and thought.

"If Clidhna was here, she would be better when it comes to talking and understanding."

He then kept on talking to Alexander.

“Maybe. But we’ve got an edge—our ability to adapt."

“This invitation could mean a lot of things. A power play, an attempt to absorb us, or perhaps something subtler.”

The man smirked.

“Subtler? Like what?”

“Like testing us,” Alexander replied, his voice growing colder.

"The Dark Father doesn’t need allies, but they do love control. They might be trying to gauge how much of a threat we are. And if they decide we’re too dangerous…”

The underling’s smirk faltered. “They’d wipe us out.”

Alexander nodded grimly. “Exactly.”

There was a brief silence as both men considered the implications.

“But what if we turned this around? What if we used this meeting to learn about them? Get a sense of their plans, their weaknesses.”

Alexander chuckled dryly.

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. But playing games with the Dark Father is like juggling fire. One wrong move, and we’re ash.”

The man’s grin widened.

“And yet, here we are, boss. Juggling fire is what we do best.”

Alexander shook his head.

“You’ve got a point. If we’re going to survive this, we need to be bold. But we also need to be smart. Send a message back, accepting the meeting.”

The man blinked, surprised.

“You’re actually going to meet with them?”

“Yes,” Alexander replied firmly.

“But on my terms. Find out where they want to meet and who they’re sending. If it’s a trap, I want to know before I set foot anywhere near them.”

The man nodded, already reaching for a communicator to relay the message.

“Consider it done, boss. Anything else?”

“Yes,” Alexander said, his tone hardening.

“Double our security. If this is a setup, I don’t want to be caught off guard. And start preparing contingency plans. If we need to disappear, I want it to happen quickly and cleanly.”

The man nodded again, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

“Got it, boss. You’re always ten steps ahead.”

Alexander leaned back once more, his expression thoughtful.

“Not always. But when dealing with people like the Dark Father, I can’t afford not to be.”

As the man turned to leave, Alexander called out one last time.

“And make sure the boy doesn’t break under pressure. If he talks, none of this will matter.”

The underling grinned.

“He won’t. We trained him well.”

“Let’s see what game you’re playing, Rud. And whether I can play it better.”

Alexander thought. excited…