Arthur's Point of View

Pendragon Estate

Stepping forward, I motioned for all of them to follow me. “We need to figure out how to deal with them. Whether that be genocide, taking them prisoner, or something else.”

Aydalia was the one who questioned me first. “Genocide? You’d really do that?”

I nodded as we moved down the stairs. “In a heartbeat. Truth be told, I don’t like this situation. Mostly because Lucia was caught up in it.”

“So was Alwin, but to completely wipe them out…” Aydalia trailed off.

“They’re essentially wiped out now. Only one adult remains, along with a few dozen children. Unless they have another underground city somewhere else, the Succubae have been added to the list of surviving races with low numbers like the High Elves.” I told them as we moved to the living room where Marina was. “Naturally, they actually have a better chance at coming back from that, as impossible as it might seem.” They sat down across from me as we took our positions. “But do we let them?”

Greigh looked uneasy about the topic. “Where would we even imprison them?”

I shrugged. “Hand them over to the Priestesses. Well, Elincia, since I plan on dealing with Arceana.” They all shared a look at that. “No, I’m not going to kill her.”

“Locking them away would be the same as killing them.” Aydalia pointed out.

“It would.” I agreed with a nod as I leaned back.

“What’re we talking about?” Marina inquired.

Lucia replied. “The Succubae.”

Marina let out an, “Oh.” Of understanding. “You planning on finishing the job or?”

Greigh answered for me. “That’s what this discussion is about.”

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She clapped her hands together excitedly. “Lovely! May I put in my own opinion on the matter?”

“I’m all ears.” I told her.

“What is giving you pause about killing them, and why do you want to kill them?” Marina inquired.

“They might’ve been used by Thana. In fact, I’m completely positive they were. Whether their Queen knew it or not, she was taken over at the end by Thana herself. At least, her daughter seemed to think so.” Then I leaned forward and gestured to Lucia. “As for why I want to kill every last one of them, they tortured Lucia.” My eyes then met hers. “Two of her fingers were missing, and she was on the death’s door.”

“But if they were used by Demons, would it really be their fault?” Marina pointed out.

Aydalia spoke for me. “It was confirmed the Demons were involved at the end, but what about before?”

I agreed with Aydalia on that. “Mamma Farro is right. The memories I took from Lucia point to them being the ones to make the first move. Thana likely used it to her advantage.”

Lucia cut in after that. “Why did you take my memories? You told me all these horrible things happened to me, but does it even matter if I can’t remember anything? I’ve been told things that have happened from you and Alwin, but…”

“It matters because I know what they did…”

Greigh cleared his throat. “Then were there any who were against her capture?”

“…” I frowned, knowing that the succubus known as Freya objected to her mother’s ideas multiple times.

Eventually, Lucia softly spoke. “Do you really want to kill children?”

Closing my eyes, I answered. “I never ‘want’ to kill children, Lucia. Unfortunately, I don’t get what I want very often.” Then I looked around the room. “The truth is, everyone will hate them after learning what they did. If we take them as prisoners, they’ll be treated without mercy. They’d need protection or to flee far away from here should we let them go.”

Greigh continued. “The Priestesses would not be able to offer them any protection.”

Lucia cut in. “But you could.” She said while looking at me, and I quirked a brow at that. “No one would dare try to harm anyone under your protection.”

I scoffed at that. “You say that, but I clearly warned Arceana what would happen if she threatened you again, and yet look what happened? I can’t stay with the Succubae all the time to protect them.”

“While I agree Arceana should not have sent Alwin and me, I did make the conscious decision to go with him. Had I said no, she likely would have let me stay.”

“Don’t care. She knew better. You didn’t. Offer the entire sea to a whale that’s been in captivity its entire life, and it would obviously choose the ocean. No matter what dangers might lurk inside.”

“Not sure that one will register with them.” Marina softly told me.

I rolled my eyes. “After being stuck in Helmsforth for who knows how long, of course, you’d go. Arceana is a master at manipulation. She’s been doing it for so long that most people wouldn’t even realize what she was doing if she told them.”

Lucia looked away at that. “Is that why you were always so quick to anger when it concerned me?” Her eyes found mine. “Why you found me that night and told me to learn teleportation? Why you wanted me to stay behind when we tried to investigate Vithari in the East?”

Greigh answered that for me as he spoke quietly. “Apparently, Priestess Arceana tried to sell you to Sir Arthur despite your obvious relationship with General Alwin.” Her eyes widened at that as her gaze snapped back to mine. “The Priestess really messed up with that one.”

“Arceana and her assassins learned the quickest way to make me go from perfectly calm to absolutely pissed. The funny thing is, she instantly manipulated Elincia into confronting me without knowing the truth behind what happened.” I told Lucia. “Tried her hardest to kill me in front of the Reed family. Not like it mattered. But we’re getting sidetracked. This all has been dealt with one way or another. The Succubae have not.”

“So, what are you thinking?” Aydalia finally asked after a moment of silence.

Running a hand down my face, I looked at the two women. “Can you really forgive them for what they did to you? What they did to Alwin? Hell, they murdered Kine after torturing him.”

Greigh quirked a brow at that. “Didn’t you torture the Northern Zugal from the Northern Kingdoms?”

“Yeah. And?”

Marina looked at the other three. “He has a point.”

Aydalia and Lucia shared a look before they both turned back to me.