The gathering was meant to be extraordinary.

  Domini, together with Unio board members and the biggest Unio families, arrived at Shadows’ territory.

  Shadows Young Master, the future Shadows Lord, announced that he would meet them alone.

  The delegation clearly wanted Shadows to listen to their demands.

  Si observed them after they went through the Gate, shouting and quarreling. The only calm person in the delegation was Domini. And Si could tell that Domini was very content.

  He watched for a moment before swirling back to the building to welcome the delegation at the doors.

  Si chose the simplest venue for the meeting, completely neutral, without any impressive elements. He wanted to check how they would behave; he wanted to see how disrespectful they could be before deciding how to act.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  He felt some sort of satisfaction from this upcoming meeting.

  All the previous tricks, as Lukai called them in their private conversations, needed to be put aside.

  Si decided. It was time to announce changes.

  Shadows must be respected. Si finally felt his responsibility, not so much as a duty. Rather as something he needed to do so that Shadows would finally have their place in accordance with what they had achieved as a community.

  It was outrageous what this Unio girl had done.

  Si did not believe that it was another assassination attempt. His mother was on a walk; Taj was with her. They found them unconscious in the gardens. Next to him was the Unio girl—in a very indecent state, as Taj described it.

  It didn’t take long to uncover what was in the drinks and check what happened. Mari Hal from Unio—how naive. To assume they didn’t have any security devices, that nothing was recording the surroundings of the Shadows Lord’s residence.

  This lack of respect for Shadows—this move was so bold, it was almost insulting to intelligence. For Si it was the last and deciding factor.

  The Hal girl was imprisoned, awaiting the decisions that would be made at the approaching meeting.

  Si sighed.

  Lukai had been informed and was awaiting the results. Si’s father agreed to quicken his abdication.

  The delegation from Unio was at the doors. Si patiently waited to officially welcome them to the Shadows’ territory. He somehow couldn’t wait.