Sebastian spent the next two days sending letters out to the families associated with Viscount Dunning's family.
The entire family was immediately shunned when word the girl had attacked two guards of the palace after following Calix's carriage. Rumors that the girl hadn't even gone home the night before to watch the duchy villa gates were also spreading.
Ashton was lazily laying out as court proceeded, Wilbert had decided to move his chair beside Ashton's lounger. When Wilbert tried to speak to him Ashton held up a hand indicating not while the nobles were actively holding court.
The souls of the damned were three-fold their usual as they clawed at Wilbert with reckless abandon. Ashton had been hoping to learn about the delays but between the damned, and Wilbert trying to get his attention, he could only vaguely hear what the court was saying.
The topics were important, but not to the empire. Three holy women had been attacked and one even abducted. There were rumors that a lesser beast was attempting to eat the holy women to draw out a beast god or trying to ascend. Since only the uncivilized nations were making such claims Wilbert wasn't even sure why it was coming up in discussion. Most of those gods had not even been sighted after the Great War a thousand years ago.
It was believed the gods were ascended beasts, not truly immortal as the legends claimed. There were only two nations that actively worshiped gods. Adar who believed their beast of Diligence Alaina, was the daughter of the Sea Goddess. And Ophion, who believed a serpents god watched over them. The barbarians even sacrificed women to be wives of this supposed god.
Wilbert wouldn't be surprised if the abducted holy woman had simply fled since they were to be sacrificed during their coming of age ceremony.
Anyway, no matter what topic the nobles picked, Ashton would not acknowledge him. Wilbert wasn't sure how to take the rejections. The young beast clearly wasn't paying attention, nor had he agreed to meet with anyone of the faith outside of this afternoon.
Wilbert continued to watch as Ashton sipped his tea while snacking on fruit and pastries out of the corner of his eye.
Ashton ignored the first probe of soul mana; his gut had clenched at the effort to keep himself from reacting. The second probe was longer, and much more thorough. Ashton turned his face to glanced over the priest. Between only hearing maybe a tenth of the conversation, and the souls now focusing on himself and Wilbert, these normally petty annoyances were the final straw.
Wilbert barely noticed the nobles leaving the room as he continued to search... nothing... he almost believed Ashton was just a mana-less, normal person.
"Paladin Wilbert, I find your gaze offensive." Ashton informed letting his irritation be heard. The room fell silent as all eyes turned to them.
Wilbert immediately jerked back as his eyes started to burn. He covered his eyes and had to stifle a groan. Wilbert jerked forward but did his best to not collapse on the floor.
Everyone still in the room stared in horror, Wilbert's face had steamed rising from it for just a moment. A heartbeat later Bodin and Promise came rushing in, clearly alarmed. Promise rushed to Wilbert's side as he let out a groan. Wilbert's eyes had a foggy red sheen to them.
Ashton lazily stood up, "Next time you use soul searching mana on me or mine, you'll be permanently blind." Ashton let his presence fill the room, he may have been physically smallest, but no one dared look down on him.
Bodin fell to his knees before Ashton, "Please forgive us." His goal to distract the young beast was a little too effective as the pressure increased around him so quickly his knees felt as if they would sink into the stone floor.
Ashton looked down at the kneeling priest, "Get it out of my sight." With Bodin and Promise's arrival, the souls flooding into the room was like adding mud to an already swampy lake. Not only was it harder to see, the increased screaming, circling souls would drive even a saint to madness.
Promise immediately started leading Wilbert out of the room before she clutched the dragon tooth to her chest, starting to focus her mana into his seared eyes. It had been a quick, clean, surface burn; easily healed. It had only taken a few heartbeats, luckily this was a warning.
Bodin continued to kneel, soul mana was nearly impossible to detect even on the best of days. But due to circumstances, all three were easily masters of concealing their soul probes. For Lord Reece to have noticed Wilbert using soul sight had been more than shocking, it was concerning. "We meant no disrespect, please have mercy."
Ashton continued to stare Bodin down with mild distaste, "Not only the nobles, even the faithful are ignorant and disrespectful." Even now, after his straightforward order, the pope remained and the priestess returned. Today the souls were especially agitated, swirling around the room like a tornado clawing at his patience.
Everyone remained tense as Promise slowly walked back in and knelt beside Bodin, "Please have mercy little dragon," Promise whispered reverently as she clutched the dragon fang as if in prayer.
"What did you call me?" The rage rolling off Ashton wasn't just metaphorical, the pressure increased three-fold and the heat in the room started to rise rapidly. "ME? A scaly, cold blooded, greedy, thankless reptile?" Ashton demanded slowly as he walked to stand in front of the duo. Each step had left the flames on the rugs while the stone melted. As he stood over them, Ashton realized why the souls were so agitated... the necklace that held the fang wasn't made of silver or string.
The fang was hanging on the raychis or spines of at least a dozen feathers that had all the barbs and afterfeather removed. The shafts and tips had been melted together with bits of silver. Ashton stared at the necklace, not only had all the innate blessing of the feather been used... the white feathers had been desecrated beyond all repair.
Bodin paled as his bones started to creak, "Please forgive us, we are ignorant."
Ashton did not have the words for the sudden bubbling emotion that erupted from his chest. A dozen feathers... destroyed. "I don't think I've ever been more insulted in my existence," Not only were they using the blessed feathers to spread their holy curse, they dared to use His Beloved's feathers to do it. Ashton relinquished a fraction of his restrain, but none of his control.
If even one feather was untainted, he could go to her immediately... but of course those bastards wouldn't allow such a feather to leave the isles. No doubt they believed him dead so no longer feared the consequences of his wrath... but they weren't fools either, keeping to the letter of the oath, yet breaking the spirit so completely.
Nix stared up at the ceiling, souls of the damned swirling around him, men on the ground being cooked alive. Fine. They wanted to take advantage of his kindness? Make use of his blessings? There would be time enough to show them why he was feared. Not by men, men didn't even know the truth. No, if the princess wanted to play games of semantics... he would remind her why not once in a thousand years she had not once moved against him openly.
Bodin choked as his body was suddenly so heavy his face was pressing against the burning floor while his knees felt like they would break. Promise wasn't any better as they gasped for air with rapidly drying lips. Each time they inhaled they felt as if they were breathing in an oven. The air was starting to shimmer from the heat as the floors started steaming.
Lucian and the others couldn't even stand as flames tiny silver red flames danced over Ashton silhouette.
"Get out." Ashton whispered as he showed his temper before he fried them to a crisp, they struggled to stand, wobbling out. With each deep, heaving breath the room cooled and the pressure decreased. Ashton could not help her now, he had to wait. They had to bring her to him. If he killed the priests now... no doubt they would refuse to enter the empire. Ashton would have to wait until he ascended to fetch her.
If Ashton destroyed the feathers, her keepers would be aware... he could not break the vase and startle the snake so to speak. He had too much control for that. Still, as mild as his was, he did have a temper.
Jaxon was genuinely horrified. He had been on the side closer to Ashton so was able to see the floor where Ashton stood. The rugs and carpet weren't just burning, but the enchanted stone floor had melted, he barely moved when Ashton's gaze snapped to himself.
"GET OUT!" The roar shook the room as the golems appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the men by their shoulders unceremoniously tossing them out. Only Sebastian was allowed to leave on his own two feet.
Ashton had to resettle his ruffled feathers. The damned were circling him, clawing at his soul, begging for salvation. With each inhale the silver flames expanded, but with his exhale they dwindled. The sudden onslaught of emotion had rapidly progressed his ascension. Or maybe just being dragon priests was enough to set his ruffle his feathers. After a few minutes he was able to control his flaring silver mana. While it was still mana, it wasn't... mana a human could wield. That small outburst had shaved off a third of his time in this body.
As Alphonse he'd never tapped into it, but the longer he stayed here the more the second, overlapping channel opened. Ashton ruthlessly forced down his beast mana. His injured channels felt like ice shards had been ripped holes through them as he spat out a mouthful of slushy almost frozen blood. The cloth the blood had landed on started to sizzle then melt as Ashton walked out before the flames started.
Ashton had reined in all the silver mana as he walked back to the Eastern Palace, he needed to add another layer of seals around his secondary mana. He finally admitted, if only to himself, that those few moments of discontent had damaged more than his emotional awareness... but his humanity.