Hel's Court drowned in silence.

The cavernous hall was veiled in black, like a woman in mourning. The shadows draped over the tall walls and arched ceiling guarded against the world outside. Not a sound escaped their watchful embrace.

Queen Rae of Hel sat alone in the quiet, body so still she could be mistaken for but another shadow cast from some soulless object. It was unknown how long she had kept her vigil over the empty room. Her skin had long grown cold, less due to a chill in the air but rather from some internal grievance.

The shadows covering the Court's great doors rippled. Human shapes emerged from the dark mass like ghosts from the sea, neither advancing nor retreating. They watched their Queen with empty crystal eyes, waiting for her word.

The door bulged inward. Rae turned her gaze toward the commotion with some delay, lips thinning in a mockery of a smile. She motioned for the Shadow Guard to withdraw. The muffled sound of familiar scolding drifted into her ears as the darkness weighing the air thinned.

"Enter," Rae bid.

The doors parted. Xiang Yi strode into the hall, head up and gait dignified – quite unlike a man who had been reduced to announcing his presence like a common scoundrel.

Rae raised her hand, halting an overly-courteous salutation mid-word.

"Out with it," she said.

"There is word from Samodevia," Xiang Yi said. "Matters are more dire than we expected."

Rae nodded without much concern. She watched Xiang Yi attempt to curb his impatience, distantly amused by the doomed effort.

"Is my Queen aware of the situation?" the advisor broke at last, tone most sullen.

Rae tipped her head to the side. The smile that twisted her lips would send an enemy running. "Am I so unreliable, dear friend?"

Xiang Yi watched her closely. Rae found the wariness in his expression gratifying.

"May my Queen excuse my presumption," the man said.

"What am I to excuse?" Rae wondered, voice light, "Lack of trust in my rule, or the impromptu survey of my character and continual sanity?"

Xiang Yi flattened his lips. "Take your pick," he said.

Rae maintained a look of frenzied cheer for another moment, then grunted in true amusement, letting the pretense drop. She sprawled back into her seat, shoulders slouching. Below the throne, Xiang Yi's body uncoiled minutely.

"Are you having fun?" the advisor asked sourly.

"Not quite," Rae replied. "Although I must admit, I am finding my rumored madness most helpful during council meetings."

"I have heard," Xiang Yi snorted.

Rae's smile was true, but fleeting. To meet one's Anima was already an extraordinarily rare event. The demons fortunate enough to come upon their immortal souls would never consider letting go of them, no matter the cost. That Rae had allowed her bonded to slip away – a fact no-doubt known to all Nine Kingdoms by now, the particulars likely twisted beyond recognition as the story was retold for utmost dramatic effect – would be enough to mark the Queen of Hel insane.

Without the anchor of a soul, a demon's power was difficult to control and easy to disturb. The greater a demon's strength, the more pronounced the volatility of their character. Every vice grew exaggerated. Every forte became a shortcoming. Climbing to power under such circumstances promised only a harder fall.

A demon who discovered their Anima in their lifetime was favored by fortune. Most would endeavor to swallow their errant soul as soon as possible, viewing the soul's mortal host as but a shell that needed to be cracked apart to pry away the pearl within. The few who did keep their Anima alive imprisoned them thoroughly.

This was what Rae's father had done. That poor, weak, ugly human woman he had brought back from the World Above lived like a queen, kept carefully in the palm of her father's hand. Rae despised her down to her very bones. To see her father lose his mind so over such a pitiful creature was an embarrassment not to be borne.

The woman walked into the Void three years into her confinement. Rae's father had followed her not a month later.

"How do you feel?" Xiang Yi asked.

The question was tentative and sounded rather strange, suspended somewhere between concern and suspicion.

"No more homicidal than usual," Rae said after a moment of thought.

Xiang Yi nodded amiably. "Very well. Shall we?"

The advisor turned on his heel and set for the door, with the obvious expectation that Rae would follow. Rae stared after him.

"Turning your back on a demon is rarely a sound idea," she said.

Xiang Yi did not pause his steps. "I am but mindful of your time, my Queen. The kingdom has not seen you for four full days. Matters of importance are piling up as it is – I am certain you are eager to resume your duties, and put us all at ease."

"But first, I do believe Crow has a matter of importance to discuss. If you would follow me to the gardens?"

Rae had been of a mind to shut the man out of the Court as soon as he set a foot outside its doors. She was in no mood for paperwork, and Xiang Yi was not technically her advisor any longer. Which was as much of a devastating blow as she had envisioned when she allowed the man to take on the House of Todd in Gabriel's absence. How Gabriel managed to be a menace from a world away truly escaped reason.

The prospect of speaking with Crow – in the gardens, beyond the quiet darkness of her palace – was not much more pleasant. It was, however, inevitable.

Rae did not want to be her father. This, she had sworn a long time ago.

She followed Xiang Yi. The man did not speak, never one for idle chatter. He did cast a concerned glance or two in Rae's direction when he believed Rae not to be looking.

The gardens were half-wild even under Crow's full attention. With the man consumed by matters of the Kingdom, the grounds were quickly overrun by plants. Stepping into their domain was a bit like leaving Hel altogether.

Rae let her fingers brush over flowers the size of pumpkins, swaying on an azure vine that curled in swerving shapes above their heads. The world muted as soon as she walked beneath its arch; the flowers shook, letting out a noise like a ringing bell.

"It is safe to speak here," Xiang Yi confirmed.

Rae nodded in acknowledgement. "Where is Crow?" she asked.

Xiang Yi did not appear too certain. He turned this way and that, the fauna visibly moving out of his way, not daring to as much as snag a thread on the advisor's silver robes. "There," he exclaimed at last, more triumphantly than the situation should warrant.

Rae followed the man's eyes. A spark of true mirth warmed her chest, brought upon the sight of her gardener-turned-counsel on his knees in the dirt, pulling out weeds with a focused frown and nimble fingers. And he did need agility for the task – the weeds in question bit at his hands, their stalks waving like a provocation.

"Damned things," Crow was muttering, his voice growing audible as they neared his hunched form. "I'll burn you for kindling, see if I won't."

Xiang Yi cleared his throat. Crow glanced at him, then at Rae. He did not bother rising or pausing his work.

"You back?" he asked in lieu of a greeting.

Rae surmised the question was for her. "I am," she agreed.

Crow snorted. "Good. Tell everyone. Half the castle is convinced we're about to be swept under some nefarious plot to overtake the throne."

"And the other half?" Rae asked.

"Busy organizing the nefarious plots in question," Crow said.

"That report is waiting for your perusal as well, my Queen," Xiang Yi added.

Rae sighed. She was not surprised, naturally – indeed, she counted her blessings that Xiang Yi had not put his mind to taking the throne in her absence.

"Many thanks, Lord Todd," Rae said pointedly.

Xiang Yi's mouth thinned into a frown. "Please, do not. The House of Todd will thank you to take care of matters swiftly, while we are on the topic. Gabriel's – let's call it eccentric – manner of governance has made a right mess of the finances and the House's political network. This is truly a bad time for any sort of internal conflict."

Rae agreed. She was far from the bloodthirsty, frenzied lunatic the nobility of Hel expected after the loss of her Anima, but diplomacy was beyond her capabilities at present. If a House attempted a coup, Rae could not promise to act with the political integrity of Hel in mind. The House of Todd, as a close ally to the Crown, would inevitably suffer any fallout.

"Have you said your peace?" Crow groused. He deigned to stand properly at last, cutting a handsome figure in his formal attire. The grass-stains on his knees and elbows notwithstanding.

Xiang Yi nodded. "I must depart – my Queen, call for me if you should have need of counsel, or a friendly ear. I will always answer."

"Thank you," Rae said softly.

Xiang Yi departed with a last, stiff bow, and a reminder to Rae about the reports collecting dust in her quarters. Rae waved him away with mock exasperation.

Crow did not bother waiting for Xiang Yi to fully exit the wards. The two had likely spoken beforehand, in interest of time, and had no secrets to keep from each other besides.

"My brother brought word from Samodevia," Crow said.

Rae recalled the tall, taciturn man Crow claimed as sibling. A hawk by the name of Horus, if she recalled correctly. The two were of different blood, but closer than most kin.

"Gabriel did not send him," she said.

"Of course not," Crow snorted. "I'd be surprised if that brat thinks of anything besides his little mate these days-"

The man swallowed, his scowl softening in a contained wince. Rae ignored the concerned look aimed her way. She hardly needed Crow to remind her of Carmen.

In this, she was not different from Gabriel Todd. Much as it pained her to admit to such a terrible reality.

"Who sent him, then?" she asked.

Crow squinted at their surroundings, confirming their isolation from curious ears. "Samodevia's queen," he said.

Rae's gaze sharpened. She studied Crow carefully and, upon finding not a hint of guile or hesitation, found at last a reason to shake off the grief that lay like mantle over her shoulders.

"What is her message?" Rae asked.

"She bids us keep the gate between our world and the World Above closed, no matter what happens in the next half month. In return, she promises to keep the one you value safe."

Crow spoke slowly, his care in relaying his brother's words obvious. Rae did not allow herself to think too deeply of the message's contents. Her mind tended to spiral dangerously nowadays, highly unproductive for any sound planning.

"Has your brother departed?" Rae asked.

"Yes. His visit was not planned, I gather, but rather a task bestowed by his queen," Crow said. "He barely had time to rest his wings."

Rae noted the grumble in his voice. At any other time, she would tease the man over the affection he so stubbornly denied he felt. As it were, she simply bid Crow recount his brother's visit in minute detail. The Queen of Samodevia was a constant and rather powerful variable in any plan involving Samodevia. Given the woman's penchant for remaking herself every few centuries or so, any previous information Rae possessed of the woman's character was as good as useless.

There was no time for grief or madness. In this moment, and every moment thereafter, she would be the Queen of Hel – vicious and uncompromising for the sake of that which was her own.

Demons were greedy, possessive creatures, and the Queen of Hel was the worst among them all.