A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Others took a little longer because the three judges needed to deliberate, and some needed to go through an entire line of questioning before they were found innocent enough to live.

On average, each vampire took somewhere between one and two minutes to judge, causing the entire procession to quickly dissolve into an assembly line of judgement, where speed was preferred over deliberation.

The only ones really slowing things down at all were Liv and Astrid. They still considered these vampires to be their people, after all. But there was simply no denying that they were all vampires, rather than ghouls, which meant they were complicit in Sigurd's rule in one way or another.

The only ones truly innocent were those Sigurd had turned from ghouls back into vampires not long before laying siege to Kirkenes in order to circumvent the distortion sigils.

Finally, they were left with a pile of ashes, and a little over 300 vampires that were judged innocent. The relieved survivors were moved behind the thrones, where most of them looked at Liv's back with gratitude, as she was the one who usually advocated for their innocence.

The square in front of the judgement platform was quiet now as the entire Enclave looked at the pile of ashes with complicated expressions. At first, they had cheered for the death of those that deserved it, but as the air continued to be filled with the screams of the dying, they lost some of their enthusiasm. Read the latest on empire

After seeing almost 700 vampires being burned to death, one by one and right in front of their eyes, even the most hardened of shapeshifter had their blood lust sated.

Everyone had seen enough death for a while.

Erik waved a hand, and a little aetherium made all of the ashes scatter into the wind. Then, he stood up together with Astrid, took her hand, and walked forward to stand in front of the crowd once again.

He frowned and wore a sombre expression, "Thus, judgement day has come to an end. I realize this will not bring back any of your loved ones, but I hope this brings all of you a little peace."

Then, he indicated towards the ghouls at the edge of town, "I know many of you may still feel hatred for the Dominion's main fighting force, the ghouls, but let it be clear that they are victims as well."

He frowned, trying to impress his intention on the crowd, "They have spent this entire war under the control of another, and may never recover from the ordeal, so even if some of you believe they still deserve punishment, I ask you to consider it delivered."

There was some murmuring of discontent among the Enclave, but it quickly ended. Most didn't have the stomach for another judgement day, and just wanted the Dominion gone so they could rebuild their lives.

Erik waited a moment to see if anyone raised objections, but after the murmuring died down, the gathered shapeshifters remained quiet, so he nodded, "Good. There are still some vampires back in Alta that need to be judged, but there's so few of them there, we won't be doing it publicly."

Finally, he got the end of his speech. Now he addressed both the Enclave, and the 300 vampires in the back. "Lastly, there are two more things I'd like to share with you all. First, to cement the peace between Dominion and Enclave, I will be marrying Liv's daughter, Astrid, tomorrow in Alta. Unfortunately, this, too, won't be public."

Besides him, Astrid blushed a little, but kept her head high as she looked ahead with pride and excitement. Suddenly, she felt a rush as she realized that her younger self's dreams were becoming reality.

Besides being unable to tear her love away from Edda, she was also worried about declaring her love before the community.

And now it was happening. It wasn't exactly what she'd dreamed, of course. It wasn't exactly a pleasant occasion, but Erik was openly declaring their love, and even if people complained, there was on one that could stop them. Not even her mother.

Immediately, unrest began to spread among the crowd. They had seen how close these two were, but marriage was an entirely different thing. Even the vampires in the back seemed uncomfortable with this news.

"You can't do this!"

"She's a vampire!"

"What would your mother think!"

Erik felt anger rise inside. To his side, Astrid, too, was glaring at the crowd.

But when Erik was about to quiet them down with force, a surprising guest jumped on top of the platform, and roared, "Quiet!" before moving to stand next to Erik and putting a large hand on his shoulder.

Erik raised an eyebrow and looked at his uncle but decided to let Viljar do his thing.

"You all know me!" the werebear began, his deep voice carrying across the entire town. "You know I am Runa's brother-in-law, and Erik's uncle, and you know I don't tolerate bullshit!"

He let the silence sink in for a moment, "Now hear me when I say, that nothing would have made Runa happier than to see Erik and Astrid together! They were already childhood friends back before the awakening, and she always told me she hoped they would end up together."

Then he narrowed his eyes threateningly, "So unless any of you wants to challenge me about knowing Runa better, I suggest you all keep your traps shut and cheer for the happy couple!"

Silence descended on the square, as everyone looked a little awkward. Viljar swept his gaze across the crowd, but everyone did whatever they could to avoid his gaze, desperate to avoid anyone thinking they knew more about Runa than Viljar.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Runa was inviolable existence within the Enclave, and to challenge her brother-in-law like that would have been social death. It was different with Erik, because he was considered Runa's child, rather than an adult peer like Viljar.

Thus, after a moment of silence and Viljar continuing his threatening sweep, some people started cautiously clapping their hands.

Slowly, the entire crowd started doing the same thing, and even some cheers and well wishes were tossed in the air. Since Runa had apparently blessed their union, there was no one who would dare say anything to the contrary.

Erik pursed his lips a little wryly as he realized the influence his mother still held over these people, despite having been gone for several years already.

Viljar noticed Erik's expression and looked at his nephew with amusement, "Don't worry, Erik. You'll come to earn respect like that. You just need a little time."

Erik chuckled and nodded, "Thank you, uncle. Although I suppose that will have to wait a little since I'll be leaving soon." Then, he raised a curious eyebrow, "But tell me, did my mother really say that?"

At this side, Astrid, who had been looking at Viljar with gratitude, now perked up her ears as well, feeling extremely interested in this topic.

Seeing their gazes, Viljar chuckled and nodded, "She did. She was no less oblivious about… you know…" for a moment Viljar frowned and got stuck on his words. Edda had been his foster daughter and he loved her immensely. Her betrayal hit him hard.

But finally, he shook his head and continued with a smile, "But she always wanted a warrior to be your wife, and she actually thought Astrid was perfect for you."

A wide, happy smile split open Astrid's face. Suddenly, she turned into the only one of Erik's wives who wasn't at least a little worried about meeting his mother.

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com