Lord Vine sat on his throne, the rage pouring off him and filling the dark room.
Lady in Dark paced in front of him, her cloak tracing slow arcs across the stone floor.
"You should have killed him." His voice was low enough that it required attention to hear. "When you had him. When he was sick and depleted and helpless. You should have ended it there."
She said nothing. Because she knew he was right.
The silence stretched until he chose to fill it.
"We move up the schedule."
"Things aren't ready," she said.
"Nothing will be ready if we wait." The quiet in his voice developed an edge. "He's already killed thousands. Every hybrid he removes from the capital reduces the abyssal concentration. Every day we wait, he narrows the window further."
His cold eyes moved to her. "If we give him enough time, he'll clear the entire city."
"We could use another location," Lady in Dark said. "Another city with sufficient—"
