Page 38 of Crown of Ashes and Desire

I met her gaze without flinching. “See for yourself, then. The evidence cannot be denied.”

Hakan’s gaze hadn’t left my face. “And you discovered this, how, exactly?”

“Does it matter?” I challenged. “Children are suffering right now!”

“It matters,” he replied coldly, “because those passages are warded against unauthorized intrusion.”

“Your wards are ancient,” I countered, “designed before the binding rituals that created our bond. The combination of light and shadow magic flowing through me created resonances your ward-makers never anticipated.”

Something flickered in Hakan’s eyes—surprise, perhaps even concern at this revelation.

I refused to be deflected. “The point is what’s happening to those children!”

Hakan turned to the man on the floor. “Is what she says true? Are you conducting experiments on children under Lord Azad’s direction?”

The man shook. “M-my lord, we were only following orders. Lord Azad said the vessels were necessary for?—”

“For what?” Hakan’s response dropped dangerously low.

“For…for the ritual to please Lord Erlik. To prove House Azad’s loyalty and secure his favor above…above all others.”

Above House Hakan. Silence descended, heavy and final.

A ripple of murmurs spread through the assembled shadow lords. Politics, always politics. Even the lives of children were just pawns in their power games.

“Silence,” Hakan commanded, and the room obeyed instantly. Something in his demeanor had changed—the temperature around him plummeting until frost crystallized on the edges of the table. His shadows deepened, but there was calculation in his eyes now, not just rage.

“Show me.”

The journey back to the laboratory felt endless, shadow lords trailing behind us in tense silence. When we descended into the hidden chambers, the terrible truth hung heavy in the air.

The laboratory fell silent as Hakan surveyed the children in their cells. His expression remained impassive, but the temperature dropped with each passing second. Through our bond, I felt waves of his fury—cold and controlled, but devastating in its intensity.

“How many?” he asked the prisoner.

“T-thirteen, my lord. Nine are still living.”

“And how long has Lord Azad been conducting these experiments?”

“Three months, my lord. He…he had access through the old servant passages. Said his authority came directly from Lord Erlik.”

Hakan’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. Three months. Three months of operations beneath his roof, using passages that should have been monitored.

“Who gave him access to those passages?” Hakan’s tone had gone dangerously quiet.

“Captain Vural, my lord. He said…he said you had approved it.”

Hakan turned to face the assembled shadow lords, many of whom appeared genuinely disturbed by what they were seeing. Even those who served the Lord of Hell had certain codes—children were meant to be corrupted through proper channels, not tortured in secret experiments that circumvented established hierarchies.

“Note who stands with me at this moment,” Hakan said quietly, his gaze sweeping the room. “And who does not?”

Several lords shifted uncomfortably, while others drew closer to Hakan’s side. The political battle lines were being redrawn before my eyes.

Hakan turned to the assembled shadow lords. “Find Azad. Bring him to me. Alive.”

Two immediately departed to carry out his command.

Then, to my surprise, Hakan knelt beside the black-eyed girl. His fingers hovered near her face without touching, shadows extending from his hand to meet the darkness seeping from her eyes. For a fleeting moment, his shadows seemed gentle, curling protectively rather than threatening. The room’s temperature, which had plummeted with his rage, stabilized around the child.

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