While Malcanthet was gloating, one person looked utterly relaxed.
That was Solam.
When news came that the Rod of Seven Parts had been seized by the Queen of Chaos and her people, no one noticed Solam exchange a meaningful glance with Xianna. Afterward, both of them simply went back to what they had been doing as if nothing had happened.
As though they had known nothing about it beforehand.
That was right—Solam had also had a hand in this! Otherwise, how could things have coincided so perfectly? Although Shami-Amour did indeed have some remaining forces operating in the Abyss, and there really were Shami-Amour's people at Graz'zt's side, there was no way Shami-Amour alone could have played two major powers in the palm of her hand in such a short time. If she truly had that capability, she would not have taken such a huge risk to seek refuge with the Queen of Chaos.
If she had that kind of ability, who couldn't she have worked with? Did anyone really think the Queen of Chaos was an ideal partner?
The Queen of Chaos had been around far too long. The Tanar'ri of today had all been created by this great Obyrith figure herself. How could she sincerely regard a Succubus as an equal partner? Even now, when the Obyrith were weak, the surviving Obyrith still looked down on the Tanar'ri. The Obyrith had always believed themselves to be the Abyss's primordial creations, and they possessed an unimaginable sense of superiority toward a species like the Tanar'ri, who had been created as slaves.
Shami-Amour simply had nowhere else to turn.
Still, even Solam had not expected Shami-Amour and the others to pull it off so beautifully. They had actually opened a breach through Graz'zt, directly dumped the blame on him, and