Chapter 33
In the end, all they’d worked out before re-entering Straelon was… absolutely nothing.
Nothing that made sense. Nothing that lined up.
Not that there’d been much time for deep conversation.
Lunara slumped back against a long table in the great hall, the chaos of an abandoned breakfast littered across its surface, and fought to keep her lids from drooping.
Ignoring the half-eaten sausage staring back at her from a porcelain plate was becoming increasingly difficult—especially since both Magnus and Thaddeus had no such reservations.
Lyriat had taken one look at their faces as they’d stumbled in, seen Hedda fast asleep in Faldir’s arms, and commanded the remainder of their party to ‘stay right fucking there’ before taking Hedda to bed with Brand and Faldir on his heels.
“Where shall I put her, my lady?”
Lunara shook herself and looked up at Baldrir, Fern limp in his arms. “Oh, umm…”
“My lady?”
Lunara blinked her eyes open. “Stars above, forgive me, Baldrir. We haven’t slept and I…” she lightly smacked both of her cheeks, hoping the sting would help her focus. “The room next to mine would be ideal, if possible.”
“I’ll see it done.” He started to turn away, saying over his shoulder, “If you like, Nyri and I can—”
“Move!”
Baldrir’s lips pursed as he side-eyed Thad. “Sisters be with you, my friend. Caius has been in a right bloody state. I don’t envy you.”
“Where is he?!”
“Ah, fuck.” Thaddeus scrambled beside her at that shouted demand from the corridor, doing his best to wedge his large body between the bench and tabletop—as if his father wouldn’t immediately spot him under there in the empty hall.
“No use for it, lad,” Magnus said around a mouthful of food, tugging Thad to his feet. “You wanted to be taken seriously? To be a warrior? Here’s your chance. Accept it.”
“Shite.” Thaddeus cringed at an echoing bang and crash outside. “Maybe I’d rather be a coward after all.”
Magnus chuckled. “No, you wouldn’t. This isn’t even the worst thing you’ve ever done. Just means more than before, aye? You’ll be fine.”
Thad loosed a slow breath and nodded, his jaw set.
“Get the fuck out of my way.” Caius burst through the double doors with fury twisting his features, revealing a crowd of eavesdropping Demons before the panels slammed shut again. “Thaddeus!”
Despite his blond hair being combed and braided neatly on the sides, and the perfect press of his ceremonial robes, Caius looked haggard. Worn out. Deep lines bracketed his downturned mouth and burning eyes, mottled anger splashed across his face in almost impossible shades of red and purple.
Shitting stars. Maybe you should be hiding…
Caius located his quarry, wrath in every clipped step as he barreled over. “You daft, misbehaving, contrary bastard,” he growled, only feet away. “I should fucking skin you.”
Thaddeus shrank even further under those biting words, the fire in him dwindling with each snapping syllable.
Caius plowed straight into him, enveloping his son with both arms. The hug was desperate, almost violent in its fervor. “What were you thinking?” he breathed into Thad’s hair, before pulling back and giving him a rough shake. “What were you thinking, Thaddeus?”
He stared down at his father, standing a little taller. “That it was high time everyone stopped treating me like a child.”
Without warning, Caius lifted a hand and cuffed Thaddeus in the side of the head. “And you thought sneaking off and worrying me sick was the way to do it?”
“Aye, and I was wrong. I understand now.” He sent her and Magnus a fleeting look as he grimaced and rubbed his ear. “I’m sorry, Da. It won’t happen again.”
Caius’s hand was trembling when he jabbed a pointed finger in Thad’s face. “You’re damned right it won’t.” That same hand flattened against Thad’s chest, clenching. “Are you hurt, lad? Well? What the fuck happened?”
“Ach… Um…” Thad gripped his nape, at a loss. “I’m fine. We’re all fine? The rest is a wee bit hard to explain.”
Caius sighed and released Thad. “Aye, no shite. One second I’m bringing permission from the Chieftains for the Demons to enter our lands at Faldir’s request, and the next you’re all back here looking harried as anything and no one knows fuck all about it.”
Magnus clapped Caius on the back. “Trust me, uncle. Our account isn’t going to help matters. Just know we wouldn’t have succeeded without him. You’d have been proud.”
An odd look flitted across Caius’s face. “You went into battle?”
“Aye. I did.” Thaddeus beamed, his chin lifting with pride. “I’m to be marked for my part.”
“I can’t decide whether to be pissed I wasn’t there or to take you to do it now—mostly because it’s going to fucking hurt and you deserve it!” Caius barked out a laugh as he embraced Thad again.
When Caius broke away, he finally caught sight of Baldrir holding Fern. “What the fuck?”
Magnus ran a hand through his hair. “One of those things that’s hard to explain.”
“Someone had better!”
Lunara stood on shaky legs. “We found her in Glynmor. Suffice it to say that she was… the only one left. Barely.”
Caius recoiled. “She was there in the village?”
“Did Faldir tell you what happened?” Magnus asked, voice little more than a whisper.
“Aye, but only enough to have me running back to the Keep to beg for aid from all sides.” Caius scrubbed a hand down his face. “A fucking mess, and no mistake.”
“You have no idea,” Magnus murmured.
“Shite.” Caius crossed to Baldrir, his hand hovering above Fern’s head. “How is she still alive?”
“Lunara found her in the watchtower clinging to life, and worked her magic.”
“Aye, but look at her. So wee. She should’ve…” Caius turned to Lunara, his gaze searching.
Lunara’s heart skipped a beat, its usual response whenever someone noted her power.
It didn’t care that everyone here already knew what she was capable of.
Couldn’t discern between friend and foe.
Just stopped for a breathless second before restarting with a galloping pace that chanted run, run, run with every nauseating thump.
The dregs of her remaining energy leached away when Caius finally released her from his knowing stare and said, “The others, were they…”
“Worse.” Magnus’s voice was hoarse as he answered his uncle’s unspoken question. “So much worse.”
Caius blew out a heavy breath. “Fuck.”
That was about the gist of the last few days.
Baldrir leaned down. “If you have no other need of me, my lady, I’ll take her now.”
“Yes, of course,” Lunara said through a yawn.
“I was going to say—Nyri and I can keep her company, until you’re ready?”
She nodded as she sat again, the wooden bench starting to look like the Montrealm’s most comfortable bed. “That would put my mind at ease, thank you.”
It was no use. Lunara propped her head in one hand as her eyes closed of their own accord.
“She’s the only one who can tell us exactly what took place in Glynmor,” she heard Magnus say. “Don’t leave her side for a second, and fetch the witchling immediately if something changes.”
Lunara huffed something akin to a laugh. Hopefully nothing changed. She’d be useless until she partook of a blood gift. Better still if she could steal a few hours of sleep and something to eat.
There’s a bed five yards and a single toll behind you, and none of this nonsense to go with it.
Lunara cracked open one eye and sent a bleary glance towards the portal, the smallest part of her tempted by the idea. She was just so tired.
She gave up entirely and rested her head on the table, lulled by the quiet murmurings of the others into a sort of half-sleep. Not the most comfortable she’d ever been by a long shot, but it would have… to do… until…
At least it was a dream this time. Or, as close as a memory cropping up in sleep could be called a dream.
Perhaps it was her parents’ way of visiting from the Veil. She’d been thinking about them quite a lot, after all, and—even if she could never figure out what or why—she was still convinced there was something she was missing.
Regardless of which snippet of her youth was on display, she both observed as an outsider and lived them all over again.
The dual view allowed her to notice things she hadn’t before.
Sometimes, it might be the way her mother had smelled.
The next, it would be a small nick in her father’s chin she hadn’t realized was there.
Lunara never really allowed herself to see bigger than those mundane, once-missing details. She was too afraid of what she might find. This time, though…
She looked on, feeling every step as she watched herself move.
It was late in the Evesong. Too late for anyone to be awake, let alone for there to be such a heated discussion reverberating through the moonstone walls of her family’s home.
Make that a muffled series of incomprehensible words she couldn’t understand. Lunara saw no reason for that to remain the case.
Hence, the sneaking.
She hopped onto the glowing platform outside her bedroom door and sank.
Like most Upper Block towers, theirs has been outfitted with the creation her father was most famous for, enchanted by him to work without any expulsion of personal power.
A good thing, since she was reserving hers for her trial.
Lunara snorted at the smug smile on her younger face. If only she’d known.
On the lower level, her bare feet hit the cool floor and left a trail of glowing footprints, the luminescent tiles reacting to her every tip-toed step. Annoying, but such was the way of the Evesong. They’d fade before long.
At the library, Lunara pressed her back to the wall and craned her neck to better see through the partially open door.
Her father passed in and out of view, still fully dressed in his Council robes. “It’s gone too far, Almaura. He’s worse than the others, by a long way.”
“I agree, but what can we do about it?” Her mother’s voice reached across the distance, soothing even in distress. “We’ve said it a hundred times, but the others will never hold a vote so close to the Occurrence.”