Chapter 14 #3
Sebastian stayed true to his word and met me outside of the dormitories mid-afternoon.
The air was a bit warmer than it had been that morning, but the bite of cold still nipped at my cheeks.
We got lost in conversation as we ventured to the castle as if we’d never spent the past few weeks in silence.
We arrived at the door that separated us from King Hawthorne’s study.
I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm my nerves before entering, but struggled to release the dread that consumed me every time I had to see the king.
Sebastian noticed my apprehension and waited for my approval before twisting the golden handle and holding the door open for me.
My sudden halt was unexpected. Sebastian walked right into my back, the weight of his body pushing me forward a few inches.
He placed his hands lightly on my waist to steady me.
I'm sure he felt the way my body shivered in his grip, but his touch was so gentle that I doubted anyone besides us noticed it.
He released me, and I shuffled to the side so he could enter the room as well.
There were three more attendees at our meeting—Professor Stoll and Lucan being two of them. The other man I had never seen before.
His broad figure stood tall beside King Hawthorne’s desk. He lacked hair, but black stubble covered the lower half of his face. He was gifted with an onyx stone that shimmered on his hand as he extended it out to me.
“Maeve Willawood, I presume?” The man shook my hand with a firm grasp.
“Um, yes. That's me.”
“I am Duke Sinclair. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Sinclair.
“Sawyer's father?”
“That I am,” he said with a smile as he directed me to my usual chair. “I assume you have met my son?”
I cleared my throat and sagged onto the chair’s plush cushion. “Uhm, yes. We’ve met.” I spared him the details.
My vision scanned the room in confusion, noting Sebastian’s blank expression as he stood guard of the door. I assumed he had no knowledge about our extra attendees, either.
“I'm sure you are both wondering why the duke is here with us this afternoon,” King Hawthorne addressed Sebastian and me.
I heard Sebastian's sarcasm from over my shoulder. “Very much so.” With a quick change of tone, he addressed the duke. “Pleasure to see you, as always.”
The duke nodded with a grin. “You too, Sebastian. It’s been a while.”
“It has. A few months at least, right? Hey, has Sawyer told you about—”
King Hawthorne interrupted their reconciliation with a grumble.
“As I was saying,” he cleared his throat, looking towards Sebastian and I, “Lucan will be taking notes, and Professor Stoll’s part here will come into play later on.
For now, I will let the duke take over. I expect you both to give him your undivided attention. ”
“Thank you, Aldous.” Duke Sinclair moved to sit in the unoccupied chair by my side.
“As Sebastian mentioned, my absence from the kingdom has come with great reason. I have been stationed in the city Craterra, which if you are not familiar with, borders the southernmost portion of Caelestis.” He spoke to me directly.
“It is our closest village to the Kingdom of Draemor. Have you heard of it?”
“Of course. I’ve lived in Caelestis my whole life.” Duh.
“Very good. Well, due to Craterra’s location, we occasionally have stray Draemornian’s cross the border.
They use the city's lack of wards to their advantage, using it as a passageway to reach us. To spy on us. As you know, they, like us, are forbidden to cross into the other’s land, so when they are discovered, we are required by royal law to question.
From there, we decided whether to release them, or execute them for trespassing. ”
I gulped. That was another thing I really hated about how King Hawthorne ruled our kingdom. Innocent lives taken for simply stepping foot over a border—it was so wrong that I didn't even have words for it.
“I’ll spare you the details, but you should know that recently, a roaming Draemornian crossed into Craterra, and thus the individual was interrogated.” The duke took a deep breath and released it in a sigh. “Long story short, it has been confirmed that there is a traitor in our kingdom.”
“What does that mean?” I stuttered, fear gathering inside of me. I had a general idea of the answer, but needed confirmation before allowing myself to freak out.
“Maeve, it has been brought to our attention that word of your gift has been spreading rather rapidly.”
My eyes widened, and I gulped as anxiety rose into my chest.
“The Draemornian we questioned had knowledge of a Caelestian being gifted by Blythe,” Duke Sinclair confirmed my fear.
My jaw went slack, and I shook my head in denial. I could feel the angst inside of me preparing to send my brain into a spiral. My vision started to blur as it always did when panic clouded my brain.
I turned to Sebastian, hoping he could offer me some reassurance, but he looked just as worried as I was. Actually…angry. He looked angry.
“How?” he bellowed from behind me. He lunged towards his father's desk, placing his hands on the edge of it.
King Hawthorne sat completely unfazed, remaining calm and ignoring Sebastian.
He peered around the side of him to speak to me.
“We are unaware of who the traitor is, but we are diligently working to uncover the perpetrator. When the one responsible is discovered, the appropriate actions will be taken.”
Sawyer's father piped in, “At this time, we don’t believe that King Beaumont is aware of who the gifted individual is, just that there is someone.”
Sebastian slammed a fist on the desk, blatantly pissed that they were ignoring him. “How did this happen?” he yelled in his father’s face, demanding an answer.
“You should be asking yourself that, son. You're the one responsible for her safety,” the king spat as he rose from his desk.
“I can't be here watching out for her and in Craterra making sure no one crosses the borders,” Sebastian growled back. He stood to his full height, giving himself a few inches on his father.
“That is not what I am asking you to do.”
“Well then what exactly are you asking? Do you want me to escort her to classes or to circulate the campus and assault anyone who speaks her name?”
“You seem awfully undone about this, soldier, especially for someone who was recently asking to be reassigned,” King Hawthorne sneered.
My jaw tightened, the muscles twitching as I ground my teeth against each other. Sebastian asked to be reassigned? His eyes glanced sideways at me, soft and offering me an unspoken apology.
“Gentlemen, please.” Lucan looked up from his scribbling to cut in. “Let's all calm down. There is no immediate threat at this very moment.”
“While we work on uncovering the traitor, extra measures will be taken to ensure your safety,” Duke Sinclair added.
Directing his words towards Sebastian, he said, “I must remind you to be aware of her location at all times and within an appropriate distance from her in the event that a threat does become present. Be even more vigilant than you already are.”
“Of course, sir,” Sebastian agreed. He already did that, anyway.
The king glared at his son, his eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "Stand down. Now.” The words came out harsh, as if he were speaking to just another one of his soldiers and not to his offspring.
Sebastian hesitated, but followed his father’s order, returning to his place by the door and lounging against it with his arms crossed over his chest. My eyes drifted to the dagger he had openly sheathed against his thigh.
I knew it wasn't the best time, but I couldn't help myself from staring. Hot.
Duke Sinclair cleared his throat. “Well then, that was all I had. I will let you know if and when I have more information. Have a good day.” He nodded goodbye and left the room.
“Have a good day?” I mumbled under my breath. Yeah right.
I shuffled in my chair, taking a deep breath—one less body in the cramped room made it easier to breathe. My gaze drifted to Professor Stoll, who had been a silent observer this whole time.
King Hawthorne caught a glimpse of my eyes on the professor. “It has also been brought to my attention that you are having difficulty wielding your powers?”
“Something tells me you already know the answer to that,” I replied, noting how Stoll nodded in agreement.
I’d been able to use my powers in small increments during class, but always ended up completely defeated by the end. I hadn't practiced outside of class since the crab incident, having made the decision then and there that I would only use my powers when training or when absolutely necessary.
“Considering the circumstances, Professor Stoll and I believe it would be wise to introduce extra wielding and combat training sessions.
Should we need to utilize your power for any reason, it will be to everyone's benefit that you are better trained. These sessions will be one-on-one with Sebastian, and will take place every day until further notice.”
My mouth dropped open as I fell forward in my seat. “Every day?”
“That is what I said.”
“I understand the extra wielding sessions, but why combat?”
“May I remind you of the job Mr. Sinclair did to your face on the first day of training?”
“That's not fair. He would have beat any of us up. It was our first day!”
“Regardless, having Caelestis’ greatest asset being well trained in battle can only be to the benefit of the kingdom,” King Hawthorne stated, then dismissed us from the room, not leaving the topic open for discussion.