Chapter 17 Old Friends and New Enemies. #2
The table already held a variety of fresh fruit juices in clear glass jugs, a teapot and coffee press, and a glass, a cup, and a saucer at two seat places. There were also two plates, each covered by a cloche.
“Please take a seat,” Lady Flores said as she took a seat herself.
I sat down, noticing that we were completely alone; the soldiers did not follow us into the apartment.
“Why did you ask to have breakfast with me?” I asked as Lady Flores poured me a cup of coffee.
“I hear that you like coffee in the morning,” she said with a smile.
“You’ve been hearing a lot about me,” I said, remembering how she said she had heard I was settling in well.
“Sergeant Kathrine makes a daily report on your progress,” Lady Flores admitted, “I’m sorry if you were unaware. I was not attempting to spy on you, my dear. I simply want to ensure that you are safe and well.”
I nodded my head. She was, of course, spying on me. I didn’t doubt it, but she wanted me to think she simply cared, and I’d let her think that I believed her. Kat’s nonstop exercising really was good for clearing my head. I could not have been so calm and focused on my goal just a few days ago.
“I’ve been enjoying my time with the squad, even if I do hate running,” I said.
“I’m so happy to hear that. I was worried after our first meeting, I thought I had made a horrible first impression, and Jack,” she sighed exasperatedly, “he really can be such a fool. I hate saying so about my own grandson, but his treatment of you was entirely unacceptable, and I can’t apologise enough. ”
“Using a novel ability to compel me is unacceptable, but casting enchantments on me while I am unconscious is?” I asked and took a sip of my coffee. I couldn’t help but bring it up. I still had no idea what had been done to me.
Lady Flores set her own cup of tea down.
“It was not malicious; I promise. We were primarily concerned about any tracking enchantment that might have been placed on you. The secrecy of our location is vital for the safety of everyone on base,” she explained reasonably.
“And secondly, what were you concerned with?” I asked, not missing her language.
Lady Flores smiled knowingly, a little proudly, as if pleased I had listened carefully to what she had said.
“Manipulation and compulsion. Your loyalty and behaviour toward Selene Borealis had been noted as potentially out of character, not quite what would have been expected of one in your situation,” she answered.
“Did you find anything?” I asked, part of me was curious. Selene had never told me of any enchantments she had placed on me, but I couldn’t deny that I would be surprised if she had done so without my knowledge.
“Not that we could detect, however, some enchantments are by nature invisible. As a precaution, a broad-spectrum protection enchantment was placed on you. It is designed to counteract any existing enchantments and prevent magic which could influence your emotions and actions,” she explained.
The soul match bond allowed me to feel what Selene felt; if Selene’s own enchantments had been preventing me from feeling her, this new enchantment was certainly compounding such an effect. It was an answer to the empty hollowness in my chest.
“I can see that this has been weighing heavily on you,” Lady Flores said.
“It’s not a nice feeling, not knowing what has been done to you,” I said.
“I do apologise. It was never my intention to cause you any discomfort,” she said.
“It’s okay, I understand why you felt it was necessary, but I wish you had told me about it and explained what you had done sooner.
Having Jack reveal it to me was unhelpful,” I said and took a drink of my coffee, blowing on the top of the liquid to give me a moment to ready myself.
I hated lying. Selene said I was no good at it, but I had to be convincing now.
“At the time, I was still confused. I thought Selene had saved me from poverty, and being around someone so much, you begin to see their good hidden among the bad. I couldn’t see that our hardship was caused by the Houses by nobles and those like her.
The New Foundation has opened my eyes. Maybe there is a better way for everyone, not just my home village,” I said.
Lady Flores smiled brightly and reached across the table to squeeze my hand.
“I had heard that you were curious about us and asking to see me. I’m sorry I kept you waiting.
I admit I was waiting to allow time for you to settle in and, hopefully, to allow the effects of any enchantments you might have been under to wear off.
The enchantments that nobles have access to can be exceptionally powerful; some can even draw others to them, make those around them more affable, and easily persuaded and controlled.
I wanted you to detox and spend time with your peers before we next met.
I am aware that you have been introduced to so much over the last few days, and it is a big adjustment. ”
I nodded in understanding. Everyone truly believed that I had to be under enchantments, that it would be impossible for me to choose Selene.
Was such a belief all based on Dylan’s fanatic insistence that I had been under the effects of enchantments?
Or was it that Selene, every one of the noble class was viewed as so abhorrent that they didn’t believe one of their own could ever willingly care for them.
“I think I needed the time,” I agreed, squeezing her hand in return. “Thank you,” I said.
“You said that Jack told you about the enchantments?” she asked me curiously, and it was then that I realised that Kat had not reported on the incident in the stairwell, and I wondered if she omitted it to protect Jack, me, or herself.
“Yes, he let it slip when walking me to Squad Eleven,” I told her.
“That boy,” she said disparagingly, “he forgets his place.”
“What is his place?” I asked curiously.
“He is my grandson and, like yourself, he has a novel ability, but he is not in any position of authority; he has the benefit of being around his mother and me and believes that closeness to authority is the same as having his own. It was never his place to tell you. I thought perhaps you were simply deducing the placement of enchantments and bluffing about your knowledge. I did not realise it was revealed to you in what I am sure was an immature attempt to best you,” she explained.
“You told me the truth anyway?” I asked.
“Of course! I have no desire to lie to you, Percy, or keep you in the dark. I had to know that you were not under the influence of our enemy and give you a chance to assimilate within the Witching Command, but it has always been my intention to read you into The New Foundation’s objectives and desired outcomes.
I believe that you, Percy, will play a vital role in the battle for the new era we wish to usher in,” she told me.
“A vital role? You mean using my novel ability to starve your enemies?” I asked.
“A vital role as the only eligible heir to Flores. You are my only grandchild who takes predominantly after Flores in terms of your magic. Jack is all Coactus magic, and Idonea is a dual user whose skills and abilities are far from even; her skills are with Synoptic magic. You are beautifully Flores, even your novel ability is simply the inverse of Flores. There has never been one to embody Demeter’s daughter so poetically: half life and half death.
You are Flores,” she reached across the table to take my hand.
“I… I… You want me… to be coven leader?” I asked, stuttering over my words. How was it possible to go from obscurity, never even knowing another Flores witch, to suddenly being the heir? It was ridiculous. “I don’t even know anything about Flores. I’m a half witch!”
Lady Flores squeezed my hand.
“How could you not know Flores? Have you not found it easy to fit in here with your fellow coven members? Are you not the Flores witch who cured a vampire of Hades’ Delight poisoning? Are you not the Flores witch that single-handedly controlled The Maze of Ardens?” she asked.
“I am, but that doesn’t mean —”
“You are. You were never born to rule, I understand. Damia left, fearful of war and fearful of potential obligation. You are the daughter of my daughter in so many ways: in your eyes and the shape of your face, in your stubbornness, and when I first saw you for one painful moment, I thought she had finally come home. You are my daughter’s daughter in so many wonderful ways, but you are not controlled by fear.
When Hades’ Delight threatened someone you thought you loved, you did the impossible at great risk to yourself and found a cure.
When you were abducted by Ardens and Vouna in the summer, it’s my understanding that you escaped a dungeon and Vouna guardsmen, and when True North attacked, you sought shelter in the most unforgiving of places and found it.
You are Persephone of Flores. You are a direct heir of this coven.
There is no other capable of leading us when I am gone,” she told me.
“I’m no noble,” I said.
“No, you are not, you are Royal,” she replied.
“I think my reputation has grown arms and legs and walked away. I’m not who you think I am. I’m not a coven leader, and I’m certainly not Royal. I’m a fisherman’s daughter,” I said. That was the truth of it. What it really boiled down to. If it weren’t for Selene, that’s all I was.
“You are my granddaughter and the firstborn of Oceanus Maria, son of Nikolas Auster II, son of Prince Nikolas Auster. You are heir to the Auster kingdom,” she told me.
“There is no Auster Kingdom and hasn’t been for almost two centuries,” I reminded her.