Chapter 25 Corin
CORIN
The Council chamber was smaller than most people expected, mainly because they never really held meetings there.
It was just for the immediate council members.
But now, Corin stood near the round table, photographs spread across the polished wood.
The well. The broken seal. The poisoned hive.
Evidence of weeks of deliberate sabotage, laid out for anyone willing to see.
Emmett Hollowell sat at the head of the table, his dark hair streaked with gray now, his stormy blue eyes sharp as ever. He'd officially taken Varric's place on the Council six months ago, but he still carried himself like a man who'd rather be anywhere else. Some things didn't change.
"Walk us through it again," Emmett said.
Corin pointed to the photographs. "The seal was broken deliberately. Someone dug down to the mortar and chipped away just enough to create a slow leak. The contamination started spreading from there, following the water table, poisoning everything it touched."
"And the hive?"
"Different method. Direct poisoning. Some kind of chemical compound. Whoever did it wanted faster results."
Elias stood near the door, arms crossed, his silver-gray eyes steady. He'd been there when Corin had torn the well apart. Had helped him piece together the evidence afterward.
"I can confirm the seal damage," Elias said. "Saw it myself. This wasn't natural decay. It was precise. Calculated."
Emmett studied the photographs for a long moment. "Any idea who?"
"Someone with knowledge of old magic," Corin said. "Someone who knows how to cover their tracks. The scent trails vanish. The boot prints disappear. Whoever's doing this has access to concealment magic."
"That narrows it down."
"Not enough."
The door opened, and Paul Whitmore stepped in, his weathered face arranged in an expression of concern. He nodded to Emmett, then took a seat at the table without being invited.
"Heard there was a meeting about the land sickness," Paul said. "Figured I should be here. I've been doing deliveries all over the affected areas. Might have seen something useful."
Corin's jaw tightened. He didn't trust Paul. Not after the way he'd accused Chloe at Freya's shop, spreading poison with his words the same way someone was spreading it through the soil.
But suspicion wasn't evidence.
"What have you seen?" Emmett asked.
"Honestly? Not much out of the ordinary." Paul shrugged, his posture open and cooperative. "I make runs through the northern roads, past Corin's property sometimes. Never noticed anyone lurking around who shouldn't be there."
"You were quick to blame Chloe Faelan at Freya's shop," Corin said. "Now you've got nothing to offer?"
Paul held up his hands. "Look, I said some things I shouldn't have. I was scared. Everyone was scared. But pointing fingers without proof doesn't help anyone."
"Funny how you had plenty of proof when it was Chloe."
"That was different. That was..." Paul trailed off, then shook his head. "I was wrong. I admit it. But I'm not the one doing this, Corin. I've lived in this town my whole life. I've got no reason to poison the land that feeds my neighbors."
Jasper Mince, who'd slipped in quietly behind Paul, cleared his throat from his seat near the wall.
"If it helps, I was out at Corin's place yesterday dropping off some hive tools.
Saw the damage to that hive myself." He shook his head, his weathered face troubled.
"Terrible thing. Whoever did it knew exactly what they were doing. "
"You notice anything unusual?" Emmett asked.
"Wish I had." Jasper's voice was steady, regretful. "But no. Just Corin and Miss Faelan examining the damage. I offered to help however I could, put him in touch with some beekeeping contacts over in Asheville."
"Jasper's been running deliveries around here for fifteen years," Emmett said. "If anyone would notice something off, it'd be him."
Jasper nodded soberly. "I'll keep my eyes open. Whatever's happening, it's hurting good people. That's not something I can stand by and watch."
Paul leaned forward. "What about outside threats? Someone from beyond the Veil? The contamination started around everything the Faelan girl worked on. She hasn’t been here very long, but long enough someone looking for her would find her. Maybe whoever's doing this found her here."
Corin's hands curled into fists. "Chloe has nothing to do with this."
"I'm not saying she's responsible. I'm saying she might have brought trouble with her without knowing it. Druids attract attention, don't they? Old bloodlines, old magic. Maybe someone's targeting her, and we're all just collateral damage."
The worst part was that it made a kind of sense. Corin hated that it made sense.
"We'll look into all possibilities," Emmett said, his tone carefully neutral. "For now, I want increased patrols around the affected areas. Elias, coordinate with the night guard. Corin, keep documenting the damage. If anything else happens, I want to know immediately."
"What about the well?" Corin asked. "Can we reseal it?"
"I'll reach out to some contacts. Old magic requires old solutions. It might take time to find someone with the right knowledge." Emmett gathered the photographs into a neat stack. "Until then, we contain what we can and watch for escalation."
The meeting broke up, people filtering out in twos and threes. Paul clapped Corin on the shoulder as he passed, a gesture that might have been friendly if Corin hadn't wanted to break his hand.
"Hope you find whoever's doing this," Paul said. "For all our sakes."
He walked out before Corin could respond.
Elias moved to stand beside him, watching Paul's retreating back. "You think it's him?"
"I don't know." Corin's voice was rough. "He's got explanations for everything. But something feels wrong."
"Trust your instincts. They haven't failed you yet."
The door opened again, and Chloe stepped through.
She looked pale. Smaller somehow, like she was trying to take up less space in the world. Her green eyes found his immediately.
She'd heard.
"Chloe." He moved toward her, but she held up a hand.
"I'm fine." The words came out flat, practiced. "I just... I wanted to see if the meeting was still going."
"It just ended."
She nodded, her gaze drifting to the photographs still scattered across the table. The well. The seal. The evidence of someone's deliberate cruelty.
"Paul thinks I brought this here," she said quietly. "That someone's targeting me."
"Paul talks too much."
"But he's not wrong, is he?" She finally met his eyes, and the hurt there was almost more than he could bear. "Someone is targeting me. All of this, the well, the sickness, whatever they're trying to do, it's connected to me. To my blood."
"That doesn't make it your fault."
Her laugh was hollow. "I've been trying so hard to belong here. To prove I'm not a threat. And the whole time, someone's been using me as a weapon against the town I wanted to call home."
"Chloe."
"What did I do?" Her voice cracked, just slightly. "What did I ever do to anyone that would make them hate me this much?"
He didn't have an answer. Couldn't give her one, because he didn't understand it either.
She was good and kind and worked harder than anyone he knew to earn a place that should have been given to her freely.
The idea that someone was deliberately trying to hurt her, to use her, to make her a scapegoat for their own twisted purposes, it made him want to tear something apart with his bare hands.
"I need some time," she said. "I just... I need to think."
"Okay."
"I'm not running away." She said it like she was attempting to convince herself as much as him. "I just need to be alone for a while."
"I understand."
She turned toward the door, then paused. "Corin?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For defending me. Even when I'm not sure I deserve it."
"You always deserve it."
She didn't respond. Just walked out, her footsteps echoing in the empty hall until even his bear's sharp ears couldn't hear them anymore.
Elias appeared at his shoulder. "You okay?"
"No." Corin stared at the closed door, his hands still curled into fists. "But I will be. Once I find whoever's doing this."
"And then?"
"Then they're going to wish they'd never touched what's mine."
Elias nodded slowly. "I'll help you look."
"I know."
They stood in silence for a long moment.
Corin wanted to go after Chloe. Wanted to wrap her in his arms and promise her that everything would be okay, that he'd protect her, that she'd never have to feel this way again.
But she needed space. She'd asked for it, and he'd give it to her, even if it killed him.
That was what love meant. Not just holding on, but knowing when to let go.
He just hoped she'd come back when she was ready.