CHAPTER XVIII #10
“You are, Alexis,” Keane replies quietly, taking a small step towards the table, “you are the voice that speaks for the humans of the Old World.”
My heart sinks at his words. “A cruel twist in destiny, then.”
“Or,” he holds my gaze, pulling back his chair as he sits down slowly, “exactly what it needs.”
“What Hirovale is requesting,” I reply coolly, hating that he is so calm right now, “asks for my agreement and aid in ridding the Old World of humans. If magic is restored to all beings, than humans no longer exist. How could anyone possibly think I’d agree to that?”
I release Keane’s gaze and shake my head at all the men at the table.
“What he requests is for us to discard the thing that makes us special. To discard our short mortality. The one thing that is always a constant reminder to us, the limited amount of years we have to live...”
I glance to Cal with a sad, genuine smile, “yet we do, live. We embrace that mortality. It is not a slight to us and I will not be a champion for anyone who thinks that it is.”
I sigh to the men, “he said something to me on that first night we met. Something that has been irking me for far too long…”
“He told me that he wished to restore magic to the Old World in its proper form,” I turn back to Keane, “as if being human is not proper, or right.”
I hold the Prince’s gaze with a finality in my tone. “That sentiment is and will never be one that I condone, nor will I ever aid.”
“We do not know of the Ancient’s full plan, yet,” Keane replies, asking me again to hear Hirovale out, “we are taking snippets of conversations from an Ancient who alludes to less than what he actually knows.”
Stormfall caws at the Prince’s comment, his yellow eyes looking up at me in agreement.
Come then, I tell the Ancient directly, come and explain yourself fully.
But Storm’s eyes remain their bright yellow, giving no indication that the Ancient is listening. I scoff at the Bird of Ash and roll my own eyes in acceptance, knowing that he won’t come because he knows the words I speak are true.
NO.
Hirovale’s voice booms in my mind, the sound so strong that it rattles my bones.
They are not true.
“Liar,” I whisper in anger.
Stormfall extends his wings in defiance, holding my gaze with his.
“You will not receive my compliance.”
Holis shifts in his seat with a shake of his head, watching both me and Storm. “I don’t think the Ancient expects compliance from you, Alexis, rather, a growth of your being into the champion that needs to be.”
My gaze juts quickly to the Discerni twin across the table.
“Because I don’t think this all stops with you,” he continues, “we’ve been made aware of Woodlands and have now been given information on the Leviathans, information that leads us to believe they have resumed their summoning ritual using the human young.
Humans are being mistreated throughout the Old World, and I do not believe for one moment that you are okay with that.
You are a big piece of a larger story, Alexis, one that I believe is set to rectify those mistreatments.
You may not like his plan, but a plan will take place whether we want it to or not. ”
I frown and lean back in my chair, thoroughly exhausted.
I’m exhausted at all the information, exhausted at my emotions and the constant back and forth of anger and shock, then more anger and curiosity.
It’s all a fucking mess that makes me yearn for the easier days, to the days when I had no bother in the damn Ancient Old World.
Could I try to go back to that? Where my only problems came with debating who I’d dance with at court? Could I ignore everything I’ve seen and heard over the past fortnight and resume my life here in Bardot?
No.
I knew that answer the moment I went searching at the Great Oak, when I climbed its massive trunk seeking out another adventure only to find it too easy, too giving in its response to me.
The Shadow Oak would never let me dare such a feat without taunting me in amusement and challenging me. Nor would the man who created it.
My gaze lifts back up to Keane, to his dark silhouette now sitting tense in his chair across the table. His brown eyes meet mine with a strong fire lit behind them, those flames igniting my own fire as I debate what to do next.
“Why would Aireal be interested in Lady Alexis?” Desmond asks his father, quietly changing the subject.
Keane holds my gaze, never once taking his eyes off mine as I let his fire consume me, engulf me.
My heart begins pounding again, not with anger but with something deep coming to life.
It’s a flaming call to do more, be more, in whatever decision I choose.
Even if that means going against Hirovale’s plan and prophecy so that humans can remain as they are.
“I can only suspect they either have an interest in keeping the status quo,” the King replies to his son, “or an interest in breaking it. But my conversations with King Voland over the past years have led me to believe the former. I do not believe he is ready to involve Aireal in the mystics.”
Keane swiftly breaks my gaze to turn to his father, “if the Kingdom of Aireal wished to preserve the current Old World as is, then they would see Lady Alexis as a threat to that. If we give them a copy of the text, will they not come to the same conclusion she has? They will look to her as threat to their humanity.”
Ancients.
Me? A threat to a Kingdom?
I shift uncomfortably, as does Holis and Cal.
Would Aireal attempt to harm me if they thought I would indeed disrupt the non-magic of their lands? Would they see me as the bringer of an end to their people? People that have thrived, as I have, in their humanity?
“It is a possibility,” the King replies quietly.
I sigh in my seat and bring both hands up to my temples.
What a damn Ancients mess this is.
“We won’t let that happen, brother,” Desmond states from my left as all three Knowledge men nod in agreement.
“King Voland can be reasoned with,” King Zander tells his son, “he is a peaceful soul. The Leviathans, however...”
“Would also seek her harm,” Desmond finishes for his father.
“What?” I ask confused, “why?”
Desmond turns to me with cold apprehension, “the being of you threatens the existence of the human young they use for sacrifice.”
Elder Father and Mother, how fucking disturbing.
No more humans in the Old World means no more sacrificing them to sustain their prolonged lives. Perhaps that could be the only good thing to come of this.
I sigh as another thought comes to mind, something that Isham mentioned last night and Keane and I spoke on briefly…
“Prince Isham told me last night that my travels will take me into Livyatan,” I turn to the King in genuine curiosity, hoping that he knows the answer, “and the Ancient has alluded the same as well. Do you have any idea why?”
The King shares a look with Golem beside him, both of their faces tainting with a sadness that creeps on my soul.
“Elena does not believe that the text you found was the full of the prophecy,” he shares, “her sisters reference another object that holds a separate portion to the full.”
No.
I stare at the King in open horror.
“No.”
Zander gives the slightest of nods, “your hands were in their visions as well, Alexis.”
I turn back to Keane. The two of us agreed just last night that we would avoid any travel to Livyatan. We agreed.
Keane looks back at me with the same sadness as his father, his features mixed with his own anger at hearing the news.
“The Prince offered Lady Alexis an open invite last night,” Desmond tells his father, “he offered his ally. He knows she’ll have to make the travel.”
This is so wrong on so many levels.
Decline!
Decline everything now and go back to your simple life. Forget all this and bury your head in books. Drink your ale and smoke your smoke. Forget all this!
There is no way, my heart, my damn persistent heart, responds, igniting my fire once again. I know it deep down in my very being that I will not be forgetting any of this, that I will not willingly choose to forget everything I have learned today or over the past month.
“What are your thoughts on the Prince?” I turn to the Zander, thinking of the fake friendliness Isham tried to pass off on me only to capture my whim with his snake Rivian.
“He is not who he projects himself to be,” King Zander replies steadily, “and is the most dangerous of the three brothers.”
I nod in agreement, glad that Zander understands that as much as I do.
“Though his brother was no better off,” I grimace.
“Strong and brash in his strength, yes,” King Zander nods before glancing over to Keane, “but brash enemies are emotional enemies, and that emotion can be used to your advantage. Isham deals neither in calm resolve nor brash instinct. He harnesses all actions, all emotions, and uses them to his own advantage.”
Keane looks at his father coolly, the two of them engaging in a silent conversation we’re not privy to, but I get the distinct impression that Zander is warning his son.
“I think this has been enough for the day,” Zander finally releases Keane’s gaze with a sigh, turning to look out the three arched windows, “the sun is almost at apex.”
It is?
I turn in bewilderment and look skyward, noticing that we are indeed far past morning.
“Alex,” the King stands from his chair and looks at me, “we still have some things to discuss…”
I turn my gaze back to Keane, yearning for that fire behind his brown eyes again. It’s there, stronger than ever, and it alights my full being as I reply to my King.
“I wish for Prince Keane to stay behind with us.”
Keane exhales softly, the gesture barely visible. I give him a small nod and then turn back to Zander, letting him know that I will not be swayed in my request.
Zander, to my surprise, gives me a knowing smile, nodding his head in agreement.
“We will take our leave,” Desmond states.