Chapter 48
“Yilada. I have not heard that name in a long time. And I had hoped never to hear it again. I knew I still had dissention within the families of the noble matriarchs, but I did not believe that my sister would continue to haunt me after so many revolutions,” Zathexa muttered wearily.
“Despite their displeasure with my rule, I never would have imagined that there would have been those among my court who would have dared to hide and support the rule of her progeny.”
“Would you recognize her daughter if you saw her?” Therxian asked.
His mother dipped her chin. “I rarely saw her. She was still a young nestling back then, and young females do not come to court until they reach a certain age unless they are too young to be separated from their mother. My sister and I did not enjoy normal familial bonds, which normally would have ensured that I would have been part of her daughter’s life from her hatching day.
At that time, I thought she was merely oddly reclusive and that her occasional overtures to rule were nothing more than sisterly concern for my unique situation.
I never realized how much she hated me until it was too late. ”
“Even if you had seen her dozens of times, it would have made little difference,” Elder Goyu interjected with a heavy sigh.
“You do not always realize it when you are watching them grow day by day, but everything from facial shape to the color of their scales can change significantly as they grow into adulthood. After so many revolutions, no one who had ever seen her before would recognize her.”
Therxian frowned. He had seen so many hatchlings grow among the Vehal, how did he not consider that?
“She could literally be anyone,” he rumbled. “Even one of the matriarchs pushing their daughters onto me, if she mated and bred young.”
Zathexa stared inwardly, her thoughts visibly haunted.
“It seems that there was no saving my mother-line. Every effort since the beginning just served their purpose by keeping me in line and providing heirs by which they might secure their legitimacy. Is it possible that they were responsible for Vorahna’s condition? ”
“I would not put it past them,” Elder Goyu grumbled as she exchanged a look with her mate.
The elderly male inclined his head in agreement. “It is clear that someone on the council is not above using poison to accomplish their means. A slow poison would have been a means for keeping control until it was convenient to eliminate her to complete the transference of power.”
Zathexa frowned. “But that does not make sense,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. “No one attempted to take the throne following her death. Vekatha intensified her pursuit of Slengral, but otherwise there was no change within the council.”
Therxian twitched awkwardly and glanced over at Jathella. The female’s eyes widened as she quickly deduced his intention, and she dipped her chin vehemently. His jaw tightened. She had a right to know.
He reached over and placed his hand over his mother’s. “Mother, there may have been reason,” he murmured. “Vorahna... she was meeting someone in the elder palace.”
Her brow drew down in confusion. “Who?”
“According to what she left behind... she was meeting a male. An Uralial male,” he replied.
Her mouth parted in shock. “An... Uralial? Are you certain?”
He gave Jathella a meaningful look, and the female sighed. “It seems to be the case,” she reluctantly agreed. “Therxian gave me a scroll that he found exploring the elder palace. It was her handwriting, and of the two figures painted, the female was recognizably her. The other was a male Uralial.”
Zathexa sank back further into the pillows cushioning her.
“No wonder,” she whispered. “They intended all along to destroy my line. They just bade their time and kept me beneath their claws while weakening my legacy and destroying it bit by bit. My sons... my daughter. Such cruel fates. They never intended for any of them to live.”
“It is quite probable that even Therxian would have eventually met his demise after he fulfilled his purpose, regardless of what agreement they reached with you,” Jathella acknowledged.
Therxian drew a deep breath as he let that piece of knowledge sit with him. She was right. The council found him useful for only one thing. Once he outlived his usefulness to them, he would have had the same fate as his brothers.
“And now the high queen has been attacked,” Elder Goyu murmured. “Is Yilada’s heir preparing to shift their attack?”
“They will not kill her. Not yet. She is still useful to them. I am still her son, and as my mother, she has ultimate authority over securing her heir through me outside of the normal matrilineal lineage. The people will not accept any offspring of mine without her acknowledgement of the female.”
“And, as Yilada and her entire line were outcast and exiled, they no longer possess any legitimate ties to the throne,” Elder Goyu affirmed grimly.
“They have no choice but to accomplish this.” Her mouth tightened.
“I am curious, though. Clearly all your other sons were tried, whether stolen or taken under false pretenses, why were they killed before producing a daughter?”
“A mystery that I will likely have no answer to,” Zathexa quietly replied.
“Perhaps we should at least consider a more secure location for Mother. Whether the council tries to take power or not, none of them will be able to establish power without her confirmed death—and even then, the entire shinara would likely descend into chaos which is likely why no one has tried to assassinate her after Yulada failed to kill my father,” Therxian observed.
“Removing her outside of their direct ability to control her, and the shinara through her, should be our next step.”
Zathexa laughed in response, her tail shifting around her uncomfortably. “And where do you imagine it would be safe for me?”
“You could go stay among the Vehal,” he suggested as he leaned forward and helped her draw upward so that she could sit in a more comfortable position. “Perhaps the healer among them, Gamay, may even have an alternate treatment to this poison.”
He watched her with concern as she trembled with effort as she settled against the pillow that Jathella had shifted into place and eased behind her back. Never had he seen his mother so weak. He was torn between his need to see to his mother’s welfare and his growing need to be with his mate.
Zathexa peered at him, her expression growing rapidly drawn. She uttered a weak laugh and looked away from him. “Go? To the Vehal? What am I to do there—beg for sanctuary from my youngest son whom I cast beneath the weight of my coils for the satisfaction of the council?”
“To protect him from them,” Therxian argued. “You were not responsible for what happened to Lori.”
“I am the high queen. I am responsible for everything that happens within my domain. That is something that Yilada could not grasp. All the saw was what she desired. Not the responsibility that came with it. Our mother saw it too. It was why she never supported her in her attempts to establish herself as high queen in my stead.” She gave another raspy laugh.
“Everyone wants to be queen to satisfy their vanity and to enjoy the prestige and luxury the position affords, but no one comprehends what it requires to be a good and just ruler.” She turned slightly in place so that they were face-to-face, and she regarded him steadily.
“I am not going. This is my home and my people. All I have ever known is life within the Aglatha shinara. I will not abandon them to whatever madness the council is plotting with Yilada’s line. ”
“Which makes it all the more important that you take refuge with them. The people need you safe. If you go to the Vehal, you will thwart the council’s aim. There, we can gain the Vehal’s support. Rally the hunters.”
“The council will never let you go,” Zathexa replied wearily.
“Then we will find another route,” he snapped, rapidly losing his patience with his mother’s stubborn determination to remain in shinara. “They do not have a chance to accomplish their goal anyway. I have claimed my mate, and—"
“You claimed your mate?” Zathexa interrupted, her eyes widening at him. Therxian swallowed sharply. His tongues had run away with him. He had not meant to reveal the truth of the situation quite that way. “It cannot be. Which of the females did you—”
He smiled grimly, understanding the horror with which she stared at him. There were not that many females who had gone to his nest. She was reasonably worried.
“None of them,” he assured her, and nearly laughed aloud at the look of relief on her face which quickly shifted to confusion.
“I do not understand. Then how—”
“I may have sabotaged your efforts,” he admitted.
“With her help, I have managed to evade nesting with any of the females you have paired me with,” he added.
And since he was already digging his own grave, he delivered the rest of his confession in a rush.
“As my ashlava was hidden within my nest the entire time, she cannot be blamed for what happened. She was mostly protecting herself and assuring her own safety. Regardless, her strength of character has made her a good ally and made this time bearable for me. As for disobeying your orders, I take full responsibility. But I promise you it was never my intention to extend my disobedience into mating with her.”
His mother turned to Jathella with a huff. “Jathella, he is being cryptic. I cannot make sense of a single word he is saying. Or at least not in the way he is stringing them together. Please explain exactly what is going on.”
The captain grimaced and shot Therxian an accusatory glare, which he ignored, before clearing her throat uncomfortably. “It happens that Kitanara found... someone... on the desert,” she reluctantly admitted. “She hid her in the shinara to recover.”