CHAPTER 35
We all made sure the manor was secure before calling it a night.
Zendryk and Ulric stayed on guard all night, patrolling the manor to ensure there was no longer a threat or any Soulless hiding.
The next morning, after a restless night of sleep, the four of us were gathered at the breakfast table.
Ulric and Zen were going through a list of names that represented everyone living in the manor.
Each name that was read out and was followed by Ulric’s somber “deceased” caused my heart to sink to the floor.
I didn’t know any of the names that were read, but they had families and loved ones they would never see again.
My heart broke into a thousand pieces for them.
This was different from when I had to leave my mother, but the feeling of never seeing a loved one again could break anyone.
“Jane,” Zen said, pulling me from my thoughts.
Ulric responded with a “Safe.”
Damn, I guess I will still have to deal with her.
You could deal with her easily.
Oh, good, it’s back. I don’t want to ruffle any feathers or have more eyes looking in my direction, thank you. After last night's magic show, I think it is best to lie low for the time being.
It responded with a huff, then fell silent. Good.
No one brought up the fact that I had created wolves from mist last night and took down multiple Soulless and creatures without using a weapon, but then Ulric cleared his throat, “Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room… or should I say wolves?”
There it was. Of course, it was Ulric. I smiled softly in his direction, thankful for the tiny bit of humor he attempted to ease into an uncomfortable conversation. “I mean, we all saw that, right?”
“Technically, I didn’t,” Maya piped up. Maybe they would be good together; their sarcasm alone was a match made in heaven, but I wouldn’t let them know that.
When I got back to my room last night, I filled her in on everything.
She had barricaded herself in our room at the first sound of the warning bells.
I had managed to conjure up a tiny cloud of black mist from my fingertips, but I was so tired that I gave up after a minute, and the mist dissipated into the air.
Ulric flashed her a wicked grin and mischievous look, but I pushed my head forward, blocking his view.
“Not going to happen.” My eyes were wide as I spoke.
“Oh, Avyn, you are no fun.” He said, while he leaned back in the chair, resting his arms behind his head, and the chair's front legs lifted off the ground.
I’m starting to like this one.
I huffed back, just like it did earlier.
“Nice change of subject though.” Ulric smiled coyly, calling me out at the same time.
I could hear Maya stifling a giggle beside me, and Zen had one hand covering his mouth.
“I have no idea what the wolves were. All I know is Ulric was in danger, and my body went into a frenzy. Next thing I knew, wolves were taking down the creature that was attacking him.”
The front legs of Ulric’s chair slammed into the ground. “So, you do like me!?” His sarcasm echoed through the room.
Yes. I like him.
“It’s not that I don’t like you, I actually, kind of, in some weird small way, consider you a friend.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “It’s still not going to happen.”
His mouth slammed shut, and Zen laughed out loud this time, not holding back as it echoed through the room, becoming more contagious, and we all broke into laughter. Even though we were still fresh from the attack last night, we needed this. The laughter was healing the wounds left on our souls.
Our laughter was interrupted by a knock at the door, and a guard stepped into the small dining room.
“Sir.” He said in Zen's direction.
Zen nodded in response, silently telling the guard to continue.
So he did, “The King and Queen wish to see you immediately.”
“Tell them I will be there momentarily.” The tiny line between his eyes appeared.
“Sorry, sir. They wish to see ALL of you.” The guard was visibly nervous.
I instantly wanted to throw up whatever food I had managed to eat this morning.
“We will all be there momentarily.” With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the guard.
Zen slumped back into his seat, rubbing his temples with his fingers. “We'd better not put it off for too long. Just let me do all the talking.”
Ten minutes later, Ulric, Zen, and I stood in the throne room in front of the King and Queen.
Maya was standing off to the side with the guards and other members of the court, waiting for someone to speak first. The throne room was a large, barren room made of stone; it was a light grey granite speckled with flecks of white and black.
The floor and walls were polished and gleamed off one another as the sun bounced from one surface to another.
The King and Queen sat perched upon two large thrones, carved entirely from black onyx; accompanied by large wolf heads that towered above each of them, their fangs bared menacingly at anyone approaching.
The chairs' legs resembled wolves' limbs, with large, sharp claws protruding from the feet.
We stood silently, waiting for someone to make the first move, and I played with a loose string on the hem of my shirt.
I looked at the King and Queen, and they both had solemn expressions, showing not an ounce of emotion or any indication of why they had summoned us.
Finally, the King broke the silence, “We have been informed that she has manifested her powers.”
It wasn’t a question.
Zen shifted on his feet before responding, “She just conjured them last night for the first time.”
The King eyed him, “Why did you not inform us immediately?”
Zen crossed his arms over his chest and leaned slightly to the right, giving his non-bothered appearance, “I was a tad busy protecting the manor, unlike others.”
“No games today, Zendryk.” The Queen’s eyes were lethal and carried the promise of death on them. How could someone look at their own flesh and blood like that? Let alone their own son.
The King spoke next, “Show us.” His stare turned to me. “Show us your powers.”
Panic spread through my body, and my heart raced, feeling like it would explode from my chest any minute.
Zen kept his cool demeanor as I glanced over at him, silently begging for help. I didn’t know how to do what I did last night; it had just happened.
“She just conjured them last night; we haven’t had a moment to train or teach her how to summon them.” Zen piped up, trying to avoid this altogether.
It was the Queen who responded, “If she did it last night, then she can do it today.” She looked towards me, “Now show us.”
I prayed to the voice in my head, begging for help, but I was met with silence.
Where are you! You are always there when I don’t need you, and now that I do, you are nowhere to be found.
Lifting my shaking hands, I willed the tingles to start, but besides the trembling, nothing happened. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how I did it.”
Nothing. They said nothing, but their looks said everything.
Zen spoke, noticing the tension in the room, and tried to take the attention off of me, “If you give me some more time, I can teach her how…”
“You’ve had months.” The Queen spoke again, and the King sat silently, watching and observing.
“If she needed time, she has had it. We need your focus to be on the threat at hand. We have had multiple attacks on the manor recently and lost the largest number of civilians last night. The attacks are only going to increase.” She looked back towards me.
“We are going to intensify your training. From what I have been told, your powers came out last night when others were in danger. We will use that method moving forward.”
No, no, no! Fuck! This was not good.
“Mother, I think that’s a little extreme.” He ran his hands through his tousled hair, trying to give off his carefree demeanor, while trying to protect me from her wrath.
“Do I need to remind you who is sitting here, and who is standing there?” Her eyes narrowed at him. “If she cannot produce her powers on her own, then we need to lure them out of her.”
He took a moment to think before speaking, “Can I suggest you use Ulric’s skills to train her? Her powers came out last night when he was in danger.”
Oh! Please, I silently prayed to the gods.
“I have someone else in mind.” A small, wicked grin graced her features; the only sign that she could still portray emotions. “Venryr.”
The color drained from Zen and Ulric's faces as I looked between them, waiting for one of them to say something. A door slammed open, and someone walked into the throne room behind us; his footsteps sent shivers down my spine. A hulking, misshapen brute took his place beside the queen. His eyes were as dark as the blood of the Soulless, and they held no emotion behind them. His skin was marred with scars on his hands, neck, and face; he had one large scar tracing from his right temple across his face down to the left side of his neck. I assumed it was all one scar, but his braided beard hid some of it. He had no hair on the top of his head, just more scars and nicks. He was dressed in fighting leathers, adorned with metal spikes that were sharp enough to cut flesh. A large, broadsword peeked above his shoulders, which looked to be the same height as me; he also had daggers at both hips, just in case the sword wasn’t intimidating enough.
The sight of him made my stomach drop to the floor, and the sensation of tears burned my eyes, but I would not give them the satisfaction of knowing I was scared.
Nobody said anything. Zen’s eyes scanned the ground.
His mind was working, trying to think of how he could get us out of this, but before he could say anything, the Queen spoke. “Bring her in.”
Her?! Who was she talking about? A million different people ran through my mind until I landed on the one person it could be.