Chapter 24 Home
HOME
The bustle of this place is exciting. Everywhere I look, there’s a person coming and going. The exact opposite of the hollowness that was the Great Hall. This place seems to effuse so much more life. We pass portraits of my ancestors as we walk down the candlelit hallway and to the dining hall.
Long, colorful rugs line the walkways, softening our thudding footsteps on the wooden floors.
Carved oak tables boasting poppies, ravens, and Viking runes are sporadically placed along the perimeter of the halls.
It’s like I’m walking through a museum or a time capsule of ancient history.
The decor of this place is so similar to the Hall that I wonder if Gran had things brought from here.
Mathilda nudges me with her shoulder. “Are you going to tell me what that was about?” Her eyebrow arches, and my smile grows, but I shake my head. “Seriously, you’re not going to share the details?”
I laugh loudly, shaking my head. “There’s nothing to share. He just apologized—again.” But my smile is giving me away, obviously hinting at something more.
“Oh, there’s definitely something you’re not sharing,” she mutters, frowning.
A large painting of my mom and dad hung at the end of the hall stops me in my tracks. Mathilda stops alongside me.
“Are you okay?” she asks quietly, tracking my sight to the life-size painting in front of me.
My parents smile softly at me, the artist perfectly capturing an exact likeness of them in royal garb in the throne room of the Great Hall.
My mom is seated on the throne, but not the one Odessa sits on now.
This one is a white marble that matches the construction of the Great Hall.
The timeless arching seat is a much better fit than the ostentatious one that sits there now.
My father stands just beside her, on her right.
For once, my chest doesn’t ache as I gaze at them.
“Yeah, it’s just weird. There’s so much about them I never knew anything about.”
Mathilda takes a step closer to the painting. “I didn’t realize how similar you look to them.”
My eyes crinkle a bit as I study the portrait. But there’s something a bit different about my dad that the artist managed to capture. I can’t quite put my finger on it.
“Does my dad look human to you?” I ask Mathilda, my brows furrowing in concentration.
“Not really.” She shrugs, and her stomach growls.
The sound breaks through my concentration, and I giggle. “Let’s go eat.”
She grins sheepishly at me. “Sorry, I didn’t want to rush you, but I am starving.”
We continue our way to the dining hall, but the painting tugs at me.
The dining hall is boisterous, and the food smells divine.
Long tables are set up in even rows, their seats actually occupied by many of the warriors and the servants that live here.
Light streams in from the long, leaded windows showcasing their views of the stunning landscape, and a roaring fireplace makes up the entire wall by the kitchen door.
Young women and even a few men stream in and out of the doorway, taking platters full of food or bringing back empty plates to the kitchen.
Tane has beaten us here and has a table all to himself with several full plates. He waves us over, and I don’t miss the way Mathilda’s eyes sparkle when she spies him. I nearly have to jog to keep up with her as she marches across the room and to the chair next to him.
“I didn’t know what you would want, so I grabbed a few things,” he mumbles while chewing on what looks to be a turkey leg.
Mathilda plops down right next to him and grins timidly. “Thank you for thinking of me.” A slight blush creeps up Tane’s neck, but Mathilda doesn’t seem to notice as she pulls a plate of pasta to herself.
“Uh, I’ll just help myself, I guess?” I mutter, but I don’t think they’ve even heard me.
I walk over to the long buffet table that has a large spread of different types of food all laid out. Seafood, roasted meats, vibrant fruit, and vegetables are all mouthwatering. I’m busy loading up a copper plate when Lachlan hops in line behind me.
I briefly look him up and down, appreciating how his wet hair gleams in the sunlight. He must’ve freshened up before following us down here.
“Are ye sitting with the love birds who aren’t love birds?” he jokes.
My lips kick up into a smirk. “Why is it that it’s obvious to everyone but them?”
Lachlan shrugs and loads his plate with various meats. “They’ve been that way for as long as I’ve known them.”
I glance at Tane and Mathilda before turning back to Lachlan. “And how long have you known them?”
Lachlan’s face scrunches up adorably as he thinks back. “Well, I was fifteen when Torin first brought me here, so ten years now.”
I do the math in my head. “Wow, so you were only twenty when you made captain?” How on earth did he manage to climb the ranks so quickly?
Lachlan smirks and steers us back towards the table. “Superior genetics, I guess,” he mutters.
The table is unusually quiet when we approach and take our seats. Mathilda blushes when I glance her way, but I don’t bring up their obvious attraction to each other as I begin digging into my food.
“So, what’s the plan now?” she asks, not taking her eyes off the pasta she’s wrapping around her fork.
Years of my father’s battle strategies flood my mind, and I sift through all the information. Every practice, every lecture from history to politics, and every book they forced me to read was in preparation for this place. Reading Sun Tzu at seventeen hardly seems silly now.
“We need to have a system in place for the new recruits that Elowen sends to the island. A way to make sure they’re not spies, and then another system in place for setting them up with a place to stay and a job.
If we just allow anyone in, we’ll open ourselves up for an attack, and if we let too many people in at once, we’ll be too disorganized and chaotic. ”
Lachlan’s mouth drops open as he stares at me in shock.
Tane and Mathilda share equal looks of surprise before looking back at me.
“What?” I ask, glancing around at everyone.
“You sounded so official,” Tane replies.
I roll my eyes and continue, “I’d like to delegate roles to each of you to help with incoming rebels while also making sure we all work together as a team. If you get overwhelmed, I want us to be able to communicate that with each other. Help pick up the slack.”
Lachlan’s face shifts into something akin to pride. “I can help with whatever ye need and move between multiple jobs.”
I nod while thinking it through. “I would like that, thank you.”
As he is the captain of the guard and my only link to all my new friends, it would be beneficial for him to be my go-between.
Mathilda pipes up next. “I would like to set up a school here for the children of the warriors who join our cause.”
I smile gratefully. “That would be excellent. If we stick with a routine for the young ones, it would lessen the stress on their parents. Great idea, Mathilda.”
She is the most maternal of the group, so it only makes sense that she would think of the children first. She smiles in response and continues eating.
Tane eyes Mathilda before looking my way. “Well, new recruits will mean more houses or, at the very least, tents. I have experience with both.”
“Perfect, thank you. I know very little about either. That just leaves Mina and Evander. When they get here tomorrow, I’ll ask what roles they feel comfortable stepping into. But at least now we have something figured out.”
Having just a few things marked off a to-do list I hadn’t even officially planned out yet settles the growing tension in my stomach.
“So now we just need to figure out how to take control of this realm, how to prevent the Great War from happening, and how to restore magic. This is doable, right?” I ask, looking around the table at my friends.
Lachlan smiles warmly. “Sure, Key.”
Mathilda gives me an unwavering smile and two thumbs up. “Very doable.”
Tane looks around at us like we’re crazy before Mathilda elbows him in the ribs. “It’s doable,” he grumbles, rubbing his side.