Chapter 36 Cethin
Cethin
“Come in,” Cethin called from his desk, glancing up from the endless reports and paperwork.
Kailia looked up too. He’d given her a small pile of mundane things.
Why she wanted to spend her days here doing this was beyond him, but ever since the night she’d told them some of her past, she’d spent her days in this study whenever he was here.
There hadn’t been any advisory meetings, and he didn’t let her sit in on daily updates from Zayan.
He wasn’t about to hand over his kingdom to her, but ever since the night of their union, she’d insisted this is what she’d wanted.
He thought she’d been trying to appease him in some way, but nearly three months later, she was just as relentless.
Tybalt came through the door, and Razik stood at his uncle’s entrance.
If Kailia was here, that meant Razik was here.
Which was fine, Cethin supposed. Annoying, but fine.
Annoying because the male was proving useful, and more than once, when Kailia had posed a question about this matter or that, Razik had offered sound counsel and insights.
Almost as if he was her Hand of the Queen in a way.
“Your Majesties,” Tybalt said with a bow of his head. He looked from Cethin to Kailia and back before he said, “I have a sensitive matter to discuss, Cethin.”
“Of what nature?”
“One that I’d rather discuss with you alone.”
He studied the Commander. His grim features and the tight line of his jaw. The faintly glowing eyes, despite not having shifted. And he knew.
“You can speak in front of your queen, Commander,” Cethin said, sitting back in his chair and rubbing his temple.
“Cethin, I don’t think—”
“More Fae were discovered dead?” he interrupted.
Tybalt paused, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Yes.”
“How many?”
He hesitated, glancing at Kailia again. Razik had moved closer, standing beside her, and she had set her work aside, listening intently.
“Twenty-five,” Tybalt finally answered. “Near Everfall.”
“Everfall?” Kailia asked. “Haven’t the recent attacks been here? Near Aimonway?”
“Yes,” Tybalt answered. “We thought there had been a tactic. A pattern we’d been seeing, but this breaks any of those patterns.”
“We can’t consider it a one-off either,” Cethin said, shoving a hand through his hair. “Not when it claimed the lives of twenty-five Fae. That’s more than the last three attacks combined.”
“Agreed,” Tybalt said.
“And there are no clues as to why this keeps happening? Nothing that links them all together?” Kailia asked.
“The victims are always Fae. That’s it,” Cethin answered.
“There has to be something,” she argued.
“Nothing we’ve discovered after years of investigation,” Tybalt replied. “But something has caused the increase in deaths.”
“So much for bringing the Fae to Aimonway to keep them safe,” Cethin muttered.
“But they didn’t all come to Aimonway if these were found near Everfall. Isn’t that on the other side of the continent?” Kailia asked.
“Not quite,” Razik answered. “It’s on the east side of the Olwen Mountains in the Korra Forest.”
“Why wouldn’t they come to Aimonway?”
“We can’t force them to uproot their lives,” Cethin said. “We offered protection, and some chose to take it. Not that it has done any good.”
“We’d hoped with so many Fae in one area, it might draw the threats closer. Make them easier to identify,” Tybalt said.
“You were using the Fae as bait?” Kailia asked.
“In a sense, I guess you could call it that,” Tybalt answered. “With the intention of intervening before there were any more deaths.”
“That did not work,” Kailia said, her words tight.
“Obviously,” Tybalt retorted.
“Enough,” Cethin said, getting to his feet. “I’ll go to Everfall. Send word to Lord Astor. I want to see for myself.”
“I can send the Cadre,” Tybalt argued. “I think that would be the wiser option.”
“I’m going,” Cethin said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I’m done sitting here going through reports when this is still going on and escalating. Someone is trying to get our attention, and they need to know they fucking have it.”
“And if the phantom creatures show up and make things worse?” Tybalt demanded.
Cethin turned, his gaze landing on his wife. “Then it’s a good thing the queen will be with me.”
“Your Majesties,” the newest lord greeted. “Welcome to Everfall.” He bowed at the waist before straightening again. “My apologies for not being more prepared,” he added, looking down at his attire with a slightly sheepish smile.
His black hair had been trimmed since the last advisory session, and his grey eyes seemed darker in a way.
Brown pants and a black tunic were apparently his favored attire.
Cethin had never paid much attention to his power, especially in a room full of people with strong bloodlines, but with fewer people around, it was easier to distinguish, feeling familiar yet different and as powerful as any of the others advisors if not more so.
“I apologize for the short notice,” Cethin said with a warm smile. “I also apologize for taking so long to come visit. I try to visit newly appointed lords and ladies closer to their acceptance.”
“No need to apologize, your grace. You’ve had far more important things to tend to with the Fae and your new wife,” he replied, switching his attention to Kailia. “It is lovely to see you out and about though, your grace.”
“It’s good to see you again, Lord Astor,” she replied with a smile of her own.
The lord clicked his tongue. “I told you before, you can call me Corveth.”
“Yes,” she mused. “You did say that when we discussed how we were both getting used to our new titles and roles.”
“And you are doing well?”
“I am, thank you.”
Cethin glanced at Razik. This was the most casual exchange he’d witnessed with Kailia, outside of speaking to him or Razik. Had they visited Everfall? No, because while Razik pushed boundaries, even he wouldn’t take the queen from Aimonway without notice.
“Well, don’t let me keep you standing out here in the town square for people to stare at,” Corveth said, clapping his hands together. “I was helping some folks on the edge of town with some sheep shearing, but I can escort you to the Everfall Manor before I head back out there.”
“Actually, if we could go to the site of the attack, that would be preferable right now,” Cethin said, stepping closer to Kailia.
“Yes, of course,” Corveth said in a rush. “Right this way.”
“You don’t want to Travel there?” Razik asked as the lord started down the road.
“I know this is important, but I’d like to see more of the town if we can,” Kailia said, looking up at him. “I rarely get to leave Aimonway.”
Razik shrugged, checking in with Cethin. “Doesn’t matter to me.”
While he would have preferred to simply get to the site and start searching, he’d also been making an effort to include Kailia more. He’d been meaning to bring her to Everfall for weeks, and they weren’t in any real hurry. It wasn’t as if their presence would bring back the dead.
“We can walk,” he said, letting his darkness brush along her arm before he pressed his palm to the small of her back.
She offered him a tentative smile, and he took it as a win.
Since her nightmare, he’d felt like they’d started over with the touching thing.
She was making efforts though, and that was all he could ask of her.
Well, that and for more details about her past, but he wasn’t about to push her on that right now.
They made their way down the stone streets, and as they did, Kailia drifted farther and farther to Corveth’s side, engrossed in conversation as he pointed out various parts of the town.
The city itself was at the base of the Olwen Mountains, crawling up the mountainside to the north and going deeper into the forest to the south.
Most of the homes and buildings were two stories high, constructed from the same stone as the streets.
Wood shutters adorned windows, while greenery climbed the sides.
As the city crawled up the side of the mountain, the roads becoming steeper, one could find the Everfall Manor at the north end, overlooking the city.
But as they went south, the houses and buildings became farther apart. Small animal farms, gardens, and crops were spread out, and beyond that lay Korra Forest, with evergreen and fir trees dominating over the ash and birch trees. It was a few miles into the forest that they came to a clearing.
Where they found nothing.
There was no dried blood. No signs of struggle or a fight. No ripped pieces of fabric, lost weapons, or paths that would indicate a body being dragged here.
There was absolutely nothing to show twenty-five Fae had been found dead here this morning except for the spots of crushed foliage.
“How were they discovered?” Cethin asked, watching as Razik prowled around the perimeter.
“Sheep farmer,” Corveth answered grimly. “The one I’m helping today. Some of his sheep got loose. We tracked them down and found them here.”
Kailia turned. “You found the Fae?”
The male nodded, his thumbs hooked in his pockets. “I sent word to the castle straight away. Commander Greybane was here within minutes, some others with him.”
“Jarek and Fallon,” Razik supplied, rubbing his jaw. “There’s nothing, Cethin. Nothing here that could indicate what happened.”
“I’m sorry to be a bother, but I did leave Henrik and Rania in a pinch,” Corveth said, wincing when all eyes fell on him. “If you have no further need for me, would it be all right if I return to finish helping them?”
“We can find our own way back,” Cethin said. “But you’ll join us for dinner?”
“Of course, your Majesty,” Corveth said with a bow. “Thank you for understanding.”
The male turned, heading back the way they’d come. If the farm was the one Cethin was thinking of, it was only a mile back along the path.