Chapter 18
Eighteen
Sitting in the council room, everybody seemed on edge.
Visarous, most of all, sat brooding in the seat furthest from where I would be sitting.
However, considering it was a large round table, there was no hiding, no matter how hard he tried.
Sienna sat on my left, and Viv took her place on my right.
Geraldine sat between Visarous and Sienna—she was Cain’s second.
She had terracotta skin, brown hair that was cut down to her scalp and a stature that dwarfed Cain’s.
Her size alone made one doubt how she could be effective as a spy, but she was Cain’s second for a reason.
She was descended from the Mountain Fae and, like Cain, she had been ousted for a gift that should have been revered.
She could warp memories. Leaving no trace of herself in the minds of those she encountered.
She was quiet, but her presence and energy could be overbearing at times.
It was an uncomfortable quiet that rolled off her.
I sat in my chair and addressed them all.
‘As you are aware, I have sent Cain to Voldina to assist Jade in reclaiming her power on the throne and ousting those who are loyal to Morgad. This will free her to ally with us as we try to put an end to this war. In the meantime, Geraldine will be taking over Cain’s role and sharing his reports with us.
Visarous will begin preparations for the Ascension of the Souls shortly. ’
‘Don’t you have anything else to report my Queen?’ Visarous questioned in a most obnoxious tone.
I shot him a look that told him not to test me. What I shared with him and Sienna was not for everyone to know—at least not yet. This piqued everyone’s interest except for Sienna’s. She shot me a look to say she had warned me about exactly this.
I opted to ignore Visarous and instead addressed Sienna, asking her to provide a report on all that had transpired since we had left for the Academy.
She filled us in on the wounded from the border.
Since what I had done to their general was discovered, all attacks on our border stopped.
Geraldine chimed in to note that it did not seem to be the result of fear that they had stopped; instead, it seemed like their focus had been redirected.
There was much more movement than usual on the Morgadian side of the border.
Sienna confirmed this by stating that Wiccans were having to reinforce areas of the borders that they usually did not.
One much farther north, where the Ancient Forest existed, was not even a place the Forest Fae liked to visit.
It was filled with an old, darker feeling.
Viv decided to pull her forces back from the border a little deeper inland, as there seemed to be no immediate threat, and moved a battalion to where the activity appeared to be increasing near the Ancient Forest.
‘I want to know what has them so interested in moving toward the Ancient Forest. I saw maps in the generals tent that mirrors these actions.’
Everyone nodded in agreement, knowing I did not have to lay out how to do their jobs to uncover the truths I needed.
Before I could ask if anyone had anything of value to share, Geraldine began to update us on Cain’s movements in Voldina.
Jade’s entire council—all five members—would need to be replaced; all were under the thumb of the Morgadian king, but at the moment they could not identify any worthy replacements. He worked quickly.
Viv also informed Sienna and Geraldine about our newfound alliance with Prince Acheron. The others seemed to have a healthy amount of scepticism, but Geraldine did not so much as react.
‘Geraldine, is this not news to you?’ I enquired.
‘No, my Queen, we have suspected for some time the relationship between the two. But we deemed it irrelevant as we could not substantiate it and were waiting until it either posed a threat or an opportunity, and we had evidence to support either option. Now it is an opportunity thanks to your quick thinking with the blood oath,’ she said in the most matter-of-fact manner.
I felt white hot rage boil beneath my skin.
‘Why does everyone in this fucking room have a need to hide information from me?!’ I snarled.
‘That’s a bit rich coming from you, isn’t it, Skylar?’ Visarous shot at me.
I rose from my chair, no longer able to contain my anger. ‘Keep going, Visarous, and you’ll end up worse than how I left your sister,’ I spat back.
‘If there’s something we ought to be aware of, my Queen, then please do share,’ Geraldine said.
‘There is nothing. Now, I want to know why Morgad has suddenly become interested in the southern border and the Ancient Forest,’ I said, redirecting the conversation.
Sienna shifted uncomfortably at that. ‘I believe I know. My mother sent word this morning. The land in the Ancient Forest is tied to old and dark magic. We have our own wards around it to alert us to anything untoward. The Elders believe the Morgadian king is trying to find the source of this dark magic so he can use it himself. That magic is too corrupted and volatile for even all five Elders to control, let alone a measly Fae man with no drop of Wiccan blood in his veins. There is no telling what he may unleash upon us all. I’m afraid this confirms that his plans truly go well beyond the scope of our lands.
He wants the power to take all realms, and this is the weapon he has been waiting for to achieve his goal. ’
The room grew silent as we took in all that she said.
Geraldine spoke next. ‘We had long suspected that this war with Morgad was a means to an end, not the ultimate goal. It never made much sense beyond petty revenge, and no one would go to war with a realm for twenty years over mere vengeance.’
Except for me, maybe. I was definitely capable of something that foolish.
‘Skylar, he was never after your throne or our people. He was after something on our lands. This confirms it. He had been testing us, trying to delve deeper behind our borders in search of something. We still don’t know what this power is, but if he of all people wants it, then there is no chance he can have it,’ Viv said.
I turned to Visarous. ‘Search the old texts and see if there is anything the Spirit Casters may know. Sienna, contact the Elders, see what else they know, what they have not shared. There must be more. Wiccans do not set wards without an understanding of what the ward is there to protect from. If they won’t tell you, I will go there myself,’ I ordered.
‘I thought the same and have already pressed. They won’t divulge any more, but at the end of the letter, my mother asked me to bring a gift for the eclipse.
It did not make much sense, considering the eclipse is not for eight months, and I was also banished after assuming a position within your council.
I believe she’s telling me there will be a price for the knowledge. I say we go.’
‘Do we have anything more tangible to go on right now?’
Everyone in the room shook their heads—No.
‘Then we leave tomorrow. Viv, I need you to stay here. Watch over our people and protect our borders. Visarous, I need that research done before we get back, and Geraldine, any reports from Cain that need to be actioned are at your discretion,’ I said, dismissing them all.
As they all walked out of the room and left me to collect my thoughts, I sighed into the din. It seemed this exhaustion would never lift. The onslaught was continuous. I felt as though I was caught in the rip of an ocean.
The only thing left to do was consult the Oracle.
Holding the grand door at the bottom of the library's hidden chamber, I took a deep breath to collect myself. There was something deep within me that feared what the book would reveal, considering what I had just discovered. But I couldn’t run from my future, and given the damage that fleeing from my past had caused, I knew no good would come of it.
The inside of the dark and damp room, cast in blue flames of light, glimmered on the jewels of the Oracle, sending reflections of multicoloured light onto the stone walls.
Bracing myself, I waged a war in my mind over what I would ask it.
I knew what I should ask, but there was one thing I needed to be sure of first. As I opened the Oracle, black smoke seeped from its pages as I contemplated the question I needed answered—a question I had asked a million times before, but until now, nothing had ever occurred to make me think the outcome would change.
How would King Sebastian’s death come to be?
Slowly, the images came into focus before me, but the first thing I noticed was the familiar feeling that pulsed from the pages into my bones.
A feeling of peace and unbridled joy. Smiling, I knew as I looked at those pages that the future had not changed, and there it was.
King Sebastian lay dead at my feet, my sword coated in his blood, and I was smiling.
I could have wept in that moment. I feared that everything that had transpired introduced too many new variables into the world, and I would lose this future. One that I have been desperately working towards for what has felt like my entire life.
I pondered these new variables, and the next questions bloomed in my mind without warning. It was a question I had intended to avoid asking, but the Oracle latched on before I could change the direction of my thoughts; there was only one thing on my mind.
What does the future hold for Demir, my enemy and my soul bonded mate?
As the black smoke dispersed, I saw him sitting in front of me.
I outstretched my hand to him and he reached out to clasp it.
Then the images swirled, and it was just us again, facing one another, our foreheads pressed together as we breathed heavy breaths, tension filling the air.
Once more, the images swirled and then he was lying in my arms, lifeless.
A guttural scream escaping my body. It sent a shiver down my spine.
The images swirled again as I backed away from him, fear thrumming through my body.
Again, the pages morphed, showing me sitting next to him as the sun set, holding his hand.
Both of us were smiling as I leaned my body into his.
Again, the images began to swirl, but before they could focus on a new image, I slammed the book shut.
The edges of the panic crawling its way up my spine.
The Oracle only did this when it could not clearly see the way forward; instead, it threw out every possible variation of different points in the future that may or may not happen.
It did not know because I did not, and likely Demir himself did not know what to make of all this.
No single reality had truly been set in motion yet.
He did not even know that I felt the connection—not as he did—but it had snapped into place the moment I could hear his thoughts.
Would his knowing solidify any kind of outcome?
The risk was too high to test the theory.
I shook my head, banishing all thoughts of the man to whom I was inexplicably tied, the one who made my skin ripple with disdain. I considered what Sienna and I needed to do, whether our journey to the Wiccans would be successful and safe, and then opened the Oracle.
The black smoke pooled on the floor along the edges of the dais, and there I saw Sienna and me standing before the five Elders, including Sienna’s mother. I felt anger—my anger—roiling through me as I stood next to Sienna in this scene.
Closing the Oracle, I was content, at least, with the fact that Sienna and I would arrive safely. What the cause of the anger was would be unravelled soon.