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Jellen stood in the ruins of Ceradon castle and stared at the blackened circle of earth where Ferremor had perished. He was furious when he'd learned that Jessica had slain Emperor Thanatos and triggered the succession of the Shrouds of the Sixth Realm. How had he not been aware she was planning it? He could have watched the whole affair, watched Ferremor be consumed by the shrouds. He could have learned so much.
Now, all he had was a charred circle of earth, frozen solid by the impenetrable cold of Thanatos' shrouds. Years of study had come to an abrupt end, and he was no nearer to understanding the Emperor of the Sixth Realm than he had been two decades before. "Damn it!" he screamed. "Damn you, she-demon!"
For the first time since coming to Midia, he regretted not killing Jessica when he'd had the chance. She had never interfered with his plans until now, and he was certain the Oracle must have had something to do with it. When he was finally on the verge of understanding the vessel of the ruler of a realm, his greatest source of information was stolen away from him. He hated the Oracle so much.
He'd been so distracted with scrying on General Greywolf, he hadn't felt the shift in the energies on the planet until the event was over. It had taken him hours to realize what had transpired, and an unpleasant meeting with Lindimood and Melior to learn who had killed Emperor Thanatos. They loved to gloat when they possessed information he did not, and wresting it from them had cost all of his patience. He screamed wordlessly at the early morning sky, emptying his lungs till he felt giddy. Then he spent several minutes loosing energy at the ruined walls, blasting holes through what remained of the castle.
When his temper finally abated, he returned to the circle of dead grass and dirt. When the sun rose, it would burn away most of the residue of the shrouds. He quickly collected what energy he could, taking several samples of the dead vegetation and frozen earth. Meager as it was, he would learn what he could from them. Then he would spy on Jessica to learn how she'd managed to kill the third most powerful being in the seven realms.