Chapter 31

Selene sat on her throne—back straight, hands draped elegantly along the arms of the chair. Her father had once received dignitaries from other tribes in this room. Now it was her turn. Although where the doors had previously been, now there was a giant gaping hole from the day’s attacks. Dust and debris covered everything in a fine layer and hung in the air, making each breath dry and rough. Still, this was the best space to hold this many people.

Before her stood Marcus, Stephen, and James. Surrounding them throughout the chamber were the rest of the Louisiana tribe, Griffin and his entire family, the Vyusher High Council, and many other Vyusher who had fought that day.

Marcus swept Selene an old-fashioned bow. “Having witnessed your past, we are now in agreement that those who were truly responsible for the attacks against us have paid with their lives. Having fought side by side with you against the one named Maddox and his assailants, we hope we’ve proven our own trustworthiness. We will withdraw, of course. But first we would prefer to negotiate a treaty of peace between our tribes.”

Lucy says their intentions are true, Griffin’s voice sounded in her head. She glanced at where he stood off to the side and gave him a tiny nod. She turned her attention back to Marcus.

“Thank you,” Selene accepted simply. “Peace is what we wish for as well. I couldn’t ask you to join us as allies, but would you consider speaking on our behalf should other tribes attack?”

“My lady,” Xavier interrupted, but stopped when she held up an imperious hand.

Marcus glanced at the Council member, then turned his attention back to her. “Of course. It’s the least we could do. However, I also believe that we are already in danger. I’m guessing that if Maddox doesn’t know that we helped you today, he’ll find out eventually. We would like to call on the Vyusher powers and numbers for protection when, or if, we ever need support.”

Selene considered the request, a bigger step toward peace than any treaty would ever be. “I appreciate your honesty. And our protection is something we will absolutely offer. Why don’t you all stay so that we can take the time needed to form a treaty that will, hopefully, benefit us all?”

Marcus rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “We wouldn’t want to impose.”

“I have an idea,” Ellie said.

Selene’s eyes moved to where her friend stood a few feet off to the right. “Ellie? You have a suggestion?”

“My te’sorthene and I planned to be married in the near future and this castle would be such a lovely setting, we’ve decided to have the wedding here. With Selene’s permission, of course. We would consider it an honor if you and your clan would join us as our guests.” She flicked a glance at Selene, who gave her a mental thumbs-up. “You can also spend that time negotiating the treaty.”

Selene peeked over at where Alex stood. The huge grin spread across his face told her he had no issues with his fiancée’s suggestion. She turned back to Marcus and was pleased to see him smiling as well.

“We would be happy to stay and help Rene’s grandson celebrate such a momentous occasion,” Marcus said. “Although I do have to say that attending a wedding was definitely not what we had in mind when we came here.”

Laughter—part amused, part relieved—echoed through the hall, a welcome sound after the noises of screaming and death.

“Come…” Selene gracefully stood and offered him her arm. “Let’s find you places to stay.”

“Do you have enough room for all of us?” he asked, as he walked with her into the hallway.

Selene chuckled. “It’s a large castle,” she assured him.

* * *

“Selene?” Lila’s voice sounded from behind her.

Selene was seated at the large oak desk in her bedroom. This room had been ransacked during the fighting, but nothing of great value had been taken, and it had easily been put back to rights. Looking at it now, one would never guess at the battles that had raged inside these walls.

“Come in,” she called.

Lila poked her head around the door. “Hi.”

“Hey, Lila. How are you?” Selene waved her farther into the room. She watched her closely. Something was off with her friend, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.

“I’m fine.” Lila closed the door behind her and walked over. Peeking at Selene’s computer screen, she wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. I thought you’d finally wrapped that treaty up?”

“We have. I’m just reading through the final draft.” Selene passed a weary hand over her eyes.

On top of helping Ellie plan the wedding on short notice, Selene had been occupied with sorting through the aftermath of the fighting. Funerals had to be arranged and many hours spent negotiating not only peace, but a coalition, with their new allies. Thank goodness she’d decided against summer school—one less thing to deal with right now. And, of course, there was—

“Still no luck finding Maddox?” Lila asked.

“When did you start reading minds?” Selene sat back and shook her head. “No luck yet. Sheila’s having trouble tracking them down, but they’re familiar with her gift and can probably evade her for a while.”

“What does the Council say?”

“They have no idea where he would’ve gone or what his next move will be. We can’t even figure out what they took. Finding Dexter’s mother in those cells implies there were others with her and they took them. But no one here knew anything about any prisoners down there. I have no idea how they even survived. It’s a waiting game now. At least we’re gathering allies.” She waved a hand at her computer screen.

“Speaking of Dexter’s mom,” Selene continued. “How is she doing?”

“Fine. Considering she’s lost decades of memory.”

Not even Griffin and Ellie together had been able to unlock her mind. She had no recollection of her life after her capture—at least they assumed she was captured—by the Vyusher. She definitely had no idea how she’d ended up in those dungeons, only of a thick gray mist swirling about her, a mystery Selene feared they’d never solve.

“How about we talk about something happier? Why did you come visit me?”

Lila grimaced. “I’m afraid I’m here about one of our other mysteries. Can you come with me?”

Selene laughed. “Well, I needed a break from all this legalese anyway.” She stood and followed Lila out of the room. “What’s this about?”

“Dad thinks your unconscious little friend might be waking up.”

“Oh, well, that’s good news.”

They walked the few doors down the passageway to the room where they’d placed the girl. Lila stood aside and let Selene precede her. The girl still slept, tubes and contraptions attached to her. Hugh stood beside the bed, his hands extended over the girl’s prone form, palms down. He glanced up.

“How’s it look?” Selene asked him.

“She seems to have at least come out of that stasis, or hibernation, or whatever it was. She’s still in a coma, but the nature of her sleep has changed, so I think she might be close to waking.”

“When?”

Hugh shrugged. “Days. Weeks. Months even. It’s hard to tell.”

Selene reached out and gave the girl’s hand a squeeze. She wondered if yet another mystery would never be solved. She patted Hugh on the shoulder.

“Thank you. Keep doing what you can for her.”

Hugh nodded and continued his work. Selene and Lila headed out.

“Let’s go find Ellie,” Selene suggested. “I could use some wedding planning time after the day I’ve had.”

Lila grinned. “Now you’re talking.”