Chapter 14

Kellan held Nora’s hand as they sat and listened to the Council’s report. Five days had passed since Nora’s poisoning and they weren’t any closer to knowing exactly what had happened.

Treaties and respect for boundaries prevented Kellan from sending troops into the Southland. He had no way of knowing if it was a rogue demon or a number of them involved with the attempt to kill his mate.

If the Demon King was behind the attack, Kellan would go to war. Or, at the very least, remove the king’s heart.

“Any word from your father, Nora?” asked Niles, one of the Councilmen. He seemed to be the eldest and most level-headed. He also smiled a lot and Nora liked him more than the others. He, at least, laughed at her feeble attempts to jest.

“Yes. He and my sisters left for the Sanctus Femina two days ago. He thought it best to speak with Theron, the temple priest, since he is the only person in all of Imperium to have regular contact with both the Prajna and the Sundari.”

Several of the men nodded their heads. Theron held meetings with each of the four rulers periodically. He was often sought out for guidance or to pass along news.

Sanctus Femina was considered sacred ground and, therefore, neutral territory. It was a mystical place with immense power and no one dared to desecrate its land. Rumor had it, to commit any unlawful acts on holy ground, would be to knowingly court the wrath of the Goddess.

The only female on the Council was Rhona, and that bothered Nora. She thought wolves would have been less sexist, especially with the degree to which they honor their mates. She would ask Kellan about bringing in more women in the future.

“Also, I think he was worried about my sisters and thought they might be safer on sacred ground. Though, I’m not sure why he thinks anyone would harm either of them.”

Rhona leaned forward, her face serious. “I would have to agree with Edward. As we have no idea what the motive was, we don’t know who else could be targeted. And, if you are the only intended target, would it not weaken you in some way to lose your sisters? Would you not be tempted to go to their aide? No, I would not leave any of you susceptible to attack.”

Foley, who was sitting on the other side of Kellan, kept his eyes on the center of the table. He had been unusually quiet this meeting. He seemed bothered by something. He was Kellan’s closest friend, so he noticed the subtle change in the wolf.

“Foley?”

Foley tore his eyes away from the table and tilted his head in Kellan’s direction. He knew Kellan would want to know what was on his mind. He had been debating whether or not to speak to him privately.

“I agree with Edward’s decision. Eden and Evelyn are safe at the temple,” Foley replied.

“Somehow, I think you have more to add,” Nora stated. She, too, noticed his reticence.

“Foley?” Kellan pressed again.

“I think … I suspect there is something much bigger happening. I don’t believe this was a simple assassination attempt. My gut is telling me something is not right in Imperium.”

Kellan thought the same, but he chose not to interrupt Foley as he spoke. He was a voice of reason on this council and typically had an insight the others lacked.

“Think about it. Too many things are amiss. Our forests are sick. Dying, in fact. And we do not know why. Rumors have amassed of demons gaining new powers. The Gwydion’s? Something is happening there, as well.”

Foley was now looking directly at Nora. “I’m not asking you to betray anyone’s trust, Nora, and you may not even know this, but we could barely pick up scents of magics in the market the past two times we visited. Are they shielding now? Hiding their talents? Or are they losing them?”

Nora didn’t know how to respond. She knew wolves could smell magic whenever it was near, but she knew nothing of the scents fading. Or of the elementals’ magics disappearing.

“I—I don’t know why that would be. I have not heard reports of people learning to hide or shield. Why would they need to do such a thing?”

“I don’t know. I just know that it was drastically different. None if it is explainable. None if fits together in any way that makes sense. And now we have an assassination attempt on an elemental, a wolf that has had her memory tampered with, a demon trespassing on our lands, and a Prajna involved in some way. All four kingdoms involved.”

Nora’s mind was whirring, trying to make sense of it all. There was very little commonality in what Foley was saying, aside from the two negatives for those living in the Northland and the Westland. That gave Nora pause.

“Except, well, if the Gwydions are indeed losing power, it would make them extremely vulnerable, correct?” she asked.

“Yes,” Kellan responded.

“And the forests dying in the North would make the Burghards extremely vulnerable, as well?”

Kellan nodded, following his wife’s thinking.

“The demons are increasing power in some manner. They are the only entities that cross the borders to the North and West on a regular basis. And we don’t know much of the vampires aside from one being in that clearing where they found Isla. What if—what if they were in on it together? Two kingdoms in delicate positions, the other two gaining power?”

“Or the Prajna could be weakening, as well,” offered Rhona. “We have no idea what is happening in the East. I believe the one common thread here is the demons. They are the biggest threat.”

The room was silent as each Council member pondered Rhona’s words. The wolves had never been particularly fond of the demons, but a war between the kingdoms had not occurred over a thousand years.

“I thought the threat to Imperium was supposed to come from the West,” Niles said.

A roomful of heads snapped to the old man.

“Excuse me?” Nora asked, confused by the comment. Gwydions weren’t a threat to anyone.

“Nora’s mother was the most powerful elemental to ever live. She not only controlled all the elements, she also had visions. And, on the rare occasion, she would go into a trance-like state and prophesize.”

His eyes fell on Nora. “True?” he asked.

It was common knowledge that this happened. Nora’s mother had done it since childhood. As she got older, it happened more and more, sometimes in front of others, and there was no way to keep it secret.

“I saw the scroll in the temple, Nora. I’ve spent much time there in the past,” Niles said.

Nora shook her head. There had to be close to a thousand scrolls in the temple. Most of them had come from Elora. Each one contained one of Elora’s predictions or the prophecy of some other being gifted with sight.

Nora was not familiar with them all. Her father had only let his children look at a few of them, claiming the others were fragments of nothing important.

“The one where she predicted her father’s death,” he continued. “It mentioned each of the other three kingdoms, as well as Gwydion. It was the only prophecy, as far as I know, to specifically mention all four kingdoms. It also contained a warning, to heed the threat from the West.”

Nora cleared her throat. “We always assumed that meant something from beyond our western borders. From the ocean.”

“It’s possible. But there’s no way to know, is there?”

Nora stared at Niles. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to get at. She had no insight into her mother’s prophecies. Only that her people put great faith in them.

Niles shrugged. “There are a number of other scrolls. It would be worth reading them, seeing if we can find anything related. I mention this for two reasons. One, quite a few of Elora’s predictions pertained to truly terrible, threatening events. Which is exactly what is happening now.”

“And the other reason?” Nora quietly asked.

“Reason two? Because, child, your mother was never wrong.”