Chapter 19

I unfold the letter and glance down at the words written in perfect cursive. It says only a few words. Short and yo the point.

Evelyn Aculiac,

I have Gavrins' ashes. What do you have?

Miriam Temes

I give Sabrina a wide smile, threatening her with my eyes.

The audacity of a dying woman to come to me and attempt to force me into bartering my life away.

The old hag should have kept to herself. It's clear the young Anderson boy is involved somehow.

Mhmm, maybe his parents took the ashes. Or maybe Anderson is one of the left over Ravenna followers. I'll have to get a few people on it. Something doesn't feel right here. I just can't place my finger on it, yet.

I scan the brief letter once more before flicking a flame to life, the parchment in my hand burning, leaving only a few ashes that I promptly brush to the ground.

The cleaning staff can take care of that during the afternoon sweep.

As I look around the room, I see everyone here and on time.

As I prepare myself to speak, flashes of Haley enter my mind. For Flame sake, she's just so gross.

I smile brightly to the now full room as I look each and every one of them dead in the eyes.

"It's a pleasant surprise to see everyone on time. I am to assume you've already at least skimmed some of the reports and the agenda for today's meeting, yes? Yes. Perfect. So, lets get started, shall we?"

Still smiling I glance at Cassandra as she starts to speak in that condescending tone of hers, straightening the her lapels as words come out, "these reports are obviously falsified and I will not stand for this. You, though you may be queen, are nothing more than a liar."

I raise a brow as stare her down, our eyes locked in a battle of wills, me winning rather quickly. For a split second I see a shadow cross one of the many, oh so annoyingly bright, window panes. I let the image pass, still staring down Cassandra as she tilts her eyes down only slightly, not wanting to submit, but doing it all the same under the pain of her now boiling blood. A bead of sweat trickles down her pale cheek, almost looking like tear, buts that's an absurd thought. Varsillians don't cry, at least not any worth their salt.

"A liar," I press a hand to my chest in mock offense, "me?" I say in, well, mock surprise, "I don't recall having a bastard out of wedlock, or burying my husband under mysterious circumstances." I tap my chin, leaning forward, my legs crossed my eyes boring into her, "but that's off topic, now isn't it?"

She gives me a sickly sweet smile, the puffs of her breath cutting through the air, alerting me to how truly cold the room really is, "of course. We should, um, address the border incidents."

"Naturally," I pause, "Draven, would you?"

He nods his ascent, his chin dipping only slightly, his muscles twitching, " fourth eight children, just over a hundred women. All missing, dead Varkeshians left in their places."

"And dead crops in the border villages. They want to start cutting us off, surrounding us, that sort of thing. This is just the beginning." I continue, Draven then picking up, "if things go as we expect, they seem to be copying the first series of crusade sieges."

I glance around, gauging the reactions of the room. The first siege battles were bloody and just downright terrifying. They were the first battles between the first two worlds. It was the first time anyone had seen true conflict and long before the words battle and war were even created.

If the Varkeshians want a repeat of the siege wars, that means after they finish lighting the border ablaze, they'll start to poison every other food source we nave, starting with our shipments. During this phase they target women, killing, raping and tormenting them. After they've effectively starved and scared us, the next step is to kill off children. They'll be the weakest and the easiest targets. To add, children are also the next generation. Then comes the spies being planted in the capital and eventually, the first battle will take place in the dead of night after the one of the four harvest balls.

Glances of unease are traded between all of the council members, their minds clearly unsettled.

Windsor plays with his bow tie, straightening it and shifting it as his eyes dart between Harlan to his left and Cassandra to his right. He coughs quietly, straightening his tie out one last time before firmly planting his hands on the table, "I'll get some of my people on evacuations along the borders once we work out where to relocate them to."

Verity nods, "my family and I can start forming new trade agreements quietly if they target out supply routes, but-"

Verity turns to Sabrina, they make eye contact and- wait- do I sense some romance?

"I'll clear it with Miriam and we can start on drawing up new routes. I'm sure I'll be able to make room for, maybe, I don't know, two-three hundred relocations. There's a little land we've been building on in recent years."

Definitely romance. Between two married women no less. How interesting.

Draven nods his head at her, looking a little annoyed, for some reason, "I drew up some trade agreements these pasts weeks," he says, pulling a stack of pages out of the bag he had come in with, "have your mother look these over. The burned Ether especially. They're looking to get back on the map."

The Valeron girl takes out a flask, downing whatever was in it in a sip, "I guess I'll take over supplying more men to guard the outer villages."

I look around, mildly impressed that for once, this council isn't just having a pointless argument, "try to set up decoys, too. I want a few Varkeshians captured and taken up to the capital prisons for me to question," I turn my head to Windsor and he starts to fidget again, "and I have a few places for you to relocate most everyone along the borders."

He straightens his back slightly, tapping his fingers anxiously against the arm of his chair, "and where might that be?"

"Arsenic Aculiac helped to make-"

"That woman was half mad, drunk on blood and booze most days." Cassandra spits in disgust, her hand twitching, drawing my attention to her half gone pointer finger.

"She had a complex mind, she wasn't stupid and although she liked to indulge, she wasn't mad." I respond calmly. Everything is perfect. I don't need to lose my cool because everything is great, perfect.

"She was a taint on Mareelic and she should have burned for the Ordivine ' accident'."

"Ordivine was no accident. She cleared the desert because she built Lunata Nusquam Civitatem there."

"Then she was just a monster. Two thousand humans burned in that fire. Humans that had families. Lives."

"Where did these morals come from," I say, my voice incredulous. "While I agree that her methods were a little extreme, they were just humans."

"I would think with your human side you would have been a little disturbed that your precious aunt was so willing to harm your brothers and sisters."

I press my palms flat to the table, feeling the coop wood beneath me. I breath in and out. Calm. I will stay calm and level headed.

"Humans are no more my brothers and sisters than every fae being your sibling. As I was saying- Arsetti built contingency and a city beneath the Ordivine desert."

Dravens eyes shoot up, his voice coming out in some kind of twisted laughter, "that's not possible, or structurally sound. You don't build under six thousand feet of sand."

"Some of those tunnels also lead directly under the Varkeshian capital city, Var-mount. Not only will the city house a considerable amount of people, but we may launch our first attack through those tunnels without being spotted before hand."

Yells break out across the room, insults flying, every bit of pent up anger, fear and rage coming out in a rapid bust of aggression.

A sharp knock at the door starlets the room into silence and just as quickly as the fighting broke out, it stopped.

A smiling Rory Nivirah, twin sister of Haley Atkinsons, stands at the door. Just great. I shove at the thought of Haley's fangs in places fangs just shouldn't be. They look like the exact same person. If it weren't for the two light green specks in Rory's eyes, they would be the same person.

"I heard some ruckus in hear and wanted to check on you,my queen," she dips her head slightly, "must I remove any of these vagrants from your presence."

"Rory, dear, its been a long time, how's house Nivirah been, better without Ravenna I hope."

After hearing Ravenna's name everyone tenses slightly. Ravenna didn't just destroy my family, she spared no one her cruelty.

She had started the houses feuds and arrogance had kept them going. But she was blamed for everything.

"It's been fine rebuilding, I just wish we had gotten rid of the disease of a woman earlier."

A wicked smile to match my own.

"I think we all do, how is Anderson these days."

"My husband is well, for the time being. He's been causing me grief over some house matters, I've thought to take his whisky stores from him."

"How would my dearest Anderson live without his whisky."

"A mystery indeed."

"Indeed."

A moment of tense silence later and I realize the council is still in the room, Rory does too.

"This meeting is over, look through your reports later and the plans I've already arranged. Get back to me with any notes by the end of this week. And get your private affairs in order. Dismissed."

"Now, Rory, it's time we caught up."

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