Enden all but rolled his eyes. “Princess, a war? With an enemy we’ve never heard of?”
“Maybe you haven’t heard of them but I have. Perhaps you need a Delhoon historian.”
King Enden’s scowl turned soft and he started laughing. I looked at Zyacus who appeared as perplexed as I.
Enden stood and Zyacus followed. I didn’t know if it were on ceremony or if a natural reaction. Enden raked his fingers through his dark hair. “You sound like your mother.” Shaking his head he picked up his glass. “She would speak to me that way and not many people do.” He stared off for a moment as if lost in a memory. “I honestly can’t fathom a war with an enemy from across the great oceans but if it should, we will certainly stand with Delhoon against any common enemy.”
Finally! He’s at least coming around to the possibility of this.
The doors opened and in walked an older gentleman in black robes as well as the king’s advisor, Jershon. Both looked tired around the eyes but no complaints came from waking them in the middle of the night. They bowed and waited quietly.
Enden took his seat. “Have either of you heard of a blood moon occurring within the last five hundred years?”
The two men exchanged glances and Jershon gave a slight shake of his head. “I’ll leave this to the historian.”
The man in the robes, the historian I presumed, stepped forward. “Sire, this is something I have come across previously but since it was such a long time ago the scrolls were tattered and difficult to read. A red moon held in the sky for a month. Sickness and famine were mentioned but the ink was smudged and not much else could be made out.”
I stepped away from the table, too antsy to sit and fold my arms. That proved old man Erwin knew something of what he talked about.
Zyacus began to slowly walk the room.
Enden took a sip from his glass. “We’ve been through famine and sickness before. Was there mention of magical, pointed eared, perhaps even blue-skinned beings from across the sea. Visteal called them Fae.”
The Historian looked a little confused. “Uh, no sire. Nothing like that.”
Great, now he won’t believe me. I remembered Zyacus had seen them before too. “It must have been the Fae who ordered the attack on the academy. Zyacus and I both saw a Fae man at the academy retrieve the scepter they used to infiltrate our magical defenses.”
With a surprised expression, Enden looked to his son. “You never mentioned this before.”
Zyacus stopped pacing. “It’s true. A man with pointed ears took the scepter and left through a portal. He didn’t have blue skin but there was something different about him. The magic he used was different. The vampires said they were paid to attack us. Who would have paid them? The Nordians to the south are not unified and don’t have the resources. The rest of us on this continent are allies.”
King Enden picked up a string of grapes and plucked one. “Let’s say that both of you did see people a little different than us. We have no proof they are many or that they mean us harm. And after Hesstia enslaved magic born people for such a long time I would think you, Visteal would be the last person to jump to conclusions about those who are magic. This is all speculation and I’ll not hear any more about it. I’m tired.”
Before I could think of a remark, a note fluttered out of the closest candle. Everyone in the room watched it float and fall into my hand. I swallowed hard when I saw the royal seal of Delhoon lightly inked into the paper. Oh no. Tugging on a corner I unfolded it and my stomach dropped when I read: If you are not home within the hour I will come to get you and that would be embarrassing for all of us. Signed ~ Your Mother.
I stuffed the note in my pant pocket. “I need to go.”
“I’ll escort Visteal to the library.” Zyacus bowed to his father and took my hand.
“You and ten guards.” Enden moved toward an exit.
We stepped out of that room and into the hall where Taz shot to his feet, rubbing his eyes. He fell into step beside us. “What did I miss?”
I shrugged. “Not much other than the historian and the king think the Fae don’t exist. We’re going home.”
Taz looked confused. “You told them about the ultra-powerful guy with silvery blueish skin who attacked us?”
“I did. And they still weren’t convinced.”
∞∞∞
When we stood in front of the portal, I kissed Zyacus softly. “See you in a week.”
When I turned to leave, Zyacus still held my hand. “I want you to know that I’m with you. I believe you.”
I smiled. I knew he would be on my side. “I hope your father will come around. And I hope that this blood moon thing doesn’t even happen and we can have a fun, safe year at academy.”
Zyacus chuckled as if that were an impossible dream. “If last year were any indication of the future, I’m sure it will be eventful. Aric may need our help now that he’s, you know. He is coming back to our academy, and making sure he stays out of trouble will be a task. He’s only written to me once to say he’ll be returning and not to worry about him, but I imagine he will struggle.”
“Alright,” Taz cut in. “The sun is going to rise soon. We need to go.” I hadn’t yet told him that we’d been caught.
With one more quick kiss, Zyacus said, “See you soon.”
And with that Taz and I stepped into Delhoon. The guards on the other side glared as we came through but it wasn’t them who held my attention. My mother stood, arms folded and seething with rage. Beside her, Legacy gave me a pitiful half smile.
Chapter 8
Without a
