Lorcan roared furiously, “That is the problem, Kaitriana! You did not have enough respect to plead for its return before you made the decision to return it. You act without thinking. You have the nerve to call me arrogant?” He laughed humorlessly, his eyes narrowing on her, “You truly desire neither my forgiveness nor my permission, because you have already determined that your actions are just. You only want my compliance.”
He closed the gap between them so quickly that it left her only to gasp as he gripped her neck again between hard fingers. The pressure was enough to cause her to flinch when he pinched her scar. He adopted a tone of icy indifference, “If you allow the Witch to return to Laverock, do not come back to my coven Kaitriana. I will no longer tolerate either your insubordination or your immaturity.” He shoved away from her and turned his back, “And if you allow the Witch to return there, do not be surprised when my warriors show up to remove you by force.”
When he turned back to face her, she was gone, having shadowed away during his rant. He did not know if she had even heard his warning. The impact of her leaving washed over him, devastation etched on his face. Lorcan assumed the girl’s abrupt exit was her answer and the grief of it was enough to overwhelm his fury. Woodenly he turned and called to his men, giving them their orders. He waited until Broderick returned to take up residence, having resolved during that period that he would be best served to count his blessings over the loss of the foolish female. That resolution still warred strongly with the heavy ache in his chest when he finally was able to leave for Breslein.
CHAPTER 27
The celebration in the hall below was already in full swing, the sounds of revelry and drunken witches rang off the stone walls. The sun would begin climbing in a few hours, but with the vampires notably absent it mattered not. Kat quietly exited her chambers in a full ballgown of black satin, warpaint and all trappings of combat removed. Pulling the door quietly, she turned and almost smacked her face against the shoulder of her grandfather. Myrrdyn peered down at her with a dour expression before shaking a long finger under her nose, “Kaitriana, your behavior tonight was unacceptable!”
She took a few quick steps back, but he did not pause in his tirade, “You are supposed to be encouraging Lorcan to his path, but instead you thwart him at every opportunity. Your conduct has insulted a great number of the Vampire. If Alaric’s words of hate were not enough to instill incurable animosity towards the Witch, your deeds may well be. I am not pleased with you, child.”
Her eyes had initially widened in surprise over the voracity of his rant, but by the end she was looking thoroughly ashamed and positively contrite. Kaitriana whispered with tears filling her eyes, “I know, Grandpapa.” With her head hanging low she pushed the door to her chamber open and stepped back inside. Once the Ancient followed, she nudged it closed and dropped unhappily to the edge of her bed. Glancing up at him, a few tears escaped. Her arrogance and temper had put her in the position of bearing the wrath of the two men she adored most in the Realm.
Myrrdyn almost took pity; it was obvious his precious girl was miserable. He had done her a disservice by instilling her with his unabashed pride rather than his skills at diplomacy. It needed to be rectified. Shaking his finger at her again, his words were deliberately harsh, “If you continue with your unbridled ego and conceit, you will be solely responsible for obliterating the Prophecy. Your failure will ultimately doom the Light.”
Pleased with her look of alarm, he was unrelenting, “You were wrong to invite the Witch to Laverock; it was not your right. Lorcan is the heir and if he chooses to allow Alaric to forbid our presence, it is his edict and you must obey it!”
Though she offered the appearance of meekness, her words still held a bit of challenge, “You put me here for five hundred years, why would I think it was not permissible to return?”
The anger snapping in his eyes had her biting at her lip and regretting her response when he launched another lecture, “I put you here for safety only, Kaitriana. That does not translate into permission for you to invite the entire Faction to join you.” He was frowning when he muttered, “I think your arrogance surpasses even mine, young lady.”
She returned his frown equally, “You are the most powerful Seer in the Realm, Grandpapa. Could you not have foreseen this and advised me of the pitfalls instead of allowing me to plunge enthusiastically into this debacle?”
Shaking his head at her, he gave a mighty sigh, “No, Kaitriana, because then you would just be doing as I instructed and you would never realize the impact of your own actions. You must reap the learning that comes from your mistakes. Finding your own way, no matter the obstacles, is critical. Humility will not come to you if you are never forced to own your failures.”
Myrrdyn gave her a penetrating stare, “If I tell you to submit to Lorcan and you are incapable of seeing the need for such…if you do it only because I direct you to…then your actions are devoid of sincerity.”
Picking at a non-existent thread on her skirts, Kaitriana merely nodded. She was mulling over his words and inwardly cringing at his lecture. Her grandpapa would not take her to task if she had not made a serious misstep. Sighing, she finally lifted her gaze to his, “How do I fix this? Lorcan will likely not let me within his gates much less listen to any explanation I might offer.”
Myrrdyn rolled his eyes, exasperated, “Your excuses are not what is needed, your heartfelt apology is. Do not offer him the words if you cannot see the rightness of it, Kaitriana. Be genuine or leave it as it is, lest you do further damage. If your intent is to request forgiveness, you need remove the Witch from Laverock first.”
He clasped her hand in his before he imparted the next bit, “I will tell you this much. You need to surrender your leadership, your ultimate authority over the Witch, to Lorcan. Your submission to Lorcan’s rule over the Realm is necessary.”
Kaitriana was aghast. She could not fathom that Myrrdyn would suggest the subjugation of the Witch to the Vampire. Her tone was incredulous when she finally found the words, “But we are the beginning of the Light; the Vampire were spawned in Hell. Our very origins dictate the proper order of rule.” She was certain, adding, “None of the Leaders will agree to give them authority in the Realm.”
Dismissing her words with the wave of his hand, he gave her a reproving look, “We are not submitting to the Vampire, Kaitriana, we are submitting to Lorcan. However, none of us can continue to think of the Vampire as less than the Witch. We are not supreme because we were the first of the Light. We were imbued with our purpose at Creation. If anything, it says more of the character of the Vampire that joined us of their own volition because they discovered the Light despite their ingrained disposition for evil. The Vampire of the Light are not lesser, they may in fact be more.”
As she gazed up at him, Myrrdyn could see the thoughts were warring with her long held beliefs. Shaking his head wearily, he sighed again, “You are the Chosen and you are now also of the Vampire. What does that tell you, Kaitriana? Who first controlled the Light is not relevant; who can now best guide the Light to victory is. The strongest and most capable must lead. Lorcan is our champion and it is your duty to bring the Witch to him.”
Standing, she nodded to him and smoothed her hands over her skirts with a heavy sigh, “I will try Grandpapa.”
The shaking finger was once more presented under her nose, his eyes roiling with anger, “You will do more than try, child. You will do this tonight! You will go to Lorcan’s Coven and present yourself and the vow of allegiance and fealty on behalf of all of the Witch in the presence of both factions. You will submit yourself and these Castes to his rule without delay.”
“How am I to sway the Witch, to convince them that this is the best course?” when she looked at him in question, Myrrdyn offered her only a scowl. Biting at her lip, she rubbed tears from her cheeks, “You think they will support me in this? Abide by my decision?”
His words were biting, “Is this your decision?” Her eyes had al
ready given him that answer but he waited for her nod of affirmation. Relenting somewhat then, he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, “You have an ally amongst the Leaders and you will have me there to lend my support. You are the Chosen so it is up to you to deliver the words that will cause them to follow you.”
Cocking her head at him, she asked simply, “Who among them is my ally?”
With a mysterious smile he gave her a nudge towards the door, “The one you least expect, dear.”
Looking back over her shoulder she allowed him to continue prodding her along, but her expression soured, “You cannot mean…”
Myrrdyn nodded and gave her a wink as he closed the door to her rooms behind them, “He is a powerful Witch, Kaitriana. You find him overbearing, but he is very astute, as wise as he is shrewd. If Kendrick is not careful, Caedmon will easily usurp him in the unofficial leadership of the Castes. Many find him to be coldblooded, but he understands the workings of the Realm better than most. He also has already discerned that the demise of the Darks will come only through Lorcan’s leadership. I have no doubt that you will discover you have his support tonight.”
Rolling her eyes, she made a face, “I would rather have the support of one that I find less offensive.”
Myrrdyn only chuckled. He liked Caedmon, seeing a strength of character in the younger male that reminded him much of himself in his ancient beginnings.
Kaitriana paused on the staircase overlooking the hall and the celebration that was continuing below, wistful, “I hate to make them leave Grandpapa, this is their home.”
His arm slipped around her shoulders as he guided her on down the steps. Myrrdyn did not answer until they reached the bottom and began heading toward the clustered group of Leaders, “It is what must be for now, Kaitriana. You must compose yourself and present the face of confidence to them. If you show reluctance or hesitance in this, they will oppose you.”
At her nod, he gave her shoulders a final squeeze. Dropping his arm, he slowed his approach to lag a few steps behind her. She schooled her face serenely and offered a smile to the group as they turned to her. Their warm regard for her was easily seen. Their Chosen had delivered on her promise to begin taking the Realm back from the grip of the Darks and had done so with amazing success.
She stopped next to Kendrick, directly opposite Caedmon in the circle. Her eyes clashed challengingly with the cocky green-eyed male for a brief second before she looked away to the others, “I believe that I am responsible for a serious misstep within our faction tonight. I should not have flaunted our possession of Laverock to the Vampire. In doing so, I have placed our ability to enter into a newfound alliance with them in jeopardy.”
Kaitriana was amazed when she saw a number of the more elder leaders nodding in agreement to her words, so she continued boldly, “Lorcan is the Warrior of Light, equally Witch and Vampire. He is also a far more experienced leader than I and that, coupled with his ancient origins, make him more than my equal. I might not have been able to deliver on my promise of success were it not for him lending his support to our mission this night. We need his leadership and in order for that to happen he will require our abiding allegiance.”
As the direction of her conversation was becoming clear, a few less were openly giving their support, “I intend to turn Laverock back over to Lorcan shortly. We will need to vacate the castle once again and we will not return unless we are invited.” Caedmon caught her eye and winked, flashing a grin at her. The distraction caused her to falter for a moment before she said resolutely, “I intend to go to Breslein tonight and offer my pledge of fealty to Lorcan.”
Those words brought immediate and varying responses from the group. She quickly brushed them off, “I hope that you will all see the wisdom in this and join me but the choice is yours. Lorcan should be the leader in this war against the Dark. He is the best suited and the most skilled and he will undoubtedly lead us to victory if I give him my support. The Prophecy must be fulfilled and the breeds must be reunited. Only Lorcan can bring the Vampire to come together with us again, I cannot do it without him. I do not want to try to do it without him because I will be dooming us to failure if I arrogantly ignore these truths.”
A heated debate ensued. With seven leaders, all of strong personality, offering their opinions there was no need for further words from Kaitriana. She settled in to listen to the conflicting sentiments from each, allowing them the opportunity to form their decisions separately and as a group. She had already given her personal decision to them, now she needed to provide them time to properly analyze her proposition and determine their own feelings on the matter. Even if Myrrdyn disagreed, her decision was that she would not lead by dictate. If the Witch followed her to Lorcan, it would be by choice.
At the end of their lengthy discussion, she noted grudgingly that Caedmon had done no small amount of artful persuasion in his arguments supporting her. That her grandfather had shown solidarity with the Spell Caster by joining the circle and adamantly agreeing with the other had not hurt her cause either. It was Kendrick alone that remained steadfast in his opposition.
Having failed in his appeals, Kendrick disregarded all tact and directed the force of his upset at her, “Kaitriana, the others may choose to follow you in this because you are the Chosen. I believe we should reveal this for what it is. You want to return to the vampire and this is the most expedient way for you to accomplish that goal. Do you think we are all not aware that Lorcan has marked you? We are not fools. If you choose to align yourself with the Vampire because you want to belong to Lorcan, that is your choice. I do not think that we should yield rule to Lorcan merely because you want to be his whore.”
The faces of all the other leaders in the group mirrored their shock at the attack. Some might have thought that Kaitriana was swayed a bit more in her decision by her affection for the vampire, but none believed that the girl would suggest the Witch relinquish their authority for such reason. The girl was their Chosen, and as young and brash as she might be at times, none would be so bold as to disrespect her position in such a manner.
Kaitriana was sputtering with her indignation. She could not quite decide whether to laugh or scream in response. She knew the import of taking control of the situation and setting Kendrick properly in his place. Out of the periphery, she saw her grandfather begin to move forward, so she quickly gave Kendrick a scornful look that matched the tone of her reprimand, “I am not his whore, Kendrick. I adhere to the teachings of the Ancients and if you did the same you would know that my vows are required before I grant any male that privilege. You malign my character with your accusation and I will not tolerate your slurs.”
Stepping directly in front of him, she laid her open palm out between them. A glittering silver blade appeared magically, laying across it. The calmness of her tone made the implicit threat in her words all the more chilling, “I intend to be his mate, that is fact. I am not opposed to relieving you of your tongue before I go to him. The many months it will take to grow back should give you adequate time to consider the need to use it more wisely in the future, Kendrick.”
Kendrick started to quarrel, but she simply held her other palm up as an indication to cease. Her eyes narrowed on him as they flickered with darkness, “You are not a Queen, you merely hold a transient place of leadership in the Warrior Caste in the absence of the true ruler. I think you have forgotten the way of things in these Castes. How dare you speak to any leader in such manner! Is it your jealousy because you feel woefully inadequate in comparison to the Warrior of Light or are you just supremely ignorant in your prejudice towards the Vampire breed?”
She took a step forward. Borrowing her grandfather’s words from earlier, she was only mildly surprised that she found the truth in them now to be absolute, “You cannot continue to think of the Vampire as lesser beings than the Witch. It matters not that the Witch was first of the Light. It is a matter of who can control the Realm, who is strongest and the most able leader. My first respo
nsibility, as is all of yours, is to see that the purpose of the Light is fulfilled. Lorcan is the most skilled and it is our duty as keepers of the Light to submit to his rule and offer him our allegiance.”
When faced with the agreement now spilling forth from all the Leaders at her impassioned speech, Kendrick had no choice but to fall in line or be ostracized. He indicated so by giving her a slight nod and stepping back from the immediate circle of those gathered.
The dagger disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Kaitriana knew Kendrick had not yet found peace, just as she also knew his would not be the only dissent within the faction. It might take the warrior a bit more time to settle into this, but she had no doubt that he would. He was a smart witch. Opposition would lessen as the Light gained more victories under Lorcan’s lead. The alignment of the leaders was enough for now.
Myrrdyn nodded his approval. Kaitriana could see the pleasure in his eyes and she felt a rush of joy and pride. She had accomplished the task he had set before her. Before turning to go prepare herself, she gave a final instruction, “Prepare your people, we will leave before the hour ends. I will need each Caste’s sword as well.”
Nodding farewell, she skirted her way back through the throng of partying witches, only to be brought up short at the base of the stairs by a hand on her arm. Turning, she found herself gazing upwards into a glittering green stare. She wrinkled her nose at Cade in aggravation.
He merely laughed and patted her atop the head before capturing her chin between his fingers. She attempted to shake him off, her irritation rising when he held firm. Peering down, Cade surprised her with his praise, “Good show tonight, pet. Perhaps there is something worthwhile in you yet…”
Kaitriana only quirked a brow at him, refusing to engage.
Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series Page 22