by G. K. DeRosa
“That is why I am here,” said Lilliana, “and more importantly why all of you are here too. I will perform a spell to retrieve the vision from the Guardian’s subconscious so that you may all witness it for yourselves and be the judges.”
More muttering broke out among the seated as varied murmurs of approbation or opposition floated through the crowd.
“I will begin now,” said Lilliana, nodding for Celeste to come forward.
Celeste’s heart was pounding as she took a deep breath, willing herself to stand. Roman quickly jumped up and held out his hand to help her up. Her eyes locked onto his for an instant and in his deep blue irises she found the strength she needed. Letting go of his hand, her legs wobbled underneath her as she trudged the short distance to the center of the semi-circle to join Lilliana.
“Sisters,” Lilliana bellowed as she raised her hands in the air, “I ask that you join me in this incantation to confirm my words to be true.”
The leaders of the three other covens mimicked Lilliana’s gesture, raising their hands toward the darkening sky. Celeste closed her eyes as Lilliana placed her upturned hands over her head and began chanting. At first Celeste felt a slight buzzing in her ears then as Lilliana continued to recite the ancient words, the droning elevated to a fevered pitch. Celeste felt certain her head would explode from the incessant vibrations that rippled through her skull. She had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from screaming or from begging Lilliana to stop. Just when Celeste thought she wouldn’t be able to take another second, Lilliana finished the spell and all went silent in her mind.
A shimmery gold haze encompassed Celeste’s body and then Lilliana began to draw it from her as if it were on a string. She beckoned it forth and everyone watched as the thread started to take form as it rose up into the sky. Celeste looked up, following the golden mist as it transformed into a clear image. Before her and everyone else a vivid scene began to replay. It reminded Celeste of an old movie projector displaying a film at a drive-in theater, only there was no projector and no white screen. The images simply floated in thin air.
Celeste had an overwhelming urge to avert her gaze as the terrible scene of her father’s death replayed for all to see. But she clenched her jaw and focused her eyes on the magical movie screen, as did everyone else. A mix of murmurs and gasps could be heard from the audience as they witnessed Astrid’s part in the twisted tale. As the final part of the vision neared, Celeste’s eyes flickered toward Roman’s. While everyone else’s attention had been glued to the display, he had been watching her. When their eyes met, the pain she saw reflected in his murky blue irises mirrored that of her own. She fought hard to choke back the sob that threatened to burst forth as she turned her gaze back to the mystical projection and saw her father’s body crumple to the ground.
Everything went black as the golden shimmery image vanished and silence then permeated the air. Lilliana slumped down in her chair, exhausted. Her task was complete. Stellan stood and marched to the center of the semi-circle to address the stunned faces all around him. Celeste had been too preoccupied with the scene to notice the Queen’s reaction, but now she hazarded a glance. Her pale lips were clenched into a thin line and her face nearly matched the color of her snow-white hair.
“As you all have seen,” began Stellan, “it is more than evident that Astrid, princess of the Fae, youngest daughter of the Queen, had a key part in aiding Magnus, the vampire, with the murder of Kristof Wilder.”
A series of nods and grim expressions spread through the sea of faces seated in the semi-circle. The Queen’s face tensed and her royal guards followed suit. Each had their golden spears drawn at the ready, their muscles twitching.
Dante rose to his feet and faced the assembly. “Queen Elsbetta, what say you about this accusation?”
The Queen stood slowly, keeping her composure as her guards flanked her on both sides. “It is a blatant lie.”
“So you deny that your daughter, Astrid, had any part in this sordid affair?”
“I categorically deny it and beyond that, I would like to counter with an allegation against Stellan. This is obviously an elaborate tale concocted to slander my daughter and the royal family. I will not stand for such insults.”
The elder from the Commission of Sorcerers rose slowly, leaning on his silver cane. “I can vouch for Stellan with all certainty that what we all saw today was not something of his creation.”
The older coven leader with the bright red hair stood up as well. “I also vouch that the spell Lilliana used to project the vision was undeniably true.” The remaining two witch leaders joined her on either side, then nodded solemnly to confirm agreement with her words.
“It appears that what we have seen this evening is the truth,” said Dante, “and as such it is now our duty to determine how Astrid is to be punished.”
The Queen spun toward Dante with a venomous glare, her burly soldiers packed in around her. She narrowed her eyes at him and hissed, “You have no say over royal Fae affairs.”
Now it was time for Jaxon, Master of the Werewolf Alliance, to speak. He had been quiet during the majority of the exchange, but found he could no longer hold his tongue. “You are mistaken Elsbetta. We all have a say in this matter as it affects the balance of all of our communities. I have dealt with Declan and the Black Devils along with all errant werewolves under my rule. It is now time for you to do the same.” His eyes glowed a bright citrine as he growled the last few words, his wolf threatening to burst forth.
Celeste was brimming with excitement at the words of support from the sorcerers, witches and even werewolves. Finally she thought she would be able to avenge her father’s death and she could move on with her life.
The Queen scanned the audience as if committing each and every face to memory. “I don’t owe any of you anything. I am the Queen of the Fae and I will have no part in this farce.” And with a brilliant burst of light, she and her four royal guards disappeared.
“Well, that went well,” muttered Nico to Roman as the remaining assembly sat in an uneasy silence. Roman shot him a nasty glare and elbowed him in the stomach. “Oof!”
“Go check on Mom,” Roman said as he jumped to his feet and headed toward Celeste and Lilliana. Both women looked like they had had the wind knocked out of them.
“What do we do now?” asked Celeste, trying to keep calm, but her shaky voice betrayed her.
Roman put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. “This went well, Celeste. Now everyone knows what Astrid did and the Queen will have no choice but to punish her.”
“Not exactly,” said Dante with a grim expression as he turned to face Celeste. “As much as I hate to admit it, Elsbetta is right. We really don’t have any say over Fae matters. We can certainly impose sanctions against the Fae to try and force her hand, but I’m afraid we don’t have many options.”
Marja chimed in next. “It’s true, we can all refuse to include the Fae in certain supernatural matters and ban them from our respective realms, but beyond that there is no tribunal that oversees all of the communities. There is no way to enforce any sort of punishment.”
Celeste looked over to Jaxon, hoping the tough werewolf Master would have some encouraging words. He stared blankly back at her and shook his head.
“There has to be something that we can do!” she shouted.
Roman tightened his grip around her shoulder, bringing her in closer to him. “We’ll figure something out, I promise,” he whispered.
Dante took a step toward Celeste and stared directly into her eyes. She saw a flash of compassion and sympathy in his face that she had never seen before. “I’m sorry, Celeste. I wish there was more we could do. I had hoped that the Queen would give in to reason, especially with all of us here.”
Balthazar got to his feet and stood by Dante’s side, directing his words to Celeste. “Be assured that we will no longer engage in political relations with the Fae unless the Queen addresses this mat
ter. I will convene a diplomatic mission in a few days to see if the Queen and her royal court will see us.”
“That’s probably why she didn’t invite the other royals to attend today,” said Stellan. “She was concerned they would not side with her if it came down to protecting her daughter.”
Lilliana was listening attentively to the entire conversation, but hadn’t said a word. Nico knelt by her side, watching her anxiously. It was clear the spell had taken a lot out of her, but she was trying to put on a brave face in front of the others.
“Do you really think the Queen knew what Astrid did all along?” asked Celeste.
“There is nothing that goes on in Fae that the Queen is not aware of,” replied Balthazar.
Celeste could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her. If the Queen had been covering for her daughter all this time, there was no way she would punish her now. Astrid would not only get away with helping Brazen for months, but now she was getting off scot-free for her dad’s death too. It felt as though a small fire had been built in the pit of her stomach and it was growing wilder by the minute, devouring her from the inside.
“Celeste!” shouted Roman as he saw a flash of black consume her eyes. His voice grounded her, bringing her back from the brink. She ran her hands over her face and shook her head roughly from side to side. “Come on, let’s get you inside,” he said, putting his hand on the small of her back and urging her toward the house. Celeste’s body was trembling as she tried to push back the rage and bury it down into the far depths of her being.
Celeste lay in Roman’s bed with a cool compress covering her eyes. She was breathing slowly, and though she couldn’t see Roman she could feel his presence hovering nearby. She had spent the past ten minutes in silent meditation centering herself and restraining the dark urges that had begun to spiral out of control. Just outside the door she could hear Stellan talking to the departing guests and thanking them for their support. She needed to be out there talking to them and convincing them to help her stop Astrid. She pushed the towel off of her face and slid her legs over the side of the bed.
“What are you doing?” asked Roman, rising from the adjacent chair.
“I’m fine. I can’t sit in here anymore. I need to get out there and talk to everyone before they leave.”
Roman placed his hands on her shoulders and made her look him directly in the eyes. “Stellan will take care of it. And you heard Balthazar, he’s going to try the diplomatic route again.”
She slipped out of his grasp and threw her hands up in the air. “You know as well as I do that’s not going to work.”
“If it doesn’t, then I promise you we will stop Astrid ourselves. We’ve gone into Fae before and we can do it again.”
Celeste looked into Roman’s blazing eyes and was once again filled with hope. There was no one she trusted more to fight by her side and bring her father’s killer to justice. Incited by his sincere words, she quickly closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. Once contact had been made, Roman responded hungrily, devouring her mouth with his own. As she kissed him, completely consumed in his scent and with his strong arms wrapped around her, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that everything was going to be all right.
The sound of a new voice outside the door tore Roman away from the heated moment. As he pulled away from her, the fleeting sense of security began to fade as her mind filled with all the uncertainties surrounding them.
“It’s Alek,” whispered Roman, his superior hearing having overheard his half-brother’s voice.
“What’s he doing here?” asked Celeste as Roman shot past her in his move toward the door.
“Maybe he’s found a cure,” he shouted over his shoulder as he ran out of the room.
Roman and Celeste encountered a rather tense scene as they approached the entrance foyer. Dante, Sierra and Dalla stood face-to-face with Alek, each locked in stares of varying degrees of animosity, while Stellan and Lilliana stood to the side warily observing the interaction. As if having heard something from outside, Nico and Marco walked in through the back door just at that moment to join the awkward gathering.
“What are you doing here?” asked Dante.
Alek regarded him coolly. “I have an urgent matter to attend to regarding my mother. It is of no business of yours.”
“It became my business the moment you decided to occupy the space where Council members are.”
Celeste watched their exchange from behind Roman’s shoulder, curiosity getting the best of her. I guess the short-lived truce between Dante and Alek is over.
Stellan finally stepped forward, dispelling the growing tension. “Dante, Alek is telling the truth. We are working on something together.”
Dante’s head spun toward Stellan as his eyes bulged out comically. “Why would you ever work together?”
Celeste couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. She moved in front of Roman and confronted Dante. “You’re one to talk! You’re the one who suggested we get the immortality stripping potion from Alek just a few weeks ago.”
“That didn’t mean that all of his past transgressions were forgotten, or that I expected you to all become the best of friends,” Dante roared.
Sierra placed her hand on Dante’s upper arm, her gentle touch temporarily calming him. He grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. “I expect that whatever this temporary truce is will be resolved shortly?”
“Yes, we certainly hope so,” said Stellan.
Alek glared back at Dante with an arrogant grin. “Don’t worry Dante, I won’t bring up your rude behavior to our mutual friend.”
Dante’s dark brows furrowed as if he were trying to put together the pieces of a particularly difficult puzzle. He was about to open his mouth when Dalla interrupted.
“Come now, I no longer wish to be in this villain's presence,” said Dalla, her eyes raking over Alek. The expression was so exaggerated that Celeste immediately realized it was all for show. Stellan, too, shot her a knowing smile.
Dante rotated away from Alek to once again face Celeste. “Please keep me apprised of the situation.” She nodded and he, Sierra and Dalla turned to leave.
Once the door closed behind them, Celeste peeked through the peephole to confirm they were gone. This had been quite an interesting day after all. She was relieved that Dante was not in fact on Alek’s side, but now she had a million new questions forming in her mind. Who was this mutual friend to whom Alek had alluded? And Dalla’s reaction to Alek’s presence couldn’t have been more obvious: she was definitely the witch who was helping him unlock the Negrusurori power. Celeste wanted nothing more than to discuss all of these recent revelations with Stellan and the others, but for now she’d have to hold her tongue and find out why Alek had returned.
“They’re gone,” she said as she turned back to the others.
“Good,” snapped Alek. “That Dante can be so meddlesome at times.”
“At least he’s not evil,” retorted Celeste.
Alek made a stabbing motion toward his heart and sneered at her. “You wound me so, Guardian,” then he paused. “You should be thanking me. If it weren’t for me, you would have never known the truth about your father.”
Roman vamp-sped across the room, suddenly standing within only inches of Alek’s face. “You could have saved us all a lot of trouble by just telling us exactly what you knew.”
“Now where would the fun have been in that?”
“Enough,” said Stellan sternly. “Have you found something to cure Lilliana or not?”
“Of course I have,” he answered with a proud grin. He moved toward his mother and put an arm around her. “I told you that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“It’s your fault this is happening to her in the first place,” said Nico, pointing his finger angrily.
“She wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for me!” shouted Alek.
“Boys!” cried Lilliana, threading her way in between them. “Now is
not the time for fighting. Please, Alek, tell us what you’ve found.”
Nico took his mother’s hand and helped her to a seat by the couch. They all followed behind him as Alek took center stage in front of the fireplace.
“As you know, Stellan and I were up all night researching both light and dark magic.” Celeste didn’t like the way Alek had put a special emphasis on the word “dark” when he spoke. It sent a chill up her spine as she remembered what they had discovered about the power of the Negrusurori and Albsurori blood running through Alek’s veins. “After Stellan left, I found the answer.” He placed his hands palm-up in the air and a massive book appeared.
“That’s the Negrusurori grimoire,” said Lilliana, her mouth gaping open.
“Yes, I’ve been researching my heritage.”
Celeste couldn’t believe he had admitted it. What exactly is he up to?
Alek stepped toward his mother who was seated in her chair looking expectantly up at him. It was clear that he loved the attention by the eager gleam in his dark eyes. He bent down in front of her, clutching her hands dramatically. “Mother, I must make you human once again.”
Chapter 24
“What?” shouted Roman and Nico in unison.
Stellan’s gray brows creased as he pushed his glasses further up his nose and considered Alek’s statement. Lilliana hadn’t said a word; she merely stared at Alek in confusion.
“It makes perfect sense, really,” said Alek. “The mystical energy required to sustain a powerful witch is much too high to withstand over the long run. However, the life of a mere human could be easily managed.”
“So I would no longer be an Albsurori witch?” asked Lilliana, finally able to string the words together.
“No, I’m afraid not,” answered Alek.
“But you’d be alive,” said Nico, rushing over to her.
Lilliana’s eyebrows knitted together as she contemplated her decision. She searched Stellan’s eyes, hoping for an answer.
“He’s right,” Stellan said finally as he scratched his long beard. “It may very well be the only way.”