Hyacinth (Book #2 in the Svatura Series)

by Abigail Owen

  “No.” Selene shook her head. “I need to face them alone. It’s the right thing to do. I’ll just have to find a way.”

  “You could at least let me work with you outside of Council hours on controlling your fear. Maybe while we’re at school… away from here?”

  Selene was so surprised by that statement, she did a bit of a double take. “What do you mean? I’ve been controlling my fear all of my life. I had to with Gideon as a brother.”

  Lila grimaced. “From what I can tell, it’s not that you control your fear. It’s more that you push it so far down inside you that it just doesn’t show. But you’ve been doing that so long it has built up in your system, like a toxin. That’s what’s holding you back. We need to find some way to purge that poison from your soul.”

  Selene stopped walking and turned to her, trying not to laugh. “You think my soul is poisoned?”

  Lila frowned and rolled her eyes. “Me and my big mouth. That’s not really what I meant, exactly. You’re a good person, inside and out. My mother, my sister and I— we all have gifts that allow us to see this about you. But what your brother put you through —and I know you haven’t shared even a fraction of the reality with us—has left a wound inside you that continues to fester. Maybe poisoned isn’t the right word, but you’re definitely hurting, whether you realize it or not. And we want to help you.”

  Selene gulped. “You think you can fix me?” she whispered.

  “Not on my own yet, not completely. It’s a skill I’m still developing. But with Ellie’s help, yes, we can heal you.”

  Selene took a deep breath, shocked at how much these words affected her. She’d always assumed that she was damaged goods, but having it confirmed had been like having an icy-cold hand reach inside her chest and squeeze her heart.

  “Thank you,” she murmured as she hugged her friend. “Tonight? After the Council meeting?”

  “I’ll meet you in your chamber and bring Ellie. Adelaide, too,” Lila replied.

  Selene smiled briefly and then headed off to argue with the Council yet again. But this time with a lighter heart.

  Chapter 32

  “To do nothing would be the equivalent of signing this pack’s death warrant,” Xavier snapped, glowering at Selene.

  Selene remained composed despite the antagonism directed at her. “I don’t believe that do nothing were the words I used,” she declared. “I said –”

  “We all heard what you said, Princess,” Xavier cut her off. “We’ve been listening to you and getting nowhere for months now.”

  “You cannot, in all fairness, put the state of this Council’s indecision on my shoulders alone, Xavier,” she countered. Her voice remained soft, a stark contrast to Xavier’s harsh tones. It gave Selene a small amount of satisfaction to witness how the calmer she remained, the louder and more agitated Xavier became.

  “You said it. I didn’t. I only said we’ve been listening to you speak a great deal.”

  “I’d say we’ve been listening to you shout a great deal more,” Oren said, stepping in to defend her yet again. His posture mirrored his sardonic tone, elbow thrown casually over the back of the chair, eyebrows raised mockingly.

  Xavier narrowed his eyes, as the other Council members chuckled.

  Selene took advantage of the momentary break in tension and pressed the point she’d been trying to make. “I think we should send an envoy to the clans Maddox has turned on us. Try to negotiate a peace with them.”

  “After what we did to them, peace is not an option now, and you know it. Besides, we already tried that and got nowhere,” Xavier growled. His eyes glowed with an eerie sort of light as he gave a small demonstration of his wolf. Xavier was an alpha by nature and had only deferred to Selene’s father, and then to her brother, because they’d been more powerful alphas.

  Selene averted her gaze. She forced herself to keep from ducking her head as well, though that was her first instinct. Technically, she was an alpha too, but she’d never felt powerful enough to directly confront Xavier. She hated this aspect of being part of a metamorph wolf pack… all the hierarchy drama.

  “I agree with Selene on this point. Sending envoys to seek peace with these tribes is the appropriate step,” Sara, one of the other members, spoke up.

  “I can’t agree,” Thomas’s gruff voice sounded before Xavier could turn on Sara.

  Selene hid her disappointment behind her calm façade. Thomas rarely spoke up in Council meetings, though when he did, the others tended to listen. He and Ida were the oldest members and possibly the oldest people in the pack. The two of them were true elders in every sense of the word. Selene had hoped that Thomas might be counted on to be reasonable at least.

  Thomas continued, “What we did to those clans, despite it being against our will, was horrendous. Sending our people to negotiate peace will likely only result in their deaths.”

  Selene contained a deep sigh and just barely restrained herself from drumming her fingers on the table. “Are you suggesting that we just sit back and wait to be attacked?”

  “Obviously there are no easy answers here,” Thomas conceded. “I think that first we need to have a clear leader.”

  Selene paled. It was as if Thomas had just slapped her across the face.

  “Exactly!” Xavier slapped his hand down on the table.

  “Let me guess. You nominate yourself?” Charlie, another Council member, spoke up, eyebrow raised.

  “No,” Xavier replied, but Selene knew he was lying. Smugness settled over him as he saw that he had the full attention of the Council. “I suggest a union of our two strongest families, which, at the same time, will provide us with a true alpha to lead us.”

  “What, exactly, are you suggesting, Xavier?” Oren asked impatiently.

  “I’m suggesting that Selene marry my son, Desmond.”

  *****

  Selene couldn’t breathe. Something was weighing on her chest, crushing her lungs, and she just couldn’t get any air in. Sheer, unadulterated panic was consuming her. And she couldn’t stop it.

  I knew the Council had little faith in me, but this?

  As much as she liked Desmond, Selene knew she couldn’t be tied to someone who wasn’t her te’sorthene. She ran a hand through her thick hair and pulled it back from her face as she weighed her options.

  Silently gliding through the hallways of the castle, appearing her normal serene self, Selene made her way to the chamber where Angelica was sitting vigil with their still unconscious visitor. She let herself into the room and closed the door. Then she made her way over to the bed and gazed at the girl’s sweet face.

  Angelica closed her book and looked up.

  “Any change?” Selene asked.

  Angelica shook her head. “No. She continues to sleep peacefully and without any movement. No worse. No better.” Tilting her head to the side, she continued, “But you didn’t come here for her this time.”

  Selene gave the other woman a tired look as she smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle out of the comforter on the bed. “No,” she agreed.

  “You’re upset about something and needed calming.”

  “Yes.”

  Angelica pursed her lips. Then she shrugged and returned to her reading. “Okay.”

  Twenty minutes later, Selene slowly made her way back to her own room. Lila and Ellie wouldn’t be there for another half hour or so, and she was extremely grateful for the privacy as she closed the heavy doors behind her. She slumped down on the bed and buried her face in her shaking hands.

  What the hell should I do?

  “They gave you a rough time, huh?” Griffin’s deep voice caused Selene to spring to her feet with a shocked gasp.

  The one person she’d been desperate to see the last few months was now lurking in a dark corner of her room. All of the hurt and frustration of the day, of the last many weeks, welled up and exploded on the person who had abandoned her.

  “What are you doing here?” she spat at him.

 
Griffin ignored her question. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Do about what?”

  “The Council? The pressure for you to marry? The danger your people face?”

  Once again the feeling of panic overwhelmed Selene, stealing the breath from her lungs.

  “I don’t know,” she stated in a lifeless voice.

  “You do know,” Griffin countered.

  Selene stormed over to him. “Don’t tell me what I do and don’t know, Griffin Aubrey. You haven’t been here. I… don’t… know…what…to …do!” Her small fists pounded his chest with each word.

  Suddenly, Selene stopped her assault. She took a deep breath and stepped back, her face regaining its serene expression, even as her hands flailed around.

  “I can’t… I can’t…”

  Griffin very gently took her face in his hands, centering her focus on him. “Yes, you can. You know what to do, Selene. Lead your people. Help them survive this. Help them find their way. Be the alpha that they need. I know you have it in you.”

  “They don’t want me.”

  “They need you,” Griffin insisted. His steady strength reached through to her, filling her. “And I … we will be here with you, every step of the way.”

  Selene gulped. She desperately wanted to believe him. She needed to believe him. She needed him.

  She lowered her gaze and let out a small chuckle.

  “Where have you been?”

  Chapter 33

  Ellie’s voice sounded from across the room. “That’s a very good question. Any luck?”

  Griffin shook his head and headed over to give his sister a hug.

  “Any luck with what?” Selene glanced back and forth between the twins.

  “Griffin!” Lila squealed, rushing to greet him. Adelaide offered him a shy smile.

  “Where have you been?” Adelaide repeated Selene’s question.

  Griffin offered a slightly crooked smile to the girls. “It’d probably be best if we gathered the entire family.”

  A knock sounded at Selene’s door, and she opened it to find Desmond standing there. A lock of his golden hair fell into his eyes. He pushed it back with a casual hand.

  Her face hardening with irritation, Selene moved to slam the door in his face, only to have him stick out his foot and block it. In an uncharacteristically serious voice he said, “I had nothing to do with that suggestion, Selene. You have to believe me.”

  “Do I?” She tilted her chin and met his gaze with steely resolve. “I’d like you to leave.”

  “Can we just talk for a— ” He broke off and glanced over Selene’s shoulder where Griffin now stood beside her, his hand on the door.

  “Can we help you?” he asked.

  Selene fumed and crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t quite sure which of these two men she was angrier with at the moment.

  “Desmond, Griffin. Griffin, Desmond.” She waved an irritated hand between the two men.

  “Desmond,” Griffin gave a quick nod. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too, Gary,” Desmond replied,

  “Griffin,” Selene corrected him with a frown.

  Desmond’s eyes cut back to Selene. “Can we talk? Please?”

  Her lips tightened. “Maybe later, Desmond.”

  Ignoring Griffin, he leaned in closer. “It’s Dez. And I’ll hold you to that.” He turned and walked back down the corridor. Selene softly closed the door behind him. She’d thought he was her friend. With a small sigh and a shake of her head, she turned back to the others.

  “All right. Let’s get the rest of the family in here. Apparently, Griffin needs to tell us what he’s been up to.”

  As she finished speaking, Charlotte appeared, accompanied by Dexter, Hugh, and Nate. “Griffin, you scared me half to death popping into my head so suddenly like that,” Charlotte gently chastised him while giving him a hug. “I didn’t even know you were back.” She then disappeared to gather Ramsey, Lucy, and Alex. Once everyone had been collected, all eyes turned to Griffin.

  A grim solemnity settled over Griffin. He stood behind Ellie’s chair and grasped the back of it with his hands.

  “No good,” he said simply.

  “What was no good? Can someone please explain to me what is going on?” Selene demanded, her patience wearing thin.

  “Griffin has been out trying to negotiate with the clans that Maddox has infiltrated,” Ellie answered.

  Selene’s shocked gaze darted to Griffin, who merely shrugged. “I thought I might be able to show them the truth and defuse this situation before it escalated.”

  “Were you able to find any of them?” Alex asked.

  “Yes, a few. I found one clan in Brazil, one in Egypt, a couple across Europe, and one in Louisiana.”

  “Wait.” Selene held up a hand, “How did you find them?”

  “Oren and Sheila have been helping me locate them,” Griffin admitted.

  Selene absorbed that piece of information in silence, repressing her annoyance at being kept in the dark. She motioned for him to continue.

  “Most of the tribes refused to speak with me. The Louisiana clan, who are holed up in a swamp, by the way, sicced a metamorph on me. So I would say they were rather hostile.”

  “What kind of metamorph?”

  “An alligator.”

  “Awesome!” Nate crowed. “Ellie, you gotta touch that guy so you can be an alligator, too. Add it to your list.”

  Griffin wasn’t amused. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t so awesome when I didn’t have the option to fly away. Ellie was too far away for me to use her falcon.”

  “Still think it’s pretty cool,” Nate muttered. Adelaide gave him a gentle nudge.

  “Something I don’t understand, though,” Griffin continued, “is that all three clans appeared to be fairly large. I’m talking twenty-five, fifty, even a hundred in number. How is that possible? I thought Gideon would’ve found them for sure.”

  Selene cleared her throat. “I hid them from him,” she admitted. “Or more accurately, I hid them from Sheila.”

  “But Sheila found us,” Hugh pointed out.

  “And I thought you could only hide small numbers of Svatura,” Alex added.

  Selene folded her hands neatly in her lap and sat up straight. “I knew about those clans because we’d attacked them before,” she explained. “When I started hiding the survivors from Sheila’s watch, as I did with you—” Her eyes flicked to Ellie and Griffin. “They were in very small numbers. But they quickly banded together with others. I found that my powers to keep them off Sheila’s radar grew with their numbers. As long as I knew about them first, I could hide them.”

  She let that sink in for a moment. “And to respond to your comment, Hugh, if I wasn’t aware of someone to hide, Sheila usually found them before I did. That’s how she found you first. I would’ve protected you if I could have. I hope you all know that.”

  “Of course we do, sweetie.” Lucy crossed the room to sit beside Selene and hug her. “We trust you. It’s just that there are things we’re all still learning about each other.”

  Selene managed a small smile.

  “My Lady.” Oren’s ghostly projection appeared in the center of the room. Looking around the faces, he paused a moment at Griffin to offer him a brief nod. To Selene, he said, “My Lady, urgent news. Samuel believes an attack is imminent! He thinks whoever is about to attack is just waiting for warmer weather.”

  “Who’s Samuel?” Dexter asked.

  “He has the gift of prophecy,” Selene explained. She glanced back at Oren. “Gather the Council. I’ll be there directly.”

  Oren gave a small bow and disappeared.

  Selene turned to the others. “Hugh, please fill Griffin in on the plan we’ve been practicing. Lila, Ellie, let’s get started. We only have twenty minutes or so.”

  “Get started on what?” Griffin asked.

  Adelaide laughed. “It’s between us girls.”

  Chapter 34

&
nbsp; Once the room was cleared, Selene, Ellie, Lila, and Adelaide sat on the floor in a circle and held hands. Closing their eyes, Ellie and Lila started immediately. First Ellie pulled some of Lila’s ice-blue light into herself. Rather than either of them having control, they both worked together, giving the power a strengthened effect.

  “You see it?” Lila asked.

  “Whoa!” Ellie exclaimed. “You’re right. A deep black scar slashing across her. Selene, I am so sorry for whatever put this here. Whatever it was must have been terrible.”

  “Yeah…” Selene murmured, a blush staining her cheeks. She disliked sharing anything about herself. “Can you fix it?”

  “In the short amount of time we have, probably not. I think this will take a lot of sessions to work through.”

  Selene deflated a little. She’d hoped…

  “But we can do a little something tonight to help you with the Council,” Ellie continued. “I suspect that your personality is naturally strong-willed, given all you’ve survived. Even if we can heal just a little of that wound, I think that would give you the boost you’re looking for.”

  Selene smiled, surprised at how pleased she was with the idea. “I’d appreciate anything you can do.”

  “All right,” Ellie agreed. “Hold on because this is going to hurt.”

  Ellie closed her eyes. She centered first on the ice-blue light inside Lila. Rather than pulling it into herself to control it, instead she enhanced it inside Lila, making it glow white-hot. Together Lila and Ellie pushed that intense light into Selene. Right into the heart of that scar. Selene grunted, but otherwise remained still and silent. At first the light was consumed, the black hole inside her swallowing it up. But Lila and Ellie worked together and waited patiently.

  A small whimper escaped Selene’s lips. “It burns.”