His words sucked the air from the room, no one spoke, no one made a sound. I could not trust him, not after what I'd been through the past six months. As much as I was fond of Nathaniel and relished our time at the castle all those years ago, he is still my mother's elder brother and his nephew is king. Why would he give up on that to serve me?
"Why?" I breathed, it was ll I could muster at the moment, a part of myself knew that because of my fondness of him, if given a valid reason, I would believe hik in a heartbeat, but the other side of me, the queen i needed to be could not trust so easily.
"If we can't have a private audience, could you at least ask the guards to leave? It's getting stuffy in here" I obliged, nodding for the guards to take their leave, I motioned for the rest of the council to take their seats.
"Now why should we trust you're not here to betray us?" Acrisius asked immediately, I could tell the question was on everyone's mind, even mine. "The capital had been in disarray since the night of your escape, your brother has practically slaughtered hundreds in his pursuit of you, greatly influenced by Herbert"
"And my mother?" I asked flatly, wanting to know her involvement in all this.
"She ever remains the idiot, acting as though the problem does not exist" Ignorance, brilliant. Sounds like my mother alright. It comes as no surprise to me, Ramiel has always been her golden son who could do no wrong in her eyes. Nathaniel continued, "Your brother seems to be under the control of Herbert, doing whatever he advises and ignoring his other councilors and if that is how he intends to rule, I want no part in it" His face held determination and I was inclined to believe him.....almost.
"Even if what you say is true, how can I trust you?" Nathaniel smiled softly and reached into his pockets and brought out a small object that was covered in a white handkerchief, he slowly unwrapped it and once it was revealed, the eyes of everyone in the room widened in surprise, mine most especially. I hadn't seen it since the day of Ramiel's coronation.
I still remember that day, I was filled with unquenchable anger. I was jolted from my thoughts when he pushed his chair back, the wood scraping against the marble floor, Nathaniel sank to his knees before me, took my hand and placed my father's ring, one that had been passed through generations from king to heir on my middle finger.
"My sword is yours, my life is yours, I swear to serve you for the rest of my days...your majesty" Nathaniel declared, lowering his head. My heart pounded so hard against my chest, I didn't say a word for some time, as i relished in the beauty of the ring, watching the sun's rays bouncing off it. It was mine, a symbol of my legitimacy. My birthright.
"I accept your allegiance Nathaniel, and I thank you" he smiled and stood up satisfied. I took a deep breath, and another, and another before saying "Make sure my uncle is given proper accomodations and see to his needs" Nathaniel nodded his head in gratitude.
"If you would follow me, my lord" Kaida offered, and they both walked out, leaving the rest of us behind. "Are you sure we can trust him?" Drazhan asked,
"Not one bit. But he brought me my father's ring, knowing full well the cost. We'll watch him closely for now" He nodded, and laid back in his chair.
"I think it's time we ride ahead, we cannot sit here and wait for your brother to come to us, even if we fortify the city, we don't know the extent of the foeces that would meet is should they come" Damon suggested. Ace and Draz nodded in agreement, we could wait it out no longer, plus if I deny them, they'd probably do it anyway.
"Very well. It would also interest you all to know that I Kaida and I placed protective runes around the city, no one with ill intent shall pass through these walls as long as I stand."
They all looked at me in bewilderment, but nodded and exited the room, leaving Amenadiel and I alone. His quietness bothered me a bit, but i dismissed it and exited the chambers as well, with him at my trail.
~
I don't think I've fixated so much on an object before, even after hours had passed since it graced my finger. I stood at my balcony, the stone cool beneath my fingers and the breeze blew my hair into a frenzy sending shivers down my spine. It didn't bother me, I had my father's...no, my ring, that's all that mattered now.
Footsteps drew my attention to the left, Nathaniel appeared into view. His hair was neater, his clothes cleaner, a far cry from his appearance just a few hours ago. "The ring suits you" he said. I smiled lightly.
"I've spent time among your people. I have concerns" he leaned on the balcony railing and joined me as we stared at the city below.
"You have neither the men nor the allies you require to despose your brother"
"If you swore to me only to state the obvious uncle, I could have a carriage ready to take you back to Moonspear in less than thirty minutes" He raised his hands in surrender.
"I offer solutions. I have sent word to my men, they will march here within the week, some ten thousand strong. I've also sent word to my vassals and I expect replies in the coming weeks."
A weight had been lifted off my shoulders at his words. "Thank you Nathaniel"
He lowered his head slightly.
"There is also another matter of concern I must share. Since your escape from the capital, I have kept a close eye on Herbert and his movements, he possesses magic as you do. My curiosity got the better of me one night, and I followed him outside castle walls and into the dark forest," his words had my curiosity peaked. No one ventured into the dark forest because of the beasts that dwelled within. If Herbert went into the forest, it was definitely worth it.
Nathaniel continued, "There was an abandoned house in the distance, his hooded guards stationed everywhere. I can say for certain that the energy from that building scared the foulest beasts away"
I wondered what Herbert could possibly be doing in there that would require so much energy, it's definitely something worth looking into.
"Does Ramiel know about Herbert's doings?" I asked.
"He's oblivious to it" I thought as much.
"I have something to show you" I declared. The sound of his boots on the floor indicated that he followed closely behind me. We descended multiple steps as we walked into the dungeons, the stench of gore was strong as we approached Robert's cell. A guard opened the door, Robert sat at the corner of the small room, "I present to you, Robert Bane" I said to Nathaniel.
Robert looked worse than the last time I saw him, he now had large circles underneath his eyes, his skin had become paler and his collar bone popped out so hard I almost felt pity for the bastard.
"I'm not surprised you joined your traitorous niece, the duke was right, your death will be spectacular." He spat. I don't know what irritated me more, the sound of his voice, or his smell.
"What do you plan to do with him?" Nathaniel asked from behind me, "Kill him, but not now, he could prove useful." I turned to face Nathaniel fully now "To prove your allegiance to me, you will spend time with him and find out what he knows"
Robert's brows furrowed "I will tell you nothing!" I gave him a venomous smile "Right! You will be telling Nathaniel here everything you know" I jerked my chin towards him.
"Have you learnt nothing princess? No mattee what you do to me, I'll never break, never give in, you might as well kill me and be done with it" His display amused me, but i have no time for it "Veritas tempus" i chanted. Truth spell.
"Let's try that again" I said to Nathaniel, then left them both in the cell.
Leaving the small space, I veered left, making my way to Kaida's working quarters, it was a large room on this floor that had space for all her equipment. The door creaked open before I could get close, Kaida walked out, she wore a deep blue knee length gown. She stumbled at the sight of me, but recovered instantly and smiled nervously.
"What have you learnt of the banshee?" Creatures like her and many others had existed for centuries before my family took the throne. The age of magic they called it, but have since then gone extinct. We turned right, deeper into the dungeons.
Though i took the banshee's wail, she was still a dangerous supernatural creature, I would take no risk.
"Banshees are known to be harbingers of death, their wails are powerful weapons and yes, could be used as an asset to our cause..if you can make her" Kaida added.
The guard ahead pushed open the cell holding the banshee, her hands were chained to the wall on both sides and her hair hung low "What more do you want from me?" She croaked, her voice tired and spent. "You've taken my wail, I am of no use"
I saw an opening there "I can change that"
She lifted her head and looked at me expectantly.
"Where did you come from?" I asked, and it took her a while to answer "I was summoned from eternal torment by a man. I am not allowed to speak his true name"
I already had an inkling of who it was. "Do you have a name?" she nodded slowly, her chains rattled as she tried to right herself. "Celestya is my name"
"I am ready to offer you my protection Celestya, for a price"
She was quiet for a moment, reasoning my offer "Name your price" she said at last, a smirk pulled at my lips.
"Your loyalty"
She nodded slowly "My loyalty is-"
A loud scream escaped her throat, she balked in pain, Kaida and I exchanged surprised looks as blood began to pour from her eyes and mouth, her scream intensifying.
Celestya dropped to the ground lifeless before I could approach her "The hell just happened?" I asked bewildered.
"It appears she was under a contract spell, and when she breached it by trying to give you her loyalty, it cost her her life"