chapter 30
“They still at it?” Lila asked Ellie. They were perched outside the massive doors of the main chamber where Selene was sequestered with the Vyusher High Council.
Ellie couldn’t break her concentration to answer. Without Griffin close by, she wasn’t able to read any minds, so she had to rely on the good old-fashioned strategy of listening through the key hole.
“Twenty-seven hours and counting,” Alex muttered and flipped a page of the book he was reading.
Lila grinned. “You still here too, Alex?”
Without turning to look, Ellie put her finger to her lips. “Shhhh. I can barely hear as it is.”
Alex just shrugged and whispered, “I’m here to make sure she behaves.” He reached across the hall with a booted foot and tapped Ellie’s behind.
Ellie did turn this time to wrinkle her nose at her te’sorthene. She suddenly did a bit of a double take as it registered who was standing there.
She waved her over. “Lila, come here.”
Lila leaned down and stage-whispered, “What?”
“Can you feel any part of what’s going on in there?”
“Are you asking me to use my powers in nefarious ways?” Lila pretended to twirl an imaginary mustache like a villain in a cheesy old movie, receiving a stony glare from Ellie in return.
“You might not want to tease her right now,” Alex warned, only half-joking.
“Oh, all right. Sheesh!” Lila was silent for some time as she tuned in her abilities on the debate happening in the next room.
Finally, Lila relaxed from her intense stance and shook her head. “No one is lying, that’s the only obvious thing I can feel. They all believe their words with conviction. Emotions are all over the place… fear and frustration, especially.”
“Do you think you could help Selene out?” Ellie asked. Then she slashed her hand through the air. “Never mind. We can’t have them claiming that we interfered. She has to do this on her own.”
“Now your frustration is practically overwhelming me.” Lila clutched her chest dramatically.
Ellie gave her a playful swat. “Ha ha.”
“Someone’s coming,” Alex coughed.
“Hearing anything interesting?” a deep voice asked.
Ellie and Lila turned to see a tall, blond, green-eyed hunk of man staring down at them. He flashed a pair of perfectly white, straight teeth.
“And you are?” Lila inquired.
“Desmond O’Moore. But you can call me Dez.” He leaned against the wall, crossing one ankle over the other and casually stuffing his hands in his back pockets, the muscles in his arms flexing at the small movement.
“Ahhh…” Lila looked up him up and down. “Selene mentioned you.”
His full lips tilted up in a lopsided grin. “She did, did she? All good, I hope.”
Lila just shrugged. “I’m Lila. Ellie. Alex.” She waved a hand in their directions.
Ellie gave him a quick wave. Alex stood to shake hands and then sat back down.
“How’s it going in there?” Dez tipped his head toward the double doors.
“It doesn’t appear to be wrapping up any time soon. That Xavier guy just won’t lay off,” Ellie grumbled, as she pressed her face back to the tiny keyhole.
Dez gave a dry chuckle. “Yeah. That guy can be a major pain. Well, gotta run. Nice to meet you. Oh, and when she’s finally let out, tell Selene I said welcome back and I’ll see her later.” With a wink he wandered back down the hall.
“Are you looking at his butt?” Ellie squeaked.
“It’s worth looking at,” Lila replied unrepentantly. “I never could resist a surfer’s build.”
*****
Selene ignored the urge to run her hands over her face, fighting her mental and physical exhaustion. As soon as Charlotte had teleported them to the castle, Selene had called a gathering of the High Council. And had been met with immediate resistance.
“While we have permitted you to come here, that does not, by any means, give you permission to rule,” Xavier stated before the entire Council had even finished gathering.
Selene looked him directly in the eyes. “Let’s wait for all of the Council to be assembled, Xavier.”
Xavier’s mouth tightened, but he took his seat and waited in sullen silence. Once all the members had gathered, Selene stood and faced them.
“Just to make sure I understand. After essentially being disowned as untrustworthy and abandoned by my family, I am allowed to come here. I am allowed to bring my very powerful friends who defeated our entire pack, including my brother, whom not one of the Vyusher – myself included - could defeat. I assume that we are also allowed to fight for you? Defend you? Die for you? But leading you is out. Is that correct?”
For a good minute, no one in the room spoke. They were not used to their Princess being anything but polite.
“My Lady, I am sure that Xavier meant no offense,” Mireilla said, attempting to smooth over the situation.
“Then perhaps he should consider his words more carefully in the future,” Selene snapped. She paused to regain her composure. “I am here for the Vyusher. For my pack. I will never turn my back on them. I will never walk away from them. But I am no longer subject to the rulings of this Council.”
No one responded to that statement. After a few moments, Selene gracefully resumed her seat and folded her hands neatly on the table in front of her. “Now what, if anything, has been discussed so far?”
That had been twenty-seven hours ago, and still they sat there debating. Selene, for the most part, had remained relatively silent, preferring instead to see what arguments were put forth.
Xavier and Mireilla were determined that Maddox was not trying to hurt the Vyusher, but that in trying to apologize to the other tribes, he’d unwittingly stirred up the current conflict. Selene had just managed to cover her snort of disbelief with a discreet cough.
Others were still debating their options. They’d apparently already sent envoys to the tribes in an attempt to negotiate a truce. Not a single one had returned successful.
At least two of the tribes were considering declaring war.
Every time Selene had offered an opinion, she was shut down. The fire of her original outburst, stoked by impotent anger at everything in her life that had led to this moment, had burnt itself out. Her history of submission, with Gideon, with these Elders, all worked against her, despite her short bout of confidence. And the immensity of saving her people while dealing with these bureaucrats weighed heavily on her.
Even when Gideon had ruled over her life, she’d never felt as small and alone as she did at that moment.
“Council,” Oren spoke up. “I suggest that we adjourn this meeting temporarily. We all need rest, and perhaps a little distance will shed some light on our path.”
Rising gratefully, Selene hid her fatigue. Oren took her elbow and held her back so that they were the last to leave.
“I have placed the unconscious young lady in a very comfortable room near yours. While your friend Hugh says she’s somehow surviving without relieving any bodily functions, we went ahead and set up some basic medical care, like an IV. We think it’s magically induced. She’s frozen in some sort of stasis. Angelica is staying with her,” he murmured.
Selene raised her eyebrows. “I hadn’t thought of that. Angelica’s gift of soothing whomever she comes into contact with might just help the girl to wake up.”
Oren nodded as they exited the chamber. Selene was unsurprised to find Ellie and Alex lingering in the hallway, and she led them toward her chambers.
“We need to talk. Can you gather the others without anyone noticing?” she asked once they were safe inside her room.
“Yes, that’s easy enough,” Ellie nodded.
“There’s a clearing about two miles southwest of here. I’ll show Charlotte, and then we can all meet there tonight. Let’s say midnight?”
They all nodded, and Selene ushered them out of her room. She quickly found Charlotte and showed her where to bring everyone later that night. She returned to her room alone and gratefully collapsed onto the vast four-poster bed. She’d been waiting impatiently for this moment for several days.
Selene closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and concentrated on her gift. Sinking into a trance-like state, Selene opened her eyes to find that she was standing in a gloomy, misty nothingness. She knew exactly where she was… on the edge of dreams where she could pick and choose whom she visited. So Selene willed herself into Griffin’s head.
“Griffin?” she called.
Before she could enter the dream, Griffin shocked her as he came walking toward her in the mist. He’d never found her there before.
“I’d hoped you would contact me,” he spoke without preamble. “But I can’t talk right now. Where I am, I need to keep half my mind aware while I sleep in case I need to wake quickly. I can’t do that when I talk to you in our dreams.”
“I understand. Can you just tell me –?”
Griffin jerked his head to the side, as though he was listening to something.
“I have to go, Selene. You have to let me wake up.”
The urgency in his voice spurred Selene to act quickly. “Go. Be safe,” she called and let Griffin’s mind drift away from her.
She opened her eyes and stared at the intricately embroidered canopy above her bed. With a long breath she flipped onto her side, determined to get some sleep before she met her friends in the clearing. As she drifted back to unconsciousness, she had one final thought,
Please let him be okay…