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“Lecture me later about how it was unsafe. Right now, listen,” I say sarcastically, and his face falls flat.
I fight back a laugh.
“We know big rumors typically come from the castle. What if Leopold planted it as a test to see if the villagers would accept Theo as their new king?” I ask, trying to work through the thought as I go.
“Possibly. But why?” Nyx retorts.
“I’m not sure yet. I don’t think we are wrong about Leopold having a plan to attack Umbra. But I’m not sure why. I think Theo might be a pawn in his plan.”
Nyx’s head bounces from side to side lightly as he analyzes the different possibilities. Leopold is a man consumed by his hunger for power and often makes illogical decisions.
“So, how does that work with Theo being in Umbra? How is Leopold going to use him if he’s dead?” Nyx wonders out loud with obvious distaste.
I interlace my hands under the table.
“I don’t know, but I think Theo being here could be useful to us,” I say, leaning forward.
Nyx crosses his arms on his chest and looks at me doubtfully.
“How? I see him as a liability to all of us, especially you. We should send him back before he can learn anything or do any harm,” he practically throws the words at me.
“Leopold trusts Theo. He must, if he is willing to have him wed his only heir and the future divinus of his kingdom. I have to believe that if we can show Theo that we’re not just monsters and beasts like they have taught him in Lux, if we can win him over, then maybe we can gain an ally in Lux,” I answer.
Nyx rolls his eyes so hard they might get stuck in the back of his head.
“I know you don’t trust him ...” I trail off.
“And you shouldn’t either! You think you know him, Lily, but you don’t. He’s lived his whole life under the rule of lying, deceitful men who have done nothing but feed him stories about how cruel we are. He sees us as the enemy. He’ll do anything to destroy us,” he says, leaning forward, closing the distance between us.
“I have to try, Nyx,” I say as he shakes his head. “He survived the haunted forest when no other guard has. The fates and the gods brought him to me for a reason,” I continue.
I pray it isn’t to have me die trying to protect him.
A knot in my chest twists.
“We have to listen, Nyx. Destiny brought him back to me in this kingdom. Let me help him see through the darkness. Let him see what Umbra truly is. We have worked so hard to make it something magical. I think it’s time for everyone to see it.”
“It’s a terrible, dangerous idea. What happens when he tries to kill you? Because you know the first chance he gets, he will,” he asks, tension rolling off of him in waves.
“Oren already tried that, remember? I don’t die,” I say with a smirk.
His face remains stony as the door to the council room swings open. Our eyes remain locked on each other. He’s not done fighting this, and neither am I.
“An urgent quest has come in from Terra,” Kira says, tossing an envelope on the table between Nyx and me.
“What’s going on in here?” She pauses to look at each of us. The tension in the room is so dense you can almost touch it.
“Nothing,” Nyx sneers, snatching the paper and sitting back in his chair to read.
I lean back in mine and look over to Kira. She eyes me suspiciously.
Without breaking eye contact, she reaches into her pocket and sets a viewing crystal on the desk near me. My heart skips a beat at the sight of its purple hue.
“Your male raven returned shortly before dawn. And before you ask, because I know you will, Silas followed him back to the nest. He is safe and unharmed,” Kira says, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I take the crystal and place it in a drawer to view later when Kira isn’t around. You never know what the ravens may capture, and I don’t need her finding out more than I’d like her to know.
“What’s with the brute in the cage?” she asks, crossing her arms.
