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***
Ajali flashed inside the war room, ignoring Julius who sat in his great chair. Ajali strode to the stained windows overlooking the city. He draped his mantle of king around him as he turned to face his high dukes. Uriah and Xian entered in silence. The atmosphere was tense and somber. “How many deaths?”
“Three hundred and twenty confirmed. The majorities were warriors, but there were at least thirty civilians, six from Caelum, fourteen from Aria, and ten from Boreas. All were killed by the Darkans and their summoned beasts. Tehdra killed none.” Cadmus’s voice echoed grief and anger.
“The Darkans passed through the kingdom to the coliseum. Were any deaths recorded there?”
“No, my king, it seemed as if it travelled with the shadows. Its appearance in the coliseum was the only confirmed sighting.”
“The Darkans did not work alone,” Acheron said. “The presence of a witch was detected. I felt the taint. An incantation hovered about it, and we received information of a Serangite spotted east of the coliseum with warriors that were not of our army.”
“Why would Darkans work with witches? They are powerful on their own. Why attack the coliseum? We have no overt conflict with the Darkage,” Quinn questioned.
“Another kingdom has a Serangite in their employ?” Gavyn asked archly, staring at his king.
“You were the obvious target, Ajali,” Uriah mused. “Our spy in Mevia reports the emperor building an army with Darkan might.”
Ajali considered all angles, rattling them around in his head until his teeth ached with the need to roar. Three hundred people had been brutally and senselessly taken. He breathed evenly, controlling his emotions. “Tehdra informs that the new king of the dark holds Mevia in contempt, that no alliance exists between them,” Ajali said curtly.
The utterance of Tehdra’s name had the tension in the war chamber rising. Ajali’s gaze slashed, encompassing all. “Speak,” he commanded.
There was a firm knock on the door, and then it opened to admit Bastien looking more than slightly ruffled.
“She is a Darkan, kalija,” Xian said softly. “Her kind took our mother before I knew her. Tried to cripple our kingdom and extinguish our bloodline. She has deceived us in the most unforgivable ways, yet you speak as if you value her words.”
“Tehdra has placed her life in danger several times for our king at the cost of her own,” Acheron murmured, piercing Xian with his multi-hued eyes. “I claim Tehdra as a friend of the House of Thessaly.”
“She will be amply rewarded, Duke of Thessaly, but claiming a Darkan as a friend of any house that belongs to Nuria is unnecessary,” Bastien snapped, moving deeper into the chamber to stand close to Ajali.
Ajali’s chakra wavered, and heat washed across the room. All eyes swung to him. “There is dissention in the Darkage. We know King Rajliegh Al Shra was assassinated. It seems as if the same danger surrounds his son. Tehdra’s mission was to uncover if Darkans worked against the order of her king in Nuria, and if confirmed, deliver justice.”
“And you believe her, brother?” Xian asked incredulity rife in her tone.
“I would have sensed the lie.”
The princess frowned. “How? Did you have Ruxia question her?”
Ajali could almost taste Xian’s anger, but it was the fear in her gaze that tugged at him. “I am her mate.”
Uriah choked on the wine he drank, sputtering. Xian stared at him, wide-eyed, while Acheron smiled.
“Her mate?” Uriah snarled. “Surely you jest!”
“My king,” Bastien said hoarsely, “You cannot accept such a claim. It’s preposterous!”
A chilling silence descended in the chamber. Ajali could only imagine his kingdom’s reaction if those closest to him felt such horror. “We know how Darkans feel about their mates, Bastien. That is why Tehdra has placed her life before mine several times. She speaks truth.”
“Hence, the Darkans that attacked yester eve are not on the orders of King Al Shra.” Gavyn said.
“No, they are not. Darkans work with the enemy. The question is who the real puppeteer is—Mevia or the Darkage?”
“Why did they want you, kalija? We have been at peace for years. No animosity exists between the seven kingdoms. Why would Mevia target you? They hunted the princess, trying to steal the allegiance from us, and now they try to capture you,” Xian fretted.
He glided around the room as he tried to decipher the enemy’s way of thinking. “They are trying to disrupt me from consolidating any more power,” Ajali said as he weaved patterns together. “The mastermind behind this is very cunning. They do not declare war, but they do enough to antagonize me, hoping to lure me into battle. Another kingdom may have retaliated, but I do not desire such turmoil for Nuria. Only a few knows this. An intimate few. The enemy knows me. They taunt me with their knowledge.”
The princess started to pace. “What are you saying, kalija!?”
“The enemy works with someone who knows me personally.”
