Page 88 of Nocturn

“No, it is not,” he agreed.

What was unsaid hovered between us: it was especially bad because Cassiel’s powers were faltering, and he was the greatest weapon against those creatures.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Archives

“And then what happened?”

Vera breathed, leaning forward on the settee. All five of us were breaking our fast in the feeder parlor, attention fixed on Ida.

“He took me to his chamber and we . . .” Ida trailed off and pressed the porcelain to her smirking lips.

I took my time sipping my tea as the girls spoke. Cassiel and I had arrived as dawnlight rose. He had been terribly distracted, and he tossed an order at Lady Drusilla to take care of me before disappearing.

Lady Drusilla had promptly escorted me here. Yet, I didn’t miss the way her eyes tracked him, and there was something there that read as possessive.

When I arrived at the feeder wing, the girls had been deep in slumber, so I took the opportunity to bathe and dress in a fresh feeder gown.

Yet all I could fixate upon were the lies and discoveries. There was a common thread here—and the council was involved. Where did Cassiel come into play? Did he have a hand in this? The council could not act without his say so. Right?

Branwen readjusted herself, jostling the cushion we both sat upon.

The door slammed open. Cassiel stood at the threshold, and his gaze fell on me. He was still dressed in his battle gear, leather strapped to him.

“Let’s go,” he ordered. I placed the cup on the table, trying not to pay too much mind to the women watching me with stunned expressions.

“Yes, my lord,” I said, sounding much too happy.

Vera’s mouth dropped open. Ida glared at me, her mouth curled down at the corners. She had no need to be jealous. Nocturn, the eve of my end, loomed closer. I cleared my throat and collected myself as I calmly strode across the parlor, shutting the door behind me. A single officer hovered outside, stiff and at attention.

“Where are we going?” I asked, struggling to keep pace with his wide gait.

“You shall see,” he responded ominously, following the rounded path of the hall. Past the council members’ parlor, past the entrance to Al’s.

To a section I had yet to see deep in the council wing. The deeper we went, the more guards there were. Interesting that these men were more protected than the women. From my understanding, the feeders had not one Guard assigned to their area before I arrived.

Being surrounded by all this for every moon rotation. For every annum. I could see how a powerful creature like Cassiel would become unempathetic.

“Did you grow up here?”

“No, in a small village in Western Sycarious.”

Mountain ranges, frequent rain . . . that enveloped the whole of my knowledge of the West.

“Were you able to choose the realm you wanted to protect?”

I couldn’t look away from the sharp cut of his brow. Everything about him was a jagged edge.

“It was not difficult considering we remained in the territories where we were born.” He peered at me from the corner of his eye. “Before the Hundred Annum War, the Barren was not as intimidating as it is this eve. All the magicks and bloodshed from the war made it what it is.”

We reached a ballroom about half the size of the Grand Hall at the main entrance. An oval table dominated the room, surrounded with beautiful, elaborate seats with cobalt cushions.

It looked fit for Elites.

The ballroom split off into three directions, and Cassiel took the closest path which lacked windows. Gas lamps hanging from iron hooks lit the expanse up and ended at a stone staircase leading up. It was large and wide, fit for someone of Cassiel’s size.

I pressed my palm against the cold wall as I ascended. The fall was steep.