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“I must go to the Great Hall, see what is going on,” I said.
“You are not strong enough,” Rowali complained.
“Stay here with Fuza and Francilia. Samara and I will find out where Luella is and what is happening.”
Samara’s face looked determined. She stood as quickly as I did and followed me through the hallway. The rest had been rendered speechless, perhaps knowing that they did not have a choice. They knew that the earthquake might be a signal for another attack.
The attack seemed to be happening right now.
Upon entering the Great Hall, I immediately felt the tension in how the people were positioned. Luella stood a few paces away from Aruna in what looked like a confrontation. Ari was staring at Luella from his table. He, too, was standing. The rest of the crowd seemed confused and afraid. I could not blame them. A black-clad group had gathered near Aruna. One of them was Rowan. Her hand was raised as if she was keeping something in place, holding something. She was the puppet master, but where was the Ninurta? There was no doubt that he was here – a presence that manifested itself in natural disasters.
I strode towards Luella, not saying a word. Samara followed at the same pace. There were murmurs from the crowd, but I was too focused on my wife to understand the feelings that they conveyed.
“Metheus,” Luella turned to me, feeling my presence.
“Luella.”
“King Metheus is alive! The Queen had been telling the truth!” A cheerful voice rang in the crowd.
“Metheus, we are under siege,” she whispered when I was near enough. Her eyes had the sheen of unshed tears. However, her jaw showed anger and a trembling hold on to self-control.
“Aruna?” I asked, glancing at the Head Seer I had respected all my life.
“Possessed,” Luella replied. “I do not think that is her in there.”
I silently agreed with her as I saw the glowing yellow eyes and the fierce look on Aruna’s face. It could not be. At least, I did not want to believe it.
Ari sidled towards us. It almost felt like he had all the time in the world – a world that felt like ending. I watched Rowan’s menacing face and saw her, for who really she was.
“Why are you doing this, Rowan? You are my mother’s kin, descended from demigods.”
“When your mother left the Touch, its members attacked your kin – the kin that you are talking about now. My family all died because of that attack. Did you and your mother, Queen Erani, ever try to find out what happened to us? No! We did not hear from you, not a single breath. Not a single search for us.”
Rowan spilled out her pain without letting go of her control of the Ninurta, still trapped in Aruna’s body. How could we take away her control without setting the hungry god free? I had felt its fury and knew what it could do in just a few seconds. I did not want to risk it.
“The Touch took me and enslaved me. But as you said, Your Majesty, we came from demigods. We were not meant to be lowly creatures. So, I fought against that control. I lashed out and created my army. This section faction of former Touch members helped me make the other faction believe that all fire stealers are evil but that I could help control them.”
I could not believe someone as young and sweet-looking as my cousin Rowan could be this vicious and bitter.
“You do not want this, Rowan.”
“My control? You would have been dead if I did not arrive soon enough. I was outside your walls running after the storm that the Ninurta was.”
“But you still tried to kill me, did you not?”
“Yes. I tried to kill you. You are proof of the union between Queen Erani and King Doro. It was not meant to be, and I want to make your father suffer for much longer. I was so close, but someone interfered!”
Someone laughed. It was Ari. As usual, there was a smug look on his face. I would never know how he managed it at a time like this. He might think himself powerful, but he had no supernatural powers to fight either the Ninurta or Rowan.
“Believe me; I would have benefited more if I had Metheus killed,” Ari said, eyeing Luella. I recalled my blistering hate for him and my desire to hit his jaw with my fist. Not just one time but more. However, I knew that we had greater worries then. “But I hated my father more.”
He looked at me, then saw that there was no surprise in my eyes. His eyes widened in return. He shook his head in mock amusement, disappointed that he had not elicited the effect that he wanted from me.
“You knew?”
“I suspected, but I had only confirmed as of late. Why did you have to kill our father?”
“Someone must die. Rowan has promised me so much, did you not? I still let you in the palace, told you what little Rowali would wear for the feast.”
