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“The blade is sharp but is not yet honed,” the Three spoke. “The whetstone is not yet ready. You must sharpen the blade and ready the stone.”
“Tegan is the blade?” Salem asked. “Or the stone?”
“Can you carry out your duty, Salem Holt, son of Joaquin Holt, Principal Elder of the Northern Territory?”
“I have always carried out my duty.” Salem watched the Three carefully.
“You will be tried. You will be tested. The bladecannotfail.”
“Then it will not fail,” Salem said with conviction but confusion. The Three watched him and then looked at each other. Salem watched them leave the office. The unease in the pit of his stomach grew as he followed the ancient Sisters out of the room.
“Why are you here?” Tove snapped at Cord. “Come to gloat?”
“Why would I gloat?” Cord asked with a tilt of his head as he considered the female in front of him. “Do you think I won?”
Tove snorted. “No.”
“Do you think you lost?”
“Never,” Tove growled at him.
“Then what is there to gloat about?” Cord looked her up and down speculatively. “The Great Council are here. I am to take you there.” He made an impatientcome ongesture as he stood in the hall outside Tove’s allocated room. “I really do not have time for this,” he added impatiently.
“Why did they send you?” Tove asked suspiciously.
“Salem ordered me to.” Cord smirked. “I think he is proving that we can play nice.”
“I don’t like you.”
“I don’t care.” Cord reached out and grabbed Tove’s shoulder and portalled them both to the meeting room.
“Thank you,” Salem said barely looking up. “Tegan?”
“I’m not an errand boy,” Cord muttered as he vanished.
Salem failed to hide his smile as he returned his look to the Great Council. Three of the seven members looked back at him. Assessing him. He always felt as if he were being judged by the Great Council, which was foolish since they were no more than him. Each member from a Headquarter, a mix of Akrhyn. Some had been Elite Sentinels, some Lycan alphas, some strong Castors and some Vampyre. All species of Akrhyn were represented. Seven, so there was never an even split. All votes held the same weight. Council Elder Warren seemed to have more rank than the others but only through their own internal voting system, but really, he was Chair only.
Salem was aware that most Principal Elders’ ambition was to sit on the Great Council. It wasnothis ambition. He was more than happy with his seat as Principal Elder of the Northern Territory. However, he knew Warren was tiring and wanted to step down. There had been rumours. He considered the older Akrhyn as he contemplated his age and experience; he looked tired. Salem knew Cornelius wanted the position. In his opinion, Cornelius Ivanov was a madman. He believed that Lycan and Vampyre were below him. How that was, Salem had never been able to understand. Cornelius claimed their blood was tainted with the venom that converted them into Lycan or Vampyre. An Akrhyn could be turned to a Lycan, but it had been a long time since this happened. The majority of Lycan were born into their packs. How Cornelius thought they were tainted was beyond Salem’s understanding. A Made could not give a live birth, but since Vampyres’ aging process slowed right down, there was no reason for the bite to be transferred.
Most importantly to Salem, theyallfought against the Darkness and the Drakhyn. He knew from his own time as a trainee Sentinel that he had to work harder and longer to achieve the same results as his Vampyre and Lycan counterparts. If anything, it was the Akrhynwithoutthat were not equal.
Marcus’s alpha wolf was hard to control when he and Cornelius were in the same room. Marcus could not, and would not, tolerate any form of discrimination. He advocated for equality, and the majority of the Akrhyn, whatever species they were, were of the same thinking.
However, Cornelius was getting bolder. Court rumours whispered that he had the ear of one, maybe two, members of the Great Council. Cornelius had no Lycans or Vampyres in his household or staff. He did have a very powerful Castor though, and the fact that the Great Council did not question Cornelius’s hateful whispers gave Salem pause.
Every Akrhyn should be treated equally. As with everything in life, there were the Akrhyn who served as maids, cooks, stablemen. These Akrhyn chose not to fight and not to pursue more than the basic training, content with the more domestic lifestyle. Some Akrhyn just had no affinity for fighting, but they still served.
AllAkrhyn served the Ancients in the fight against the Darkness.
Salem’s eyes travelled over the seven Council members. Who would be sympathetic to the cause of Cornelius? All the Council Elders looked impeccable, as always. The Vampyres, well they were never changing. Two of them sat staring at Marcus. They had both held their seat since before Salem’s father had been Principal. Two Lycans held seats. They also studied Marcus and Tove, and Salem knew they were conversing through the alpha link. One Castor and two other Akrhyn completed the seven. Salem considered the three. The Castor was of the Dark Cast, the two Akrhyn who sat on either side of him had both been Principals of their territories before the Council claimed them.
Carnain was married to a Vampyre, a strange but strong pairing. His wife was older than perhaps the Vampyres who sat on the Great Council. Salem ruled him out as the ear that Cornelius had. That left Warren and Marguerite. The former Principal Elder of the London territory always struck Salem as cold and unfeeling. He had been convinced she was one of the Made when he first met her when he was a small child. He had asked his father, who had laughed but told him he must never let her hear his question.
Salem was convinced she knew anyway. She looked more indifferent and bored than the Vampyres did. Warren was the former Principal Elder of the Southern Territory, and he was definitely one of the most approachable members.
Salem’s eyes flicked to the Three. He could never tell them apart even though he had known them all his life. They also unnerved him. As if they knew he was thinking of them, they turned as one and looked at him. He gave them a hasty nod of acknowledgement as he thought back to what they had said to him in his study.
Did the other Council Elders know what they spoke of? Did they know if Tegan was the sword or the stone? Or was she neither? His heart hoped she was neither, but his head knew better. She had been sent here, to him, for a reason. Leonid was missing. That couldn’t be a coincidence. Kateryna had left not long after Cord had taken Tegan, intent on finding her husband. The more Salem thought about it, the less he was convinced it was a coincidence.
