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Kieran leaned closer to Claire. “We figured you might want to talk to them afterwards so we took the liberty of convening them already.”
Claire inclined her head to show she had heard him. A small smile played on her lips as she nodded at the Fae she recognized as she made her way to a spot at the head of the table. Everett pulled out her chair for her and she settled in, letting him help scoot the chair into the table.
All of the eyes in the room were on her as she sat down. Claire folded her hands on her lap and took a deep breath, gently setting the nerves in her stomach and reminding herself why she was here. Something threatened not only the family Claire was trying to build but also the safety of all citizens of the Realm including the Fae and Elves. They had to work together to put all the pieces of the puzzle in place that Winona had laid out for them.
“The Realm faces a grave threat,” Claire began. “One that has carried over from the Great War. The same people who instigated the Great War in the hope of grabbing more power and control have been left unchecked over the last twenty years and they’ve had time to plot and plan. They plan to build an ultimate weapon that would nullify one’s magic and need four critical ingredients.”
“My mother…” she paused, “Left me clues all around the Realm as she foresaw the path I would travel. The last clue she left at the Academy indicated she left a final letter with my father.”
Claire stopped and looked at her cousins who had taken seats a few down from Claire and her Triad. Kallan nodded. “I think I know what it is. If you excuse us, we will go look for it.”
Claire nodded and her cousins left, promising to return quickly.
“Tell us what you have found so far,” Elder Vali offered. “And we will see what gaps we can fill with our knowledge.”
Zack sat up straighter and caught Claire’s eye and she nodded. He began outlining for the group what he and the others had spent researching the last week.
“From what we’ve been able to narrow down based on various accounts, the key instigators on the original Council included Councilmembers Vanya, Roland and Maxios-”
“Maxios was surprising.” One of the Fae commanders sitting at the table broke in. “He was fundamentally a traditionalist in believing that the Council rule was best for the Realm but he had always valued our alliance between the Fae and the dragons. When he turned against us in the Great War, it was a shock to both sides.”
“Interesting,” Claire mused. “That’s one of the pieces that we haven’t been able to figure out as the dragons say the same. That Maxios aligning on the other side of the Fae was out of character.”
“We will dig into it,” the same Fae promised her. “I will talk to those who had dragon kin or close friendships. See what we can piece together.”
Claire nodded and Zack continued. “There’s another person we are trying to identify. Claire found their journal at the Academy and in it…” He paused and looked at Claire who nodded for him to continue. The Fae needed to know all the information they did if they wanted to fill in the gap.
“It seems like this person became the Council’s right hand person in carrying out heinous acts both during and after the Great War. Included but not limited to the ambush and murder of Winona, Queen of the Elves, and attempted kidnapping of Claire.”
The Fae broke out into murmurs of shock at his words. From the murmurs Claire picked up on, it seemed the Fae believed Winona must have fallen in battle not an ambush. Claire held up her hand to quiet them. “It’s true,” she said. “We found the place where my mother died and I was able to read the memories of the trees around the clearing. My mother recognized the person from her time at the Academy.”
“We’ve narrowed it down to a few potential names,” Zack said, digging through his satchel and pulling out a piece of paper. “Wendy Knoll, Henry Storm, and Brittany Fireson.”
Elder Vali frowned. “The only name I recognize is Brittany Fireson. She was an outspoken witch who hated the other species. But she was fair in her hate, not just focused on the Elves and Fae. She might have had the power to pull these heinous acts off but I don’t see how she could have faced off against your mother. She was outmatched there.”
“Maybe she was aided by the Council’s power?” Desmond asked. “Or given an added boost somehow else?”
“One of the ingredients of this ultimate weapon, perhaps? Or an Elven herb?” One of the Fae suggested.
“Maybe,” Desmond said. “There is one Elven herb we have confirmed that has been disturbed in the Elven Forest. The Fortis plant?”
“The death plant,” Elder Vali whispered. “Yes, we know about it. That could explain how they had enough power to defeat Winona.”
“You think the Fortis plant is one of the ingredients of this ultimate weapon you speak of?” Elder Milam asked.
Claire nodded. “The properties of it make sense.” It was a powerful plant that could bring people back from the brink of death but also give them a power boost if they were healthy. Although it was highly addictive, Claire knew that if it gave the Council an edge they would use it in a heartbeat, addictive qualities aside.
“What other ingredients do you think these councilmembers need?” Another Fae asked.
Claire described finding the map in the room the Postulationem room led her to. That there were four X’s that marked four of the five territories in the Realm. That the only one left out was the shifter territory.
“The Fortis plant is definitely at the top of the list of ingredients from the Elven territory,” Desmond explained. “But we can’t count out that the ingredient would be the wood from one of the Elven Forest trees as a binding ingredient instead.”
“The other possible ingredients on the list from the Dragon Mountains are Dragon Fire, which they could get from Maxios, Ligamen from the witches, and Metallicum from the Fae.”
The Elders exchanged a look when Zack said the Fae Metal.
“What is it?” Claire asked.
