AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gavin blanched. “I-I already told you: I can mask my scent with a glamour.” Everyone in the room froze. Gavin had mentioned it before, but Arianna didn’t think anyone had imagined he could do it so directly.
Talon leaned forward in his chair. “So you’re telling us you can lie to anyone about anything you want?”
Gavin looked like he wanted to run. “Yes.”
“Can everyone from Pádraigín do it?” Arianna asked.
“No, it takes training, and even then most can’t master it.” He hesitated. “My mother was gifted with the ability. It’s the first thing she taught me and, turns out, I’m gifted, too.”
Rion clenched his jaw. “How do we know you haven’t been lying this entire time? How do we know you aren’t working as Niall’s spy?"
Ellie, to Arianna’s surprise, interrupted. “Trust me, he’s not.”
“You’re certain?” Avalon asked, studying his daughter’s mate, a match he was sure to approve over Kirian.
Ellie rolled her eyes. “You all claim I have a flair for dramatics,” she gestured with one hand. “I assure you he’s worse. He’s already sworn himself loyal to me and Arianna while wrapped in iron.”
The room seemed to take a collective breath.
Zylah tapped her foot. “Shall we move on to the real reason we’re here? I don’t think the children need to be exposed to anything that isn’t necessary.”
“I’m not a child,” the male youngling said. “I helped.”
“Yes, you did. A great deal,” Saoirse added, her gaze softening. Arianna could still see the grief in the female’s eyes and wondered who she’d lost at Niall’s hands. To think he’d murdered the council . . .
“The youngling is also a seer,” Eimear said.
Arianna’s mouth fell open. A seer. Two alive in the same lifespan. Two in the same room.
Arianna studied the young male who was sitting straighter, eying every adult in the room. Then she noticed the iron bracelet on his wrist. Just like Eimear’s.
“He came to me claiming Niall planned to use the children against us. The half-breeds,” Saoirse clarified. “He said he saw me and Raevina getting them out alive, but that if we told anyone else, Niall would find out. We chose to act. Whelan here guided us out step by step.”
“You’re wearing iron,” Arianna said. She hated to see anyone with it around their wrists.
“It helps with the visions,” Eimear said. “They can get overwhelming and sometimes distort our reality so much that it becomes difficult to tell what is real and what isn’t.”
“But they couldn’t get everyone out and before we left. Niall was threatening to kill the rest of the half-breeds,” Zylah said.
“You think he’d go through with it?” Arianna asked. The very thought sickened her but surely, at the very least, he wouldn’t waste precious resources.
“Yes,” Saoirse said. “He most certainly would.” Arianna could tell there was something they weren’t telling her. Arianna could tell from the way even Zylah averted her gaze. Niall had done something horrible. He’d done a lot of horrible things. He’d pitted her and Rion against one another. He’d held Rion against his will. He’d lied to her and used his magic to manipulate her for his own gain. He’d murdered and—Arianna glanced at Eimear.
Niall needed to be dealt with.
“But Whelan has given us other information, too,” Avalon said, pulling Arianna from her grim thoughts of vengeance. “If we choose to leave Niall in Ruadhán, he will kill the half-breeds, then raise an army to his side.”
Arianna felt her face drain of color. “To what end?”
“I imagine to get you back and rule the continent.” Avalon gestured toward Eimear. “The High Lady tells us visions are often obscured, but when they take distinct visual shape, they almost always come to pass unless intervention is made. Whelan also sees many shadowed creatures behind Niall in the visions, but it’s unclear what they could mean.”
“So what do we do?” Arianna asked.
All eyes turned to her but it was her father who continued. “That is what we’re here to decide. Each person in this room is present because you’ve interacted with them or have some sort of relationship with them. This is the beginning of your court and the ambassadors of the four nations.”
Arianna met each eye and her lips parted slightly. “You want me to decide?”
“You are the queen,” Avalon said. “It is your place to decide.”
