Chapter 81

Axel

Three

days later we sat around a large wooden table in King Gaute’s palace. All the

key role players of the latest events were gathered.

The

royal family, including the king, queen, and four princes sat on the one end of

the table, clad in their finest royal attire.

On

the other end, sat Dire Mountain. Alpha Blake, Luna Enola, Dorian, Gabby and

me. After John’s betrayal and death, Alpha Blake has asked me to step in as his

new Beta, explaining that I was the most qualified for the job and that it would

help prepare me for when I would one take over as Alpha.

Coyne

seemed to be the odd one out, seated in the middle of the large table with

empty chairs on both sides of him. He didn’t seem to mind and toyed endlessly with

a lighter and box of cigarettes in front of him.

Since

his harsh withdrawal, Pam had been working on a project of her own, diluting

poison extracted from fallen Aqrabuamelu and processing it into smaller, more

sustainable doses for the king to use whenever his body started craving the

toxic substance. She had explained that his cells had grown accustomed to the

poison over the years and didn’t know how to function without it anymore.

He

needed the poison like the rest of us needed oxygen to breathe. It had become a

part of him, and he used it in the same way humans used chronic medication for

their illnesses.

Pam

also explained to us that he would be needing it daily for the next few months,

if not more, and that it would require him ingesting it in some way or another.

It tasted awful, so making some sort of salt or drink was out of the question.

Pamela had initially manufactured shots for him, but people got uncomfortable

whenever he pulled out a syringe around the dinner table. Her second attempt

was cigarettes, and it was also his preferred method since it didn’t scare

people away and seemed more socially acceptable.

I

watched as Coyne tapped his fingers on the rectangular black carton. Against

the side of the box, Pam had stuck a large white icon of a skull, indicating

that the contents were in fact poisonous and should not be ingested in any way.

Even if the substance were diluted, I did not doubt for a second that anyone

other than Coyne taking a drag of it would peel over and die.

The

King of Shadows and Whispers sat by an open window, waiting for the meeting to

start, with trickles of blackened mist trailing behind him. The black mist was

coming from outside, grouping together in tendrils and seeping into his skin,

returning to their master.

Coyne had drained his powers to save his son from certain death

when Locke attacked him in the woods. The king hadn’t spared it a second

thought when he had sent the bulk of his magic out to shield them as he threw

himself in the way of Locke’s onslaught. It had worked but not without injury.

The act had left him vulnerable and completely drained. Powerless without his

magic.

My gaze travelled over his exposed forearms, now pale and with

very few swirls of darkness beneath his skin. How strange it was to be able to see

the magic within him. See it moving around like a living thing.

Coyne’s dark energy had begun returning to him about two days

ago, slowly rebuilding his energy levels and filling the coffers of his magic inside

of him once again. It was an agonizingly slow process.

He seemed patient with it though and stayed mostly where the particles

returning home could easily find him. Outside on the porch, lounging on a

balcony or just like now, sitting beside an open door or window.

Every hour he looked better. More alert, more like his usual

self.

“Right,

since we are all here, let us begin,” King Gaute said, silencing the room and

drawing everyone’s attention towards him. “We will keep this meeting brief and

depart within the hour to attend the mass memorial service held for all of our

fallen friends and pack members.”

Dorian

and Divan had planned the memorial service together. It would be held at the

southwestern furthest corner of Lighthaven, beyond the rolling fields of

grasslands, flocks of sheep and their Mansoor shepherds.

The

bodies of the deceased had been prepared early this morning by loved ones, who

wrapped them in lavender-scented linen and laid them out on large wooden

structures for the ceremony. During the memorial, these structures would be set

alight by magic fires, which would ultimately consume the body and structure

whole and according to the fae, send the energy of the fallen back into the

world.

“We have a few matters to discuss, the first of which being the

commander of our enemy’s army currently sitting in prison cells,” King

Gaute said, turning his attention to Coyne. A silent question to the king on

what he intended to do with the man.my

Locke

also turned to face Coyne.

“He

is my offspring, and I couldn’t kill him,” Coyne simply replied, shrugging. He had

spoken from the heart. Blunt, but honest. “The Serpent Queen had fed him lies,

manufactured a monster out of him. He deserves at least a chance.”

“A

chance at what? Attacking us again? Killing more innocents!?” Prince Gerek spat

in defiance.

“A

chance to live! To get out from under her skirt and make decisions of his own.

Informed decisions!” Coyne countered with the ferociousness of a wild animal.

There was a low buzz of electric tension in the air as it rippled

off Gerek in static rage. In answer, the room darkened slightly, all shadows

growing darker, more prominent, making their presence known.

Gerek

and Coyne glared at each other, unmoving. King Gaute’s eyes flicked between the

two, until he finally exhaled and said, “I don’t want him in my kingdom. You

have two days to either kill him or remove him from Lighthaven. Consider it

mercy on my part.”

Coyne’s jaw clenched, but he dipped his chin, acknowledging the

king’s wishes. It was kingdom after all, and had the last

say in who stayed and who left.hishe

“Very well. Then we shall depart in one day’s time,” Coyne finally

spoke, dragging his golden almond eyes away from Gerek. “Besides, I have

unfinished business to attend to, he might as well accompany me since he is

bound to me anyway.”

Unfinished

business. The other half of Coyne’s body and soul trapped somewhere in a glass ornamental

ball. An impossible thing to track down. Something so simple and yet so

valuable to the right person.

King

Gaute nodded and went on to the next item on the list of discussion points. The

retaliation of Dreams and Seduction.

A

sombre atmosphere fell across the room at that. Deep down, we all knew that

this wasn’t the end, but merely the beginning.