The Storm Tower | Vol.4, The Eldenarian Artifacts ✓

9.

Olivier was not happy.

After Imogen's speech, which had thoroughly impressed Sebastian, they joined the others in the man's quarters. Ajax had moved him there while the potion Siren brewed slowly thawed him from Imogen's misguided charm.

He was laid out, stiff as a board, on his bed. The stone casing covering his skin had begun to fade, but Siren theorized it would be another hour or two before he could move again.

The only part of his body he could move was his face—which was currently sporting a rather peeved expression as he glared at Imogen. His lips were puckered into a tight frown, his brows drawn close together.

"I'm so sorry," Imogen told him as they all stood at his bedside. "I really didn't mean to turn you into a statue."

Since Olivier's head was no longer a marble bust, he was able to respond. He screwed his face at the girl. "What was the plan then?"

"Just to freeze you for a bit."

He laughed dryly. "Well, mission accomplished."

"If it helps any," Sebastian started, "she had a valid reason for freezing you."

He cut his golden eyes to him. "Oh really? And what would that reason be, Sebastian?"

Smiling sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck. He stepped behind Imogen. "Go on. Tell him why you did it."

She shot him a betrayed look before shaking her head. "Gee, thanks."

"No problem."

Imogen rolled her eyes before directing her attention to Olivier. "In retrospect, the charm might have been overkill, but I had to get my message out."

"Your...message?"

"I spoke to the magicians."

He took a pause.

Everyone in the room exchanged apprehensive looks. Even Ajax looked a bit anxious.

"You did what?!" Olivier exploded. His face was redder than a phoenix's feather.

"I know what you said, but I had to," she explained quickly. "No offense, but your speech wasn't going to convince anyone to join us."

Olivier looked to the others in the room. No one met his gaze, not even his own son. The man pursed his lips at his boy. He simply shrugged at his old man.

"What can I say? She's got a point. We need people to get on board with the mission. You know Thorian has his sympathizers. He's always had them."

Imogen nodded. "That's why I needed to say something."

"What exactly did you say?" Ajax asked her, his green eyes narrowed.

She hesitated. "My brain was kind of running on autopilot so I don't have a complete transcript of—"

"She revealed that she was a halfling to the entire magician world," Sebastian revealed nonchalantly. "She told them about how she's come to appreciate our world as an Ordiniare and how she wishes to protect it. She told everyone about what we've all been through these last couple of weeks—our journey to Hodvekt, the siege in Thania, the battle in Vashara.

The color drained from Olivier's face. "She did what?"

"I'm not finished," Sebastian said, his tone annoyed. "She also called those who refused to fight cowards. In her words, 'if an Ordinaire with four weeks of magic training can stand up to the Order, why can't you?'. It was pretty amazing, honestly. Bold, but genius when you think about it. Even I was inspired by it all."