Beneath Shadows and Secrets

♔ 𝕺𝔫𝔢 ♔

*hello all! So, though I do not plan to begin updates until after the new year, I thought you would appreciate a small taste of what's to come in book 2 of the To Be Trilogy!*

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749 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝐴𝑔𝑜

The bitter chill in the air was unseasonably cold. Biting enough that people were doubling their layers, ridding their winter boots of the dust they had collected, and patching the moth chewed material of their cloaks. It was suspected that the snow would fall early this year. A matter which was not ideal, but manageable. The Realms were prosperous enough that most would stay warm, seldom those that lived in the shanties. Most there could not rub two coins together, much less dress themselves in warm cloth and throw coal on their fires.

Vrodora, especially, would feel the wrath of this winter. A newly split Realm, measurably smaller than their neighbours, with an unsteady monarchy. The first Realm, too, to trial a method of democracy, a far change than the dictatorship ruling that all other Realms embody. Still, the joining of all rulers of the Realms would be a display of good faith, to instate a comfortable alliance among all, and bury any previous blooming hostility.

The five Kings, and an advisor of King Vrodora, sat comfortably around the small table. The women had long since been banished from the room, all but one. King Caius' wife, Hella, remained stood behind her husband's chair, pulling tighter the thick woollen shawl around her neck. Slender feminine fingers tentatively reached out to his shoulders, wrapping around his thick jacket, as though to reminder herself that he is there. The presence of these men made her nervous, the power and intensity of them, and the way that they carried themselves. Her Caius was not much like that.

He ruled Solaris, one of two human Realms, with a firm hand, in both politics and relationships, but beneath his formidability, there was a warm heart. He was a kind father, a gentle lover, and a fair leader. This, after all, was his idea. To join the Realms together in an act unity, one that would remain for centuries to come. Though, in this meeting room in the castle of Xandara, there seemed to remain some tangible sense of reluctance.

Caius tapped his wife's hand with a gloved one of his own, and she stepped away, ginger and cautious. She turned towards King Ozias' advisor, Seneca, who sat with his hands clasped together on the tabletop.

Hella knew better than to speak until spoken to, and so she looked towards King of Xandara, Arit, with her lips pressed thin. He caught the slight gesture and spoke for the first time since they had all sat. "We will not begin until you have proved that an essence of King Ozias' power sits in your possession."

Seneca deliberated, always the sceptic, but eventually, pulled a small, full vial from his inner pocket. It contained a rich, gold substance. Thick, like sap, but harbouring far more potential than anything a tree could give. Arit gestured to the vile, and with the acknowledgment, Hella took it gently in her hand.

There was a reason Hella was invited to remain in the room, despite the generalised agreement that politics was no place for a woman. Caius had married himself a Witch, one born from a strong Coven, and would not require payment for such a complex spell. The King's had had their doubts, concerned that Caius may have an ulterior motive, however the human would be a fool to stand himself four powerful Fae, even with a Witch by his side.

"Speak freely, Hella. Tell us of what you require." Caius said to his wife, a gentle nod in solidarity.

Hella breathed a staggered breath. "The essence of those of Fae. The blood of those human." She quietly moved aside, reaching for the stack of wooden bowls, and the single blade beside them. Before each King, she placed a bowl, and she handed the blade to her husband. "Caius, please."