A Drop Of Haunted Blood

Chapter Thirty-Five: King's Orders

This time around, the king waited for Felix to be healed before calling him and the others in front of the council.

Well, mostly healed. Only three days after the fight at Ernest's mansion, Felix was far from full strength. Bandages were wrapped around the worst of his wounds, he felt nauseous when he moved too fast, and he was still taking pain medication for his various aches. The Ironwood Wand could have helped considerably, but it was still recharging from the battle.

Of the sixty or so Guardians at Ernest's party, twenty-five had turned to Ernest's side. No one was sure how many of the traitors had been killed, but ten had died on the Brightlands' side. A small fraction of the roughly four hundred total active Guardians, but a painful blow nonetheless.

Felix stopped in front of the doors to the throne room. Kendra, who'd accompanied him, nodded to the guards as they stepped aside to let the two in.

"Where are Mason and Arisa?" Felix asked as they entered.

"On their way," Kendra replied. "Hana's bringing Arisa, and I think Sebastian went to get Mason."

King Atticus was already on his throne. Archer knelt in front of him, speaking too quietly for anyone else to hear. The remaining four council members stood in their positions on either side of the throne. Ernest's two cousins—Eliza and the man the birthday party had been for, whose name slipped Felix's mind—along with Abraham Caldwell and Michael Beck were gone. As far as Felix knew, Michael was the only one who'd died.

"Do you know what's going to happen to Jack Caldwell?" Felix asked as he and Kendra sat down.

"He'll remain here as a student."

"They're letting him stay? What if he's on his dad's side?"

"They can't prove he was involved. And he seemed pretty upset when he found out what happened," Kendra said. "But we'll keep a close eye on him."

Arisa, Hana, Mason, and Sebastian arrived in the minutes that followed. A few more Guardians came in behind them, the final one being a bandaged and limping Adrienne Farrow, walking with the help of a white cane.

King Atticus rose to his feet. Archer stood and moved to stand at his right.

"I am ending the probation of Felix Carver, Arisa Tamura, and Mason Briggs," King Atticus announced.

That was it? No testimony? No debate among council members? Felix glanced at Archer, but he only wore his usual scowl.

"They still have special circumstances around their status as students, but it's time they moved on to real missions and classes with their fellow Guardians-in-training," the king continued. "Given recent events, it's important that we all be prepared for challenges unlike any we've ever seen. The Last Army's goals are not much clearer than they were eight years ago, but it seems that Mirabelle Armitage may have an agenda beyond simply overthrowing the Brightlands and taking my crown. We need to be alert as we move forward with our usual missions."

The king dismissed the meeting with nothing more of a wave of his hand before retreating to his office.

Felix, Arisa, and Mason exchanged confused glances. Felix jumped to his feet and started toward Archer, but Adrienne beat him there.

"The perimeter is secure as of this morning," Adrienne told Archer. "No more poltergeists lingering around."

"Good," Archer replied.

"Hi, Adrienne," Felix said as he reached them. "Glad to see you alive."

"Thank you. I should be fully healed in a couple of weeks." Adrienne gave him a faint smile. "I heard about the battle with Ernest. Very impressive, for kids your age."