Page 31 of Cerulean Truth (Sapere #1)

FOURTEEN

JAMES

I had returned from my daily shower when the drops of my Nexus formed a Maria-shaped head, flooding my senses with urgency. "James, we have an update on the Resistants. Can you come in for a Council meeting today?" she asked rather rapidly.

"Sure," I confirmed. "What time do we convene?"

"In an hour," she commanded, and off she went. She was not a woman of many words.

An hour later, I was sitting in my familiar chair in the Basilica.

The Basilica held many rooms, each more beautiful than the last. The rooms were all equipped with more books than one could read in a lifetime, which were paved against the walls going all the way up to the ceiling, as if every room could double as a library.

The room I found myself in was centered around a fountain, a cool lifesaver in the scorching summer heat. During winter, the fountain turned into a crackling fireplace, pumping out much-needed warmth during the freezing cold.

In the back of the room stood a huge clock, set to go off at the start of every meeting and at the end.

Surrounding the fountain/fireplace were several cozy, crimson-padded chairs, strategically placed to facilitate conversation among Council members.

This arrangement ensured no one had to strain their neck to interact or see one another.

They also turned around effortlessly and could be easily adjusted into a reclining position—one could even take a nap in them. Preferably not during a meeting.

While I was admiring the beauty of the room, my mind started to craft an unexpected fantasy of myself and Emma trying out something completely different on one of those chairs. Or perhaps in front of the fireplace…

My blood surged with desire, remembering how she’d come out of the shower with nothing more than a towel.

I had tried not to stare, but I’d failed (how could I not) and I thought about it more often than I cared to admit.

Her breasts all perky beneath that single cloth, her voluptuous hips, covered by a towel just a little too small to cover every inch.

I thought about my hands on her body, relieving her of all that fabric.

.. Something twitched in my pants again.

Fuck, I cannot enter this meeting with a hard on .

I shook my head and tried to think of the Maumars, which seemed to help rather quickly.

The Council members were gradually arriving, and as I watched them enter the room, I couldn’t shake that small ember of distrust flickering for each of them.

We had the Maumars, of course, heading the Council, who were our Elders and had earned our respect and my implicit trust by steering Cyclos well for over two cycles.

Eliot Campbell was the only one I trusted without a doubt, the only one I’d met outside of the Council, back when we were children. He now oversaw international communications, primarily operating outside of Cyclos.

Philip Bane, not my favorite individual—but undeniably brilliant—was undergoing training to become a Specialist, a rarity occurring only once every few cycles.

Then there were the triplets: Sam, Sarah, and Simon—heads of the Universitas.

Following them were two magi from different Collectives: Ana?s Dubois, a delegate from Alliance (the European Collective, with magi born in France and the Walloon region), specialized in universal rights for magi; and Amon Hamdy, a delegate from Sahara (a Collective formed in the Arabian Desert), specialized in history, like Maria.

With the whole Council present, the Maumars briefed us immediately on the new intel they got from “someone on the inside of the resistance.” George again I presumed, though they didn’t mention him explicitly.

"It has now been confirmed there's a more violent branch of the movement which united the most extreme adversaries to the Exposure. Where they're assembled or located, nobody seems to know, but we got wind of a more serious nature of their actions..." Maria let it sink in for effect.

"We heard they got their hands on a rather prominent human, one who was privy to some knowledge about our existence and tortured him for information.

What information they were after exactly, no one knows, nor whether they got it.

But..." Maria took a breather. "The man in question did not survive their interrogation techniques.”

“They killed a human?” Philip gasped. I frowned, struggling to believe what I was hearing.

The room fell into a dead silence.

“Who?” Eliot whispered.

"We don't know," Maria admitted. "All we know is they fled to Kanata C after killing him. We have no idea who exactly is involved or even where they were coming from. But we have to find out as soon as possible. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about that?"

Matthew and Jackson hadn't trained alongside me in Cyclos; they'd gone through their training in Kanata C. I used to portal over there often and still had some solid connections with friends in that area.

Without a second thought, I rose to my feet and announced, "I've still got some tight connections to a few magi in Kanata C who I'm sure will be willing to cooperate.

Let's gather a team, Offensives from both Cyclos and Kanata C, and make it our mission to locate these Radicals.

But we've got to keep this operation under wraps, so I say we establish a covert task force for the job, and I'm volunteering to lead the charge.

I'll head over to Kanata C myself to set things up on that end. "

Resuming my seat, I waited for the Council's reactions.

Philip stood up first. I braced myself, expecting him to torpedo my suggestions as usual.

However, he surprised me by saying, “I think James’s unique experiences are exceptionally helpful in this case, and I fully support his proposal.

A joint task force is exactly what I had in mind and I can think of no one better to lead them than James. ”

Philip leaned back, and I shot him a nod of appreciation. His sudden backing caught me off guard, prompting a twinge of suspicion. I battled to quiet the cynical voice in my head, muttering, "Is he scheming to get me back on the front lines, away from his political turf?"

Eliot followed quickly, "I second James’s idea but propose entrusting someone else with the operation's leadership in the field.

James is our prospective Leader, and I, for one, would feel more secure if he were less exposed to risk, especially in these times of uncertainty.

Once we've gathered more information about their mission and goals, we can revisit the discussion on our future Leader's involvement in field operations.

" Eliot reclined, avoiding eye contact with me.

The triplets, unified, voiced their agreement with Eliot's perspective.

Maria nodded pensively.

A short debate later, we came to the consensus I would spearhead the composition of the special ops team and would form their communication line but from inside Cyclos. As such, I could keep them informed of our intel and vice versa , without having to put myself at risk.

"We should inform other Collectives about this incident; they all need to be aware of what's happening," Philip suggested.

"Yes, while we're on that, Coastal’ s Council has taken it upon themselves to notify The Elder about the struggles they've been encountering." Maurice stunned us once again.

"The Elder has expressed his concern and will take the lead in the negotiations between the Resistants and Coastal’ s Council.

He has already been in contact with Stephen Stone, who is currently leading all negotiations on the international consensus, and as far as we understand, they're now working together. "

I couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy at my mentor having the honor of working with the Elder. He was after all the oldest magus alive, not to mention the only Offensive turned Specialist in the history of magi.

The Council meeting was over in less than an hour, and I returned to my dorm, still reeling from all the intel.

I mulled over Philip's reaction to my proposal. I shouldn’t have been surprised by his backing, he’d always been very vocal about his doubts on having me as the next Leader.

Luckily, it had never been up to him.

To be honest, it had never been up to me either. I translated myself some whisky and smirked over my glass, remembering the day they announced I’d become Maria’s successor. It seemed like ages ago.

A year ago

I was nervous. I never got nervous. I was trained never to be nervous. But right then and there, I was fucking nervous.

“This is a bad idea.” I muttered under my breath, condensing all my doubts about their insane plan into a single sentence.

"It'll work out, James. Just stick to the plan," Maria reassured me, her voice a calming presence as we made our way toward the Basilica, where I was to inform the Council of my newfound position.

"No one is going to believe I’m fit for Leadership. I don’t have a diplomatic bone in my entire body. I’m First Offensive for crying out loud. Trained to kill first, ask questions later. You really think me as the next Leader is going to fly with the Council?" I snorted.

Maurice offered a reassuring smile. "I’m sure you’ll convince them of your talents in no time, James."

I scoffed, about to retort, but Maria intervened before I could.

"There's no other option, James. For this plan to succeed, you have to assume the role of our next Leader. You're the only one capable of carrying out what needs to be done. The only one we can trust to follow through," she explained solemnly.

I sighed in defeat. I knew that. We had discussed it at length during the past few months. But still, standing in front of the Basilica, ready to tell the Council I was about to join them, and would be leading them into the next Cycle, with the Great Exposure right around the corner…

"You'll excel at it, James. We'll provide you with the necessary training over the coming years, and you'll be more than prepared when the time comes.

Your recent endorsement from the United Chiefs, following your heroic rescue of Dennis Dale, has solidified your position.

No one will dare to question it now," Maurice attempted to reassure me.

I wanted to agree but fuck those nerves were killing me.

"Do you still have those anger issues under control?" Maurice asked cautiously.

I shot him a dark glance. "Seriously? You're worried about me potentially wiping out Cyclos while grooming me to lead it?"

"Not wiping out entirely... Simply worried about a slight touch of murder and mayhem," Maurice quipped, attempting to lighten the mood.

Rolling my eyes, I briefly forgot whom I was speaking to as I retorted, "Right, because that's reassuring."

We entered the Basilica and my eyes wandered to my surroundings. It was a beautiful, secluded building and I took in its mesmerizing architecture as we climbed the stairs.

"Are you ready, James?" Maria's question brought me back to the present, and I gave her a resolute nod.

"Just remember, your appointment was based on your heroism with Dennis Dale. Everything else remains between us three," she reminded me firmly.

With another nod, I reaffirmed my commitment to the mission.

I took in a deep breath and opened the doors, finding the Council waiting.

The blue drops of communication flickered to life over my Nexus, pulling me back from my thoughts. I blinked, shot down my whisky in one gulp and accepted Jackson’s request.

“What’s up?” I asked, studying him closely. There was an unusual air about him.

“Can we meet up with Matthew and the girls? I have something I want to discuss,” he replied, his tone seemingly subdued.

“Sure, I’ll hit them up immediately, we’ll meet up at the Touchstone, let’s say in thirty minutes?” I suggested.

Jackson nodded silently before ending the call abruptly.

I frowned, wondering what was bothering my best friend.