Page 87 of Night’s Fall (The Four Realms #1)

Ingrained

I t was a full hour before Set arrived in the king’s study to give us a brief rundown of what they knew.

Two RS agents had been killed, three guests had also been killed, and there were forty more casualties from the battle with the trolls. Of the wounded, seven were so severe, they had to be ambu-lifted to a hospital in the city.

Further casualties numbered twenty-seven. These were guests who had been injured in the stampede to return to the Palace . Luckily , only two of those were severe enough to go to hospital.

And one hundred and twenty-two trolls had been streamed dead in the gardens.

No trolls survived.

After delivering this news, Set opened the door to a phalanx of RS agents, including Fannon and Geleena , explaining we’d be escorted back to our chambers.

Obviously, Fannon and Geleena walked me to Aleksei’s and my suite.

They also requested I stand outside with Geleena as Fannon preceded me and checked the space before they allowed me in. And then they took their places as sentry in the hall.

Apparently, chances were not being taken.

I was down with that.

As I entered the sitting room, I saw all three cats lying side by side on a window seat, tails swinging, attention aimed out the window.

I went to stand behind them.

Fog drones hovered, flooding the entire garden with light. There were a dizzying number of white tents set up, my guess, covering troll carcasses for investigative purposes. And an equally dizzying number of uniformed beings were moving urgently about, investigating the vast scene.

There were also dragons seated on the massive plinths I’d noticed positioned all around the perimeter of the island, but I’d thought those plinths were decorative.

They weren’t.

They were sentry stations.

For dragons.

There were further dragons in sets of five flying in the air.

It seemed all the guests were gone.

Aleksei wasn’t in the suite, I knew, because I couldn’t feel him.

But I didn’t know how much time I had before his return, so I did what something in my heart was telling me to do.

I found my tablet and video commed Nata .

She answered immediately.

“Oh my gods, are you okay?” she asked as greeting.

“I’m fine. Everyone in the family is fine. We’re …it’s a lot. But we’re fine.” Before she could reply, I went on, “ Listen , I know it’s late, or really early.”

“That’s okay,” she said swiftly. “ I was up. I couldn’t sleep. Everyone is freaking out about what’s happening.”

I didn’t ask her what they were saying, or what she knew, because I wasn’t sure I had time.

“Thanks, but what I have to ask you to do might not be okay.”

She didn’t look even mildly wary. “ You can ask me to do anything, Laura .”

Totally picked right with this gal.

“I need you to comm my father and tell him I’m okay.”

Her face shut down.

Yep.

Picked right with her.

“Okay, getting a little personal here,” I began, “ I’m not sure where I’m at with him, but I know he’ll be worried.

That said, I don’t want to open up a direct line of communication again, because I’m not sure I’m ready for what he might assume from that.

You don’t have to get into detail. You don’t even have to video comm him.

Just introduce yourself in a text comm and tell him I asked you to share I was fine. ”

“I can do that,” she said readily.

“You sure?”

“I’ll be your go between, Laura . Especially if it keeps you out of his direct line.”

She was so great.

“Thank you,” I said effusively.

“No problem. Try to get some sleep,” she replied.

I was exhausted.

But…

No way that would happen. Not until Aleksei was doing it at my side.

“Will do. See you.”

“Yeah, see you.”

We disconnected, and I wedged myself in next to my curious cats who were fascinated by the show outside.

I then did what I had to do next.

I returned to my pane search to pull up that article on Aerin and Iphelia .

I’d searched the True Heir with a vulnerable True Bride . There had to be something in it, especially after what Calisa said, and the new knowledge I had that night my beast was of a warrior caste, and Iphelia had been the same.

She wasn’t an outlier. Throughout history, there had always been female warriors of every race and breed, and there were several elite squads made entirely of females that were famous for their heroic deeds.

I just didn’t know, until that night, I was one of them.

I read, and most of what I read was what I knew of their story.

Until I got to the part where it said:

According to various sources close to the True Heir , along with what was written in Princess Iphelia’s journals, Prince Aerin experienced critically debilitating lack of control due to his concern over his fated mate placing herself in danger.

This went far beyond the customary need to protect of a male mate.

It famously caused a rift between the lovers. One that tore them apart and shocked the realm.

Unfortunately, although it’s known they reconciled, and nine months later the next True Heir was born, as she often did—understanding her journals would be kept for historical purposes— Princess Iphelia did not detail this reconciliation as she rarely detailed the more private moments she shared with her husband.

It is simply known that they were never apart again, in living life or in fighting wars. And there were no further indications that the prince suffered this debilitation in regard to his mate.

In fact, they became famous at the time for their synchronicity on and off the battlefield and revered as formidable opponents to any enemy.

It is also known that, from their reconciliation onward, they reigned together as partners, this being unusual to this day for any monarch, king or queen, to share this power with their spouse.

“Well, that doesn’t help much,” I muttered to my tablet.

“Meow?” Comet asked.

“Nothing to worry about, baby,” I cooed to him.

There was a knock on the door.

“Yes?” I called.

Fannon opened it and walked in. “ I’m to escort you to the prince now, Laura .”

I was being taken to him?

Interesting.

I nodded, quickly taking my feet and said, “ I need to throw on some shoes.” And a bra , I didn’t say.

He returned my nod.

On my dash to the closet, I tossed my tablet on the sofa. I took the time to put on some flats, a bra, and the mane-mate in order for it to do my hair in a ponytail (my fabulous chignon was long gone). Then I was hustling back out to the sitting room.

Geleena stayed behind to guard the suite, and Fannon and I descended to the first floor and then down the hall toward the admin wing.

Once there, we hit a lift, took it down two floors and then out into a hall I’d never been in and didn’t know existed. It had none of the elegant trappings of the upper floors, but instead was cold and utilitarian.

There were two defense bots standing outside a door, their sight ring pulsing a lavender light, which was both creepy and cool, knowing they could use it to see three hundred sixty degrees.

Fannon was talking into his watch unit as we approached, so when we got there, the door opened.

“Mistress Laura ,” a male I’d never met said.

He bowed then moved back so I could enter.

Fannon stayed outside.

I entered, eyes wide, taking it all in, because all of it was mega .

There were a good dozen beings in there, seated around a long table.

They all took their feet (aside from King Fillion , who was sitting next to the Prime Minister , a male I’d met in the receiving line that night and who was still wearing his tuxedo, though it was dirty and had a torn lapel, but he, too, got up when I entered).

Aleksei, sitting to one side, also took his feet.

I saw Bainon and Cormac at the long table.

Tanyn was standing and appeared to have been pacing before I arrived.

There was a female also standing at the foot of the table, and I knew I’d arrived in the middle of her giving a briefing.

But around the seats were a variety of males and females, three in uniform (one male, two females).

And Germaine was there.

Every wall in the room was a screen, and on them a variety of live vids were displayed, including the activities in the west gardens, inside and outside of tents, and the trajectory of a lone craft that was speeding through the night.

The long table in the middle had displays built in at each seat, and hovering over it was a holo map of the entire Sceptred Isle . It glowed yellow, except for a tiny area to what would be the southwest edge of the island, which was red.

Clearly, this was the situation room.

And it was insanely cool.

“Laura, if you’d be seated by Aleksei ,” the king invited.

I didn’t ask why I’d been invited to this session. I was just thrilled to be there.

So, without hesitation or that first sound, I moved around the head of the table to sit in the vacant chair next to Aleksei .

I caught his gaze and was pleased to see he didn’t look ticked at me, or anyone. There was no purple or pinprick of stars in his eyes, though the room was rather dim, so maybe I couldn’t see the latter.

But he did look serious. Very much so. However , that was no surprise.

He held my chair as I sat. And once I did, he did, as did everyone else.

“Carry on,” King Fillion called.

The female standing aimed a laser pointer at the little red area on the holo map.

“The preliminary breach was at the southwest dock. The boat signal was that of Baron LaFleur , who was, with his wife, to be an attending guest at the Masque . Radio communication affirmed that the voice heard after hailing was LaFleur’s .

However , an hour ago, the baron and his wife were found deceased in their flat in Nocturn ,” she stated. “ Murdered .”

I nearly gasped, even though I’d never met the LaFleurs .

Although I wasn’t certain why I was there, I knew this was a briefing of important people ( I just didn’t know I was that important), so I didn’t want to do something stupid, like gasp.