Page 40 of The Silent Mountain (Under the Werewolf Crown #2)

forty

Plans

*FAVIAN*

A fter a couple of hours, we are still sitting around my desk, discussing everything that has happened to us recently. We go through all the details: The war the werewolves fought, which was also against the cult and which they won thanks to Endellion and Azadeh. It’s the very same cult that had forced Elio to hide and me to be imprisoned for many years. They took years of our lives from us as well as our families. Then, Alana and I explain the recent happenings in detail.

“I never thought that the cult would have survived,” Endellion says. “Back then, when we attacked it, most of the members died. What do you think, Beta Shayan? You know the numbers.”

“Yes, I was inside the cult long enough to get a feel for the numbers, and you are right, my king, even if some escaped, there were definitely not enough to rebuild a base.”

“That’s why we think the head of the cult is someone else,” I point out. “The man Elio and Alana spotted when they were on the island.”

“The one with the mask,” Shayan muses.

Alana turns to Shayan. “Since you were undercover in the cult, what do you think is going on?”

“The witch there was incredibly powerful,” he says. “Almost too powerful. It made sense that she was able to hold this whole organization together. However, looking at it now, it also makes sense that she was an ally to someone who is equally twisted and might even hold more power. After all we know, the man Alana saw disappeared without any trace. As if he snapped with his fingers and he was gone.”

“He left no traces behind,” I verify. “Aside from this one feather.”

“Did he leave it behind on purpose?” Endellion asks.

“I doubt it,” Alana replies. “I think he wants to remain undetected. But I am sure he must have known that Elio and I were on the island. Maybe he thought we wouldn’t make it. We were lucky with the feather, and with Elio and me making it out alive.”

“I am convinced his original goal was to get rid of you,” Shayan says. “But you were saved before he could do so. He retreated, but not because he is weak. He probably just isn’t ready to strike, for whatever reason.”

“You think he is going to go for a direct war?” Endellion asks.

“No,” Shayan frowns. “I think he is much more sly than that. Penelope, the witch who imprisoned King Favian, was sly too.”

“You are a man with a lot of experience,” Stefan says. “You were a strategist in the human realm. What does your intuition tell you?”

“That whoever our attacker is has bigger plans. It might not even be personal, maybe we are just collateral damage, or he wants to toy with us. He used guerrilla tactics to attack the dragon clan, while it would make more sense for him to attack directly. We need to think about why. Why did he remain hidden? Why does he lead this cult? Why did he disappear just like that? What does he get out of this?”

“How many more allies does he have?” Alana adds.

“That too,” Shayan says.

“Goddess,” Endellion groans. “I thought it was over when we beat Penelope, but it looks like she was just the tip of the iceberg.”

“It seems like that summarizes it well,” I grumble.

“Do we know anything about Penelope?” Alana asks

“The deities have imprisoned her,” I say. “Favia told me as much, but not more.”

“Maybe she wasn’t aware of there being a secret power supporting her,” Shayan adds. “Penelope was full of herself and overly confident. As Queen Alana said, our new attacker seems to like to remain hidden, but at the same time proves to be very capable. He has brought creatures into this realm that shouldn’t exist here. Then, there’s the spell and the birds. It’s almost like he wanted to spread sickness and desperation.”

“You mean, he had fun with it?” Endellion says quietly.

“Probably. Maybe in his own way, he was toying with Penelope also.”

I turn to look at Stefan, who has listened quietly so far, just a worried frown on his face. “What do you think?”

“Penelope was vindictive, vile, and cruel, but also very smart. Hence, the perfect tool for someone similar to her but with more power.” Stefan furrows his brows. “It’s all just assumptions, but I am with Beta Shayan on this. She might not have been aware. I am convinced our enemy will target other shifters, but we are just not aware of the whens and hows. We just know that the human realm is already experiencing unusual incidents. However, his goals remain hidden. I have no clue what he is trying to achieve.”

“Neither have I,” Shayan mutters.

“I want to propose an idea,” Endellion says. “Azadeh and I talked about it recently, and we think it would be a good idea to amass our allies, to meet them in person and to strengthen our bonds—maybe in a yearly event.”

“You mean like a ball,” Alana says. “Where we invite everyone and meet privately.”

“Exactly. In a way, all shifters have one thing in common, and it’s also our biggest weakness: we all stay within ourselves. It makes us weak and easier to attack.”

“You are right,” I concur. “It was certainly what made us dragons weak. We didn’t have allies or friends.”

“That’s true for a lot of shifters, but also for the human realm and for the Fae,” Endellion adds. “We are in contact with all of them. Why not use this to our advantage, gather them, invite them, give them a voice and a chance to mingle?”

“We could keep in touch about everything that way,” Alana says. “We don’t know who our attacker is or if he disappeared for good. As Stefan said, chances are high that he is targeting other realms too. Flinn had some worrying things to report. We need to try to stay united.”

“I agree, we need to strengthen our bonds,” Stefan agrees.

“The hosts could alternate,” Shayan adds. “It gives smaller kingdoms the chance to represent themselves and know that their voice matters too.”

“Do we really think they will all participate?” Stefan asks.

“The shifters, yes,” Favian says. “But what about the Fae and the humans?”

“It depends on who we ask,” Shayan says.

“Yes, leave the humans up to Flinn,” Endellion smirks. “He will make them agree.”

I look at him with slight amusement. “How come you are so sure of that?”

His smirk grows. “A feeling. As triplets, we have a special bond to each other.”

“Is that so?” I ask. “Well, if you believe Prince Flinn is able to handle it, I have no reason to doubt you.”

“And the Fae?” Alana asks.

“I am not sure. They are unpredictable and sly. They will only participate if it amuses them or something catches their interest.”

“Do you think you have something to catch their interest with?” I ask.

“I think I do.” Shayan glances at Alana. To my surprise, she seems to understand what he is hinting at. “I could reach out to them. Offer them something that might intrigue them.”

“Try it,” Alana says. “Please.”

Shayan nods.

Favian, Favia’s voice suddenly disrupts me. You need to come to me immediately.

What, now?

She never seeks me out so spontaneously, unless it’s in my dreams or when I meditate and call to her on purpose. In case of an emergency, she takes over my body or talks through our connection, the way our mutual contract allows her to. It’s a give and take.

But she never asks me to join her in the world between living and dreaming just like that.

“You’ll have to excuse me for a moment,” I tell the others. “Favia has called me.”

“Now?” Alana asks, surprised. “Like, immediately?”

“Yes,” I say.

“Then it can’t be good,” she whispers, a hint of anxiety on her face.

“I will find out,” I say, before closing my eyes and allowing my mind to drift off until I have reached a beautiful meadow. Years of meditation have taught me how to reach this place without much struggle. Favia expects me already, her face etched with worry. It still feels weird to see her like this. She is like a mirror of myself, like my female twin. She has no human appearance in her original form, so even here she manifests in the one human shell she knows: mine.

“Favian,” she says earnestly. “I have news.”

“I thought as much. What happened?”

“The picture Elio drew,” she says. “From the man Alana and he saw. I have found out who it is.”

I stare at her. “What? You know him?”

“Knowing would be a stretch. But I have certainly heard his name. It’s Arawn.”

“I have never heard about him,” I admit. “Who is he?”

“He is the god of death, representing darkness and fear. This is not a lesser deity, Favian. This is an actual god.”

I stare at her as the information slowly settles in. “By Aengus,” I breathe out.

More and more, it seems like Shayan’s conclusion is going to become real. “But… why? What’s his intention?”

“I don’t know,” Favia says. “I will take it to Aengus and have him do further research. But this is not good, Favian. It’s dangerous. Make sure to stay on alert.”

“Are we in imminent danger?”

“I don’t think so, not right now, not the dragon clan at least. I am not sure what his goal is. I don’t think he is going to target the dragons solely. He wanted you, the golden dragon, that’s for sure, but he also wanted Azadeh, the Princess of the Sun, and King Endellion, the Ice Wolf King. I can’t read his intentions at all. I just know that I can’t sense him here in this realm at the moment.”

“He must have left for another,” I say. “Which puts another kingdom or realm in danger.” I pause. “Thank you, Favia.”

I watch her dissolve into thin air before allowing my mind to return. The others look at me expectantly, but my serious expression must have given it away. “We need to stick with Endellion’s plan,” I say. “Sooner than later. Alana and I will host the first ball or meeting—however you want to call it—and meet our current allies and any potential ones.”

“What did Favia tell you?” Endellion asks, alarmed.

“Death, in person, is seeking us out,” I say. “His name is Arawn.”

Stefan stares at me. “Are we talking about an actual god here?”

“Yes, but not even Favia can tell me yet what it truly means, but we need to be cautious.”

Alana frowns. “I don’t like this,” she states. “But I am with all of you. We need to be prepared. As Favian said, we will host the first event and invite all our potential allies. The dragons were only attacked recently, so it’s still fresh in everyone’s minds. It makes sense for us to host first.”

“I have nothing to oppose,” Endellion says, his expression somber. Just like me, he is probably realizing the severity of what it means to have an actual god against us, especially not knowing what his endgame is.

“There is no use fretting presently,” Shayan says. “If a major deity wanted to attack us directly, they could have done it, and we would have faced no chance. They are plotting something, and it obviously takes time. Time, we can use to our advantage. We are not unprepared.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know Elio and I saw him,” Alana says. “He knows we were on the island, and he certainly wanted to get rid of us, but maybe he doesn’t know we spotted him.”

“That’s a possibility,” Shayan says. “He was amidst his ritual when you saw him. Maybe this gives us a slight advantage to plan our next steps.”

“So, we will have quite the busy months ahead of us,” Stefan says. “Let’s put our plan into motion.”