Veritas

Chapter 35

Ryan let out a mirthless laugh, a wave of various emotions washing over him. Beside him, his mother was giving Gwen a look of disbelief; however, upon hearing his laugh, she turned her concern to her son.

Beside Gwen, Aislinn had her face screwed up in confusion. She stepped back from Gwen, pulling her hands away from the witch's grasp. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. How on Earth could you learn that from seeing the same dreams I have been seeing?" She demanded.

"Easy, I have more context than you do" Gwen replied simply, walking over to sit by the fire that was magically still burning. "Your dreams all revolve around things or people to do with the King...For instance, the woman who appears in your dreams on a recurring basis? She is the woman the King calls his mother" Gwen explained calmly, but matter-of-factly.

This elicited a gasp from not just Aislinn, but Rei as well. "What do you mean?!" Rei demanded, before Aislinn could get words out.

Gwen looked at Rei and nodded her head. "Yes, she's been in Aislinn's dreams" she reiterated. "There was also an ominous dream of what I believe to be a sacred room in the palace...It was made entirely of silver, with historic carvings...A single pillar in the middle of the room where there appeared to be a casing for something; but, it was empty" she explained, continuing to stare in Rei's direction.

Rei frowned at this information, seeming extremely disturbed. Fortunately for her, Ryan was lost in his own thoughts and despair, having realized that Aislinn was not just already destined to someone else; but, that this someone else was a horrible individual from the sounds of it. He was focusing on plans for how to protect her going forward.

Aislinn, on the other hand, noticed Rei's expression. "What is it? You know this room?" She demanded, and cursed herself a little for having not described that specific dream to Rei before.

"I have never been in it...I recognize the description, though" Rei said hesitantly. "It's the room in the centre of the palace, it was placed there by witches, and made entirely of silver so that no wolf nor vampire could ever enter. It was a peace offering made to the Royal Pack from the witches of the Moon Thread pack years past...To show that they were willing to protect not just the Oracle and their pack; but, also the Royal Pack. Basically, the pillar houses bones of witches and vampires, and a spell was cast that would keep out all witches and vampires who were not given explicit permission to enter the grounds by the King himself. There is essentially a protective barrier that encapsulates all of the Royal Pack lands, which is why you only ever hear of rogue attacks on the Royal Pack. Witches and vampires have never been able to breach the barrier, the spell from the Moon Thread witches having been too powerful" she explained, trying not to rush her words while also seeming to want to end this particular topic of conversation.

"Hm" Gwen hummed once Rei had finished her explanation. "I'm more than a little concerned that the bones were missing when you'd seen them, then, Aislinn...From what I saw in your dreams, you had three types. I'd guess that the first type were past memories of the King, second were thoughts or plans of his for the future, and the third were experiences he was having at the moment. Either one of those types, where the bones are missing from the pillar, would mean that during the time they were missing, both witches and vampires could pass the barrier with no problem" Gwen said, her eyes showing concern as she stared into the fire.

"It's not possible that it's a fear he's thinking of? It's definitely a plan?" Rei asked, seemingly heartbroken to imagine that her King would betray his people in such a way.

Gwen looked over at Aislinn for a response to that. "Did you get the sense of any fear during your dream? Do you think it was something he was worried about?"

Aislinn shook her head, looking at Rei sadly. She hated to see how upset the news was making her. "No...It was more a calmness in the dream, if I had to pin an emotion to it" she answered.

Ryan, who had been lost in his own world until this point, seemed to have finally snapped out of it upon hearing his mother's distress. He frowned, and thought back on what he'd just absorbed through half-listening to the conversations.

"Wait" he said, holding up a hand to physically gesture to stop. "These were all memories, plans, or things he was experiencing you said?" He asked, making sure he didn't miss that.

"Right" Gwen replied simply.

"So everything that Ash has seen has been from him? Even in her childhood?" He demanded, his tone growing more aggressive as he began to fill with rage.

Rei thought that he was getting angry at Gwen, not putting his train of thought together. She frowned and chastised him. "Don't take it out on Gwen, Ryan!"

"No. He's not" Aislinn said, the colour draining from her face as she realized what he was saying. "He's mad at what that monster has done" she continued, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked from Gwen to Rei. "He's angry at the piece of shit I have for a mate, who worked with my former Alpha to plot my father's death!" She practically shrieked.

"Exactly" Ryan said through gritted teeth, while rushing to Aislinn's side to pull her into a hug. "I'm not mad at Gwen. I'm mad at our Murderous King."