Cloak of Darkness( return of vesna book 1)

Chapter 20 The Plan

Xion leaned against a pillar watching Evaline pace back and forth as they waited outside the kings's chambers. Her golden hair hung about her in disarray, clothes tattered and dirty, a bruise started to form in her right cheek. Despite all of the discomfort he read her agitation.
"You've worn the floor with ceaseless pacing." He observed. People had gone missing, one of them her brother. He was quite surprised to see how she held herself together. There wasn't any hysterical outburst....yet.  Strange that she exhibited such control but he could sense she skirted on the edge of madness.
She turned her to him, confusion written in those mossy depths. "What?" She stared at the lord dumbfounded.  Both of them had been told to remain outside but she could not comprehend the logic. So many questions ran through her mind regarding her brother's abduction, she desperately wanted to speak to the king yet she was told to wait!
"You remind me of my sister Dhalia. She can get stubborn when she doesn't get her way." He continued casually.
"I'm not being stubborn my Lord, I need to ask the king what happened to my brother." Annoyance gripped her features as she regarded the lord defensively.
"He won't be having the answers. His own son was abducted by the dark Fae. If it's any comfort, he's just as worried as you. "
"Why were they taken?" Her question was desperate.
"The dark Fae believe we are hiding a light Fae, the heir to the seelie throne." There was no reason to keep the information.
"Are we?"
It was an innocent question that spoke volumes, yet her body was tight with pent up fury. Could a light Fae have been hiding among the human kingdoms? "The king believes your benefactor could solve that riddle. Being a high Mangalene priestess, they do have powers to see. You know that already." He cocked a brow as he regarded her with those slate eyes.
"Do you think that's possible?" Hope echoed in her question.  He would hate to dash it against the cavern of darkness that plagued the castle.
"It's the only chance we have, but your guess is as good as mine."
Evaline stared at the young lord and felt selfish for not asking about their friends. "How are the rest of the team faring?"
"They live. They're helping tend to the wounded and the dead." The girl certainly wasn't selfish, he mused.
"Erica mentioned the Fae visited your demesne and taught you skills. She mentioned that they turned on you three years ago. Right after the light queen was slain. Could the child have been hiding there amongst your people? Is that why they attacked you? We're they looking for him there?"
Xion shrugged. "We did have Fae come visit from Valene, mostly to trade. It's not uncommon for Fae to visit with the kingdoms. Some of them ventured as far as Meriadon. But they became scarce as soon as king Soldar assumed dominion over the seelie territories."
"Why did they leave all of a sudden? If they were searching for a Fae should they not have stayed?"
Xion considered the chit's question. Indeed why did they suddenly vanish, as if summoned to do so. "I'm glad they left. If they had remained there would be less of us left." His cryptic response left her speechless.
She swallowed slowly turning her attention back to the door. The pounding in her chest echoed in her ear.

Inside the king's solar Jutu faced him with Caspian and Havah, he had relayed the incident as clearly as he remembered describing the Fae that took Byron and the other who spoke of the terms for release of hostages.
Havah fisted her hands beside her turning to Jutu they exchanged a glance.  She knew it was Loot who was behind the abductions from the description of the king, and his henchman was Damos. Anger swelled in her chest but she staunched the fury and listen passively.
"I have told you all that I have witnessed, now I need to know Jutu," the king turned to his consort. "Can you help us find this Fae child?"
Jutu approached the king as he stood behind his desk, her hand rested on his, searching his face, she saw he wrestled with a great sadness. Hating the anguish bared by a defeated king, she gathered her resolve.
"I can see you are in great distress my king for the dark Fae have finally risen and come to the land of mortal men and women. This was something the Mangalese hoped to avoid for some time but there is no altering what has to be."
"What are you saying mother?" Baffled, Caspian took a step forward.
She turned to her son briefly before giving her full attention to the king. "Deep into the past, all the Fae courts were united, they never meddled with each other. The seelie and unsellie lived side by side. The seelie  ruled the spring and summer courts while the unsellie were content with the autumn and winter courts. But among the unsellie there was discontent. Many left these courts and became the solitary, they chose to live away from the courts of Shadowfyre. Until finally among the unseelie rose Soldar from the winter court. He killed the king of the autumn court and took the helm of the unseelie Fae proclaiming himself the dark king of both the winter and autumn courts. But before taking his last breath, the autumn king cursed Soldar and proclaimed a time when one among the seeli court one would be born to defeat him. The gods listened and made the curse a binding force revealing the intent to their seers.The seelie were agitated at audacity of Soldar, creating strife where there was none. His threat united the spring and summer courts proclaiming a queen of the light Fae who came from the summer court, and from her line would come the one who would finally defeat him. The world knew of only two daughters she bore from separate consorts both these consorts came from the summer court. There was no offspring from the spring consort, but many years later her womb grew heavy with a third child. It was then she summoned my grandfather. The mangalese had always favored the seelie courts during those days, my grandfather was her favorite. She had revealed to him the truth, that she had lain with a god and the child in her womb was the child of the prophecy. " Jutu paused glancing at Havah whose expression remained impassive.
"He stayed with her until the birth of the child. A girl, and she had bequeath the child to him for safe keeping naming her older daughter as her successor when she took to the ether. I believe now is the time for the girl child to rise, her fate is linked to the Fae heir of the light queen that was slain. Only with her can we truly find this prophesied Fae king ."
The king took both of Jutu hands in his. "Why have you never told me this?" He searched her face for answers.
"I could not. My grandfather had told my father this secret and prepared him to save our people from the wrath of King Soldar. We had to hide the temples of the seelie or destroy them and pledge our allegiance to King Soldar, confuse him, lead him astray. The Mangalese never expected to betray their human brothers. They sent me to you as a peace offering, that the land of men would be protected. We have done so for many years, but the past three years has been a time of great turbulence and the dark Fae have finally come to our shores."
Caspian was dumb founded, turning to Havah he eyed her skeptically for she remained quiet throughout his mother's tirade. "Did you know?"
Seeing her nod her head made him curse under his breath.
"Havah is here to help."Jutu admonished her son. "I will have to journey to Mangalene and face my father, he will know what is to be done. It would be easier if we had a portal, unfortunately we have no choice but to travel on foot."
"You'll have to go through the jungle ! Jutu..no!" The king spoke alarm in his voice." We can send a retinue of soldiers to the retrieve the girl Fae."
"I have to be the one," she told him gently.
"But those monsters, they guard the boundaries of the jungles!"
"We can take the route that goes to Irinthar, there is only one Icor snake that guards the passageway to the bridge that will take us there." Havah started immediately.
"Irinthar," the king said it like a curse, although in truth it could have been just that for the land of Irinthar was inhabited by the solitary. "The cursed shadow lords inhabits that island and a demon prince, why would you choose to go there instead of crossing the seas to Mangalene?"
"Because my love, the seas are even deadlier than the Icor snake.  The dark Fae have placed a Kracken in the midst of the seas, we will not be able to cross with our lives in tact." Jutu explained.
The king frowned. "I understand we have been boxed in by the dark Fae but I never expected......."
"That's why they're dark." Havah tried to inject some humor but no one smiled. "Irinthar would be our best hope.  There is a cave passage that connects Irinthar to Mangalene."
"How do you know this?"Caspian asked suspiciously.
"I told her." Jutu said immediately sparing Havah from answering.
"And how do we get passed the Icor snake?" Caspian asked crossing his arms .
"Your mother has a plan." Havah replied smirking.
"I suppose she will be going along?" The king gestured to Havah.
"Yes, Havah would be an asset." Jutu responded with a smile at her friends direction. " She's all the retinue I need."
"This is ridiculous mother, I'm going with you," Caspian declared. "I'm sure Xion will be up to task along with his team."
"Not all of them I hope, once we enter Irinthar it would be best to remain in small numbers, we will be passing some rather obnoxious spots and the Fae that live there can be territorial."Havah mentioned making Caspian balk.
"And you know this because.......?" he cocked a brow when he saw Havah look to his mother. "My mother told you," turning to his mother his irritation fairly evident. " I'm sure she'd be happy to share this information with her son as well, seeing as the journey would soon be afoot." He sauntered to the door and ushered Xion and Evaline within.
"Lord Fenwick," the king turned to his vassal who bowed. "Caspian has volunteered your team to go on this journey with my consort to Mangalene. I would be much obliged."
"It would be an honor your majesty, to serve the crown." Xion kept the rest of his opinions to himself but he certainly needed answers.
"We leave before dawn and I will be taking my ward with me."Jutu said with finality to which Evaline smiled brightly despite the frown on Caspian's face.