Tempest

38 : Versions of the truth

It had still been dark when Aida woke up Tempest and Galan. Now, the three of them, Samual, Adria, Rainey and Tristan stood waiting not too far from the castle. They were expecting company and had come out to meet them.

Adria had told Aida that she had been contacted by someone, a Dark Druid, seeking asylum. The message had come through her dreams, a simple message that resounded over and over and over again.

Tell Adria we want to talk to her. We will come to the Lycan kingdom at daybreak. Victoria.

At first they had thought it was a trap, some kind of lure to get at them. To be honest, they still thought it was.

When Aida had asked Adria how she had received the message, and she told her, Aida had frowned. A locator spell. The spell could have been attached to something that Adria had had on her when she left her prison. It had been sent directly to her, the message meant specifically for her.

Despite her still weakened state, Adria had insisted she wanted to be there, in spite of Tempest's protests. She now stood amongst them, awaiting the incoming people.

Dean, Otis, Reed, Leon and Marc as well as Ceres and a few of the warriors stood about fifty meters behind them, ready for anything. Now, as they waited, the rays of the sun started to peek from the belly of the horizon. As the light started to lighten the sleeping earth, the two people they had been waiting for came into view. They walked towards the group, stopping a few meters in front of them.

"Aida," Victoria said softly. "We mean no harm. We had to come to you."

Aida nodded, watching Victoria and Liam. "It has been a really long time. Why have you contacted us now?"

"Noah is ready to attack," Liam said. "We can share information that can help you, help us all."

Aida watched them intently, focusing on what they said, how they said it. She probed their minds, checked their vitals as they spoke. If this was a trap, she would know.

Victoria looked at her and a small smile flittered to her lips. "Are you satisfied, Aida?" she asked.

Aida cocked her head, her eyes still focused on the pair in front of her. She straightened her head and her eyes blazed for a moment in warning. "Nothing indicates deception, Victoria, but you know as well as I do that there are ways of hiding the truth. If I find anything, anything at all, that shows me that your intention is infiltration, I will roast you from the inside without a second thought ."

Victoria nodded once. "I will expect nothing less."

"You're the one who gave me the key to the collar," Adria said suddenly.

Victoria nodded. "I was hoping the Queen of the WereSabres would be able to do something useful with it. I wasn't expecting that it would teleport you away, though."

Adria nodded back, a small smile on her lips. "Thank you. I don't think anybody expected that to happen."

They walked back to the castle in silence. Liam and Victoria were surrounded by the group and the little glances that Tempest shared with Galan were not lost on Aida. She would drill her about it later.

When they reached the castle, the guards headed away and the remaining Royals headed to the conference room. As they entered the hall, however, a large figure started walking towards them.

Enoch frowned as he watched the entourage enter the building. He snarled as soon as he saw Liam then his face broke as he saw Victoria. He quickly schooled his features but Victoria growled at him.

"You!" she snarled. "It's because of you she's dead."

Enoch shook his head but nothing came from his lips.