Fly or Fall

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Theana Lone had preparation for the Gresia festival to make, she didn't have time to deal with whatever trouble her cousin had gotten himself into. The festival was in five days and there was still so much to be done. The twenty-foot-tall flower statues of the coven's patron gods where still under construction in Sundria and wouldn't arrive in Oak Point until the night before the festival, at the earliest. It was cutting it close to say the very least.

The council were yet to greenlight her request for more magic. The moonlit ceremony alone would require the amount of magic for three level one spells. It was a lot, she knew that. With the current situation—how magic had been slowly dwindling away these last few years—she didn't think the festival was a very good idea. At least not the way they'd celebrated it in the past.

She'd brought it up with her uncle. Suggested maybe this year they could do things a little differently. He'd nearly choked on his food. A Gresia festival without magic! It was out of the question. Magic was tradition and tradition was the way of the Wolfiah. The Gresia festival was meant to be a spectacle, a display of the coven's gratitude to their patron gods. It had to be gaudy, the gods demanded it. Failure meant misfortune for the entire coven.

Thea thought it was superstition but knew better than to argue with her uncle. If he wanted a grand event she'd deliver. This would be the first big coven event she was solely in charge of planning. She couldn't screw up. And she really couldn't waste time bailing her cousin out of another mess.

She rubbed her temples as she slowly pulled her glasses from her face and glared at Eon. "I don't have time for this," she said.

"It's not what you think," he said his eyes fixed in a scowl.

Thea rolled her eyes. "So, you're not here to tell me you need more money because your drug dealer is blackmailing you again."

"He was never blackmailing me in the first place. We just had a little misunderstanding."

She scoffed. "Yes, a misunderstanding. One that cost me two million liids."

"It's not like you couldn't afford it." He smirked. "Anyway, you help me here and there and I keep my mouth shut about your little arrangement with the prince. Think what that kind of news could do to our sickly uncle."

Thea said through clenched teeth, "What do you want?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "I'm guessing you haven't heard the news."

Thea frowned. "What news?"

Eon leaned forward in his chair. "Apparently, prince Kolan, princess Haelyn and those children from earth went missing last night," he said.

"Wait, what?"

"People say they've been kidnapped. The empress is in a rage. No one knows how the kidnappers made it in and out of the palace without anyone noticing but they think M.A.G.E is behind this."

"M.A.G.E? But didn't they arrest Mon. I thought he was behind M.A.G.E and the recent attacks."

He nodded. "Yeah, but it doesn't mean he was working alone. Someone helped Orrick Hast escape last night while he was been transferred back to Greegveryn. The two events could be connected."

Thea's heart ached as she thought of Kol and Hae in the clutches of M.A.G.E. She'd known them since they were kids. She hated to think of them in danger. And the twins as well. She hadn't met them yet. She'd only seen Anna at the Dello ball but she'd seemed like a lovely girl. She hoped the Kuth would find them.

"Wait," she said, "I'm a council member. How do you know any of this before I do?"

He smiled, the same devilish smile he always had when he knew he had something she didn't. "Perks of dating a prince," he said smugly.