A Promised Prophecy

Chapter Forty-Two

"Your majesty." James lifted a hand over his heart and gave a bow. "Apologies for not treating you with due respect previously."

"I understand." Cetus waved him off and started walking toward the palace. "Come, come. We have much to discuss."

James and I followed behind him. There were a lot of things I wanted to ask James, especially when we had a moment to ourselves. It was surreal to be in an underwater palace and, even with a killer witch after me, it felt like the craziest thing I'd ever experienced.

King Cetus led us through the palace, guiding us through twists and turns just as reminiscent of the shells the outer palace indicated. Upon arriving at the upper most part of the palace, the king finally opened a set of doors and guided us into a large room with only a singular throne. He took his spot at the throne and smiled.

"Welcome to Coralis, leader of Silverleaf and friend. We have already welcomed the Lizari to the safety of our waters. We harbor concerns, however, that Coralis's secret cannot be kept forever."

"That's why you're seeking our aide?" James clarified.

"The Trilateral Accord of Unity is meant to protect all of us, not just Coralis," the king clarified.

"Of course, we do understand your concerns and share them in kind. What I'm not sure about is how you intend to stop the attack? The Lizari's home was already destroyed and while we currently have protection for Silverleaf, our barriers won't hold forever. If you were hoping for the same type of magic, it is a waste of our time and resources to provide it."

"I was hoping we could form a plan of attack and not one of defense."

Sure, great, I'm sure everyone felt that way before that witch stole their powers and killed them without a second thought. Eris wasn't just a 'powerful witch' anymore. She truly was the most powerful witch, containing the magic of every person she'd slaughtered. Every single member of the Deadly Witches would've been more than enough to put up a fight against multiple covens at once. But Eris? She had managed to trick numerous covens to Dreadshade Summit and, in doing so, is unknowingly powerful and arguably unstoppable.

"I'm assuming you have more information than you're providing right now." James crossed his arms over his chest. I smiled at the action. He didn't show weakness, even if he felt it, now obviously noticeable to me, when he was going head-to-head with someone.The king smiled in return. Then James addressed me without actually turning toward me, "Rhea, will you give us a moment?"

"What?" I wasn't about to leave him alone. That was the whole reason I came to Coralis with him.

"I need a moment in private with the king." He turned to look at me. "Oh, and you can tell the Lizari leader to take off his cloaking magic. I know he's here as well."

Appearing next to the king of Coralis, a Lizari appeared. It was a moment of realization for me that I needed to stop treating James like a citizen of Silverleaf. He had just as much, if not more, outside world experience as me. I wondered how much of that experience came from his years outside of Silverleaf or his tenure as the leader of the Coven. He didn't need me here. In fact, I was probably a hindrance to him at this point and he knew that as much as I was just realizing it. The man had been placating Cybill, protecting his people, and negotiating with other kingdoms while I was trying to hide from Eris. Our situations were not the same.

"I'll step outside." It came out as a whisper as I was suddenly aware that we weren't safe, or at least, I wasn't safe.

"Hey." James grabbed my arm to stop me before whispering in my ear. "Wait outside the door and shout if anything weird happens. I'll make this quick."