Descendants of the Kings (Book 2)

Ch 63.2: Fortress of the sea

Please read the note at the end of the chapter

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The weather could always be counted on to warn when danger was afoot.

It was midday, still a couple of hours till sundown, but all at once, it had grown dark. The sun had hidden itself behind a thick cluster of ash-grey clouds, taking all the light with it, leaching darkness.

Ella walked through the hallways of the castle, shivering as the sconces on the walls flared to life. Despite the heat being turned on, she could feel the cold slithering in. Snow and hail pelted the stained glass windows, crusting them in white.

No one needed to be told as they entered Callan's study, his sombre expression a mirror of their own.

He gestured for them to sit, waving at the chairs before his desk.

"You probably heard last night, but there was an attack on three Nerean villages."

"Three?" Blaise voiced. "I'd heard it was one."

"As of this morning, it's two more," Callan said morosely. "The news is slowly trickling, they're attempting to keep the details quiet to avoid disturbing everyone."

"Well, it already is disturbing," Val said, shaking her head. "Do we know the death count?"

"Unknown. They are still putting out fires and rescuing people from the rubble. It was a massacre. They did not expect it and there was no military presence."

"It goes without saying that the rest of the solstice ball is cancelled, no?" Aedion stated more than asked.

Callan's answering blank expression made him sigh warily. "You cannot be serious."

"Tonight's events are cancelled, but the rest of it is still up in the air," Callan said. "They're urging guests to stay calm. The invitation to remain at the palace until the end of the week is still open. Plenty of food and guard presence. They're saying it's safer this way."

"Fuck the unprotected villagers, no? Selfish bastards," Val muttered, breathing deeply. Callan seemed inclined to agree.

Ella rubbed a hand up her arm, goose-fleshed. "Were they able to capture the culprits? Were there any demonic sightings?"

"Just humans, apparently, though they haven't caught any live ones yet. My sources inform the troops spotted carried banners with the royal crest of Rhothomir and lesser houses."

"But how would that even be possible?" Val said. "Nerea is one of the furthest lands from the borders. They would have had to go through Cereas, first."

"Boats, allegedly. It seems it was a small group that moved discreetly. With a good portion of the Nerean troops stationed in Woolsmere and the other part occupied with the solstice ball, they managed to slip past them."

That didn't sit right with Ella. Callan, too, seemed to think it improbable. Vanishing troops and highly coordinated attacks, coupled with the sudden gloomy weather, had wrachyd written all over it.

"It does not end there," he said, steeping his hands over his mouth, his expression tight. "In the commotion of the attack, it seems a child was taken."

A murmur broke out, a dozen questions voiced at once. Callan raised a hand, silencing them.

"The child in question is Amyra Glyn, the daughter of Lord and Lady Glyn, the vassals of the land invaded. They had gone out to the ball and left their daughter in the care of her nannies," he said. "Their manor was attacked and the child taken. The staff tried to call for help, but in the chaos of the multiple raids, it went unheard. By the time they realised, it was much too late."