Elven Legacy

Chapter 11

Jaden

In spite of the short notice, everyone took their seat at the long mahogany table, surrounded by tapestries of war scenes, as well as rolled maps and scrolls stacked on shelves.

Jaden sat alone at the short edge, his nervous hands worrying at the flaking polish of the table and the wood underneath. A servant drew back the curtain and pushed open the window shutter, the crisp autumn wind drifting in to chase away the musty air.

Before leaving them to it, she asked whether she should bring in tea and scones. Jaden shook his head from across the room.

"Not now, thank you," he said, and she nodded with a curtsy before closing the door. Jaden cast his gaze over the people seated around him.

Moira to his right, still in her church clothes, though she'd draped her shawl over the back of her chair. Her copper-red hair was in a long braid that coiled stylishly around her head. Beside her, Priest Velior, in simple black outfit and embroidered coat – one of the things Jaden appreciated about the man was that he didn't fancy intricate velvet robes like their old priest had.

To Jaden's left, Lord Bastian, Captain of the Veicira Garrison. In his late twenties, the skilled soldier had replaced Kemon Clay, who was serving a ten-year sentence in the dungeons for what he'd done to Moira, a little over a year ago.

And as ever, Fredrick Nightvale, Jaden's uncle, who did remarkable work keeping the books, ceaselessly finding new effective ways to save money and redistribute it. Uncle Fredrick had a hawk's eye when it came to descrying theft – usually in the form of aristocrats abstaining from paying their fair share of taxes. Consequently, Fredrick was considerably unpopular at court, though he didn't seem to care. Still, Jaden had provided Kitera with specific instructions; her guards were to keep an eye on him.

Then there was Fredrick's son, Damian Nightvale – named after the late king, Jaden's father. At sixteen years old, Damian didn't appear to have an ambitious bone in his body, yet the fact remained that he was currently the next in line for the throne.

Damian's twin, Colin, had left the castle a while back with their mother Nissy, a Laethi princess. As it transpired, there had been a coup in Laethi, and the king had been assassinated. The throne being up for grabs, Nissy had wanted to join that dangerous race with Colin. And so, they simply took off, leaving Fredrick alone with Damian. Sneaky move, even for Nissy. Though Jaden certainly couldn't say that he missed her.

"There was an attack today," Jaden said, cutting to the chase. Moira didn't react, because she already knew – he'd told her as soon as Kitera had left to muster her guards.

Moira simply crossed her arms on the table, looking down at them with a shaky sigh. Much like Jaden, she must still be going through the initial shock. It was hard to accept that Zemisha was truly gone. And yet, the council room felt incomplete without her presence, hammering in the reality of the situation.

"A jackal demon wreaked havoc in a downtown market square," Jaden told them. At least, it sounded like a jackal, from Kitera's description. Jaden had seen the desert canine once, through Noah's eyes.

There were a few stifled gasps. Fredrick put down his quill, Velior muttered a prayer to the gods, Bastian frowned so deeply his eyebrows touched, and Damian whispered, "Holy shit!"

No one reprimanded his language.

Jaden crossed his arms on the table, same as Moira, and clenched the sleeves of his black coat. He felt cold, and the brisk wind coming in through the window behind him had little to do with it.