Page 144 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“I fiercely protect what is mine to care for,” she said matter-of-factly. “It is no fault of mine if you do not have such care for your own kingdom.”

“Choose your next words carefully, Kyra,” Rordan said in a low tone.

The fire in her palm expanded. “My words are always chosen with purpose, Rordan.”

“Let’s take a minute and focus on what we need to accomplish today,” the Falein Lady cut in. “What are we going to do about the Sirana Villas?”

“And the girl?” the Celeste Lady cut in.

“And what of the missing Fae?” the Serafina Lady added on. “Those assets must be recovered, Rordan.”

“Not to mention this is still a Selection year,” the Celeste Lady said.

“Enough!” Rordan barked. “We have handled crises before. We will do it again. First things first, we need to put our peopleat ease. They are already anxious with the sporadic attacks on Legacy, even if it was kept to the Arius line until now.”

Theon held his tongue at that comment, waiting to see where the Lord went with this.

“We hold the Sirana Gala as planned,” Rordan continued. “We invite more than the nobles, make it a grand affair. A remembrance and tribute to those who were lost, and reassure everyone we are taking these matters seriously and handling it.”

“I think we also use this as an opportunity to appoint a new noble to rule in Rosebell,” the Falein Lady added. “Do we have anyone in mind?”

“I have a few ideas,” Rordan said.

“As do I,” the Anala Lady said.

“I as well,” the Celeste Lady chimed in.

Rordan was visibly annoyed. “Fine. We submit names and meet a week before the gala to decide.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“As for the missing Fae,” Rordan continued. “The most valuable had Tracking Marks. The issue is that all the people who had the corresponding Marks to track them were also killed.”

“Every single one?” Theon couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes,” Rordan said tightly.

“You are telling me you didn’t have a single person outside of the Villas with this Mark in case something like this happened?”

A few seconds ticked by before the Achaz Lord gritted out, “Obviously not.”

“By the gods,” Theon muttered, swiping a hand over his mouth.

Granted, there were only three of them connected to Tessa’s Tracking Mark but that was because he didn’t trust anyone else. Out of six kingdoms, there wasn’toneperson outside of the Villas to trust with this Mark? Although, when he thoughtabout it, the issue was likely they couldn’t agree on who that one person should be, just like it would be hours of discussion to agree on a new leader of the Villas.

“Then how are we going to find them?” the Serafina Lady demanded.

“We can ask the priestesses to see if they can come up with something,” Rordan said.

“Or we ask the Shifters for aid,” the Anala Lady said.

“The Shifters? You cannot be serious,” the Serafina Lady scoffed.

“They are excellent trackers.”

“And there is a reason they are in the Underground.”

“They are also notoriously difficult to work with,” Rordan cut in.

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