Page 20 of Killian
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Turmoil was not something The Council wanted, but they were swimming in it. Every sorcerer who accidentally stepped onto land the dragons had claimed was slain. Each death weighed heavily on the hearts of every Council leader, including Killian. They did not want war with the dragons. Sadly, the only reason the dragons even knew of the existence of magickind was because The Council had sought them out for protection.
Now, Killian and the people of The Council were dragon prey. Thankfully, it had not splintered The Council. The leaders had grown closer as they sought solutions to aid everyone.
The chaos was not solely rooted in external threats. Chander was poised to turn thirty and harness the full power of his title. His so-called elders were begging the public to revolt against their young leader and insist they remain as his advisors with sizable chunks of his Fate-chosen abilities handed to them. Although many necromancers were willing to put their faith in Chander, whispers of threats reached the ears of the Reverent Knights.
Drystan and Conley went far beyond two undead rescued from the clutches of the dragons. They had grown into dear friends, and Killian was grateful to have the noble men in his life. Their parents refused to be called by any title and had devoted themselves to the care of every fallen knight.
Leaders like Egidius and Jurdann had grown fearful of death and insisted Chander resurrect extra fallen knights each year. But it was foolhardy to summon hordes of men and women to protect them. The Council did not have infinite funds, and no one wanted the fallen knights to suffer from hunger or homelessness.
So, each leader invested more time and money to fattening the treasury. When Killian wasn’t attending meetings with his fellow leaders, he and Aloisa were in the garden.Whether it was Fate or not, Killian’s power grew twice as fast as his sister’s. Dear Aloisa reveled in his successes.
His darling sister was a woman grown now, but she had no love for politics. Aloisa complained mightily on each occasion he dragged her to a conference with other leaders. Her preference was to be among their people. Or tramping through Castle Leolinnia with her dear friend, Saura. With Saura’s help, Killian had raised Aloisa, and he considered his sister’s poise and grace a gift straight from the Grand Summoner.
It was a title Saura would give up the following month. Kaedan and Kariston were ready to rule. They had dropped theDraandDrefrom the front of their names. Saura and T’Eirick had given their sons traditional warlock names but had added the prefixes to reflect the ancient worddraca,which meant dragon.
The twins were born with an unheard-of ability—they each had a tiny dragon form. But neither Kaedan nor Kariston wanted any connection to dragonkind. When they assumed their titles in several weeks, they would not use the Fate-granted dragon symbol on their wrists to represent them. Dragons were a source of fear among sorcerers, so the soon-to-be Grand Warlock had announced that he and his people would be represented by a phoenix.
The ruler of the Eldrvalkyria was honored by the choice, and everyone in the Council had rejoiced. Both Kaedan and Kariston had already summoned their familiars—the warlocks were the only race to have a familiar who resembled them in human form. Although both Renny and Derwin had dragon forms like their summoners, they too had shied away from including it in the names they’d chosen for themselves.
Renny was never far from Kaedan’s side and invested fully in aiding his warlock in ruling their people. As for Derwin, he preferred to indulge in lengthy meals and lounge with fellowfamiliars he’d befriended. Nothing about Kariston’s future title or the prestige they’d both gain was a draw for Derwin to help him, despite Kariston’s role being dominated by how to best care for familiars.
It was Saura and T’Eirick’s familiars—Eldwyn and Briallen—who would act as additional advisors to Kariston. Although it was odd for a warlock and familiar not to have a strong friendship and similar interests, Kariston refused to push Derwin into making different choices. Derwin’s life was his own, and Kariston supported him. Providing for and understanding each other was the message T’Eirick and Saura had preached since the start of The Council, and everyone had taken heed of their words.
Killian considered each of the leaders his friends and did not have to wonder if they would be there in times of need. The ruler of the mages, Jurdann, was the man Killian knew the least. Jurdann rarely visited anyone but Egidius. Thankfully, the wizard leader had come far from the reluctant, often chastising man who’d first signed the treaty thirteen years ago.
Over a decade of sorcerers being slain by brutish dragons had changed everyone. It was rarely discussed in Killian’s presence. Each leader knew Killian had his soul matched to a dragon’s and that he had not spoken to Dravyn since the first day they met.
The Council dared not trespass any more than necessary upon dragon lands, which granted them little knowledge of their tormentors. What they did know was that Imperial Duke Bernal considered himself a leader, but he was not accepted universally.
Helen and Aeron were brave enough to correspond with a few dragon rulers they had met in the past, and they had learned that each kingdom made their own choices. Some listened to Bernal and were faithful to him, while others ignored him completely. Dragons were mired in chaos.
Dravyn’s court name was notorious. Killian had learned Dravyn’s ruler had dual-colored scales and that he was the first dragon to be granted them. Instead of celebrating this difference, the dragons were frightened of it. They considered it a mark of evil.
Where King D’Vaire was or where his court resided was not something Aeron or Helen had discovered. It had been many years since a dragon King had returned a letter, so any news they had was ancient. Although Egidius wanted the fallen knights to spy on the dragons, there were far too few of them to spare the men and women.
There were too many dangers the people of The Council faced daily to put resources into spying. With Chander’s position so precarious, his sentinels could not be asked to leave his side. No other necromancer was willing to keep a sentinel at their side. Or summon them from their prison to live elsewhere. Thanks to Lich Sentinel Alaric’s decision to refuse to meet with Chander, the necromancers—already fearful of sentinels—had cut off all contact with the assassins.
It was troubling that an entire race was locked indefinitely in another realm, but Killian could do nothing to aid them. Helplessness was something Killian had unfortunately grown accustomed to in his time as a Council leader. His feeling of powerlessness did not stop when he set aside his duties and relaxed in his garden.
What had become of his mate? Where was Dravyn? Did he hate sorcerers like many other dragons? Would their next meeting be full of vitriol? Would they even have another opportunity to stand face-to-face? Killian had no choice but to keep faith. Fate had put them together for a reason, and it could not be to condemn them each to a life led alone.
Or the goddess was far more malevolent than Killian had previously believed.
Chapter 8
Six months later
Killian smiled as he knelt in the dirt to inspect a beautiful plant with petals of the palest pink.
“Well done,” he said, glancing up at his sister.
Aloisa’s cheeks reddened, and her gaze lowered to the ground. “Thank you, it took far longer than I expected.”
“What was your biggest obstacle?”
“I feared the color would take patience, but it was the leaves. My choice to combine two different wildflowers gave me some interesting variations…some of them quite lovely.”
