chapter 42
Selene sat on her throne – her back straight, her hands draped elegantly along the arms of the chair. Her father had once received dignitaries from other tribes in this room. Now it was her turn. Although where the doors had previously been, now there was a giant gaping hole from the day’s attacks.
Before her stood Marcus, Stephen, and James. Surrounding them throughout the chamber were the rest of the Louisiana tribe, Griffin and his entire family, the Vyusher High Council, and many other Vyusher who had fought that day.
Marcus swept Selene an old-fashioned bow. “Having witnessed your past, we are now in agreement that those who were truly responsible for the attacks against us have paid with their lives and are gone. Having fought side-by-side with you against Maddox and his assailants, we hope we’ve proven our trustworthiness. We will withdraw, of course. But first we would prefer to negotiate a treaty of peace between our tribes.”
Lucy says their intentions are true, Griffin’s voice sounded in her head. She glanced at where he stood and gave him a tiny nod. She turned her attention back to Marcus.
“Thank you,” Selene accepted simply. “Peace is what we wish for as well. I couldn’t ask you to join us as allies, but would you consider speaking on our behalf should other tribes attack?”
“My Lady,” Xavier interrupted, but stopped when she held up an imperious hand.
Marcus nodded. “Of course. It’s the least we could do. However, I also believe that we are already in danger. I’m guessing that if Maddox doesn’t know that we helped you today, he’ll find out eventually. We would like to call on the Vyusher powers and numbers for protection when, or if, we ever need support.”
Selene sighed. “I appreciate your honesty. And our protection is something we will absolutely offer. Why don’t you all stay for a little while so that we can take the time needed to form a treaty that will, hopefully, benefit us all?”
Marcus rubbed the stubble in his jaw. “We wouldn’t want to impose.”
“I have an idea,” Selene heard Ellie’s voice in her head.
Selene’s eyes moved to where her friend stood a few feet off to the right. “Ellie? You have a suggestion?”
“My te’sorthene and I planned to be married in the very near future and this castle would be such a lovely setting we’ve decided to have the wedding here. With Selene’s permission, of course. We would consider it an honor if you and your clan would join us as our guests.” She flicked a glance at Selene, who gave her a mental thumbs-up. “You can also spend that time negotiating the treaty.”
Selene peeked over at where Alex stood, a huge grin spread across his face. She turned back to Marcus and was pleased to see him smiling as well.
“We would be happy to stay and help Rene’s grandson celebrate such a momentous occasion,” he said. “Although I do have to say that attending a wedding was definitely not what we had in mind when we came here.”
Laughter – part amused, part relieved – echoed through the hall.
“Come…” Selene gracefully stood and offered him her arm. “Let’s find you all places to stay.
“Do you have enough room for all of us?” he asked, as he walked with her into the hallway.
Selene laughed. “It’s a very large castle,” she assured him.
*****
“Selene?” Lila’s voice sounded from behind her.
Selene was seated at the large oak desk in her bedroom. She looked up. “Come in.”
Lila poked her head around the door. “Hi.”
“Hey, Lila. How are you?” Selene waved her further into the room. She watched her closely. Something was off with Lila, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.
“I’m fine.” Lila closed the door behind her and walked over. Peeking at the Selene’s computer screen, she wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. I thought you’d finally wrapped that treaty up?”
“We have. I’m just reading through the final draft.” Selene passed a weary hand over her eyes.
On top of helping Ellie plan the wedding on short notice, Selene had been occupied with sorting through the aftermath of the fighting. Funerals had to be arranged and many hours spent negotiating not just peace, but a coalition, with their new allies. Thank goodness she’d decided against summer school—one less thing to deal with right now. And, of course, there was still Maddox…
“Still no luck finding Maddox?” Lila asked.
“When did you start reading minds?” Selene sat back, grinned and shook her head. “Nope…no luck just yet. Sheila’s having trouble tracking them down.”
“What does the Council say?”
“They have no idea where he would’ve gone or what his next move will be. We can’t even figure out what they took. Finding Dexter’s mother in those cells implies there were others with her and they took them. But no one here knew anything about any prisoners down there. It’s a waiting game now. At least we’re gathering allies.” She waved a hand at her computer screen.
“Speaking of Dexter’s mom,” Selene continued, “How is she doing?”
“Fine. Considering she’s lost decades of memory.”
Not even Griffin and Ellie together had been able to unlock her mind. She had no memory of her life after her capture – at least they assumed she was captured – by the Vyusher. She definitely had no memory of how she’d ended up in those dungeons. It was a mystery Selene feared they’d never solve.
“How about we talk about something happier? Why did you come visit me?”
“I’m afraid I’m here about one of our other mysteries.” Lila frowned. “Sorry.”
Selene laughed. “Well, I needed a break from all this legalese anyway.” She stood up and followed Lila out of the room. “What’s this about?”
“Hugh thinks your unconscious little friend might be waking up.”
“Oh, well, that’s good news.”
Lila stood aside and let Selene precede her into the room. The girl still slept, tubes and contraptions attached to her. Hugh stood beside the bed. His hands were extended out over the girl’s prone form, lights glowing from his palms. He glanced up.
“How’s it look?” Selene asked him.
“She seems to have at least come out of that stasis, or hibernation, or whatever it was. She’s still in a coma. But I think she might be close to waking.”
“When?”
Hugh shrugged. “Days. Weeks. Months even. It’s hard to tell.”
Selene reached out and gave the girl’s hand a squeeze. She wondered if yet another mystery would ever be solved. She patted Hugh on the shoulder.
“Thank you. Keep doing what you can for her.”
Hugh nodded and continued his work. Selene and Lila headed out.
“Let’s go find Ellie,” Selene suggested. “I could use some wedding planning time after the day I’ve had.”
Lila grinned. “Now you’re talking.”