Like the Dawn (Lark #3) (5 page)

              “No, he hasn't mentioned anything about any other kingdoms.” Unless of course he had and I just spaced out—which was very likely. “There's two?”
              “Yes. The kingdom of Raumelfr and the kingdom of Gautelfr,” Isobel continues. “Their kingdoms are much smaller than Álfheimr. We were once all under one rule, but after Dugan lost the throne to your father and consequently turned against us, two separate groups defected and started their own kingdoms to avoid the impending civil war.”
              “Seriously?”
              “Yes,” she says matter-of-factly. “Greyson has really not mentioned them?
              “He might have,” I admit. “I've been a little distracted lately. But he did mention the two rivers that border Álfheimr—the Gautelf and the Raumelf and I'm guessing the other kingdoms are named after said rivers, huh?”
              “That's correct. The Raumelfr kingdom is  northwest of here and the kingdom of Gautelfr is to the east just on the other side of the river.”
              “What's beyond those borders? Does it just drop off into the sky?” I ask sarcastically.              
              She just laughs so I don't admit that I'm actually really curious.
              “So my dad is technically the king of the other kingdoms as well, right?”
              Isobel's mouth forms a tight line as she seems to think carefully about how to answer that question.
              “Technically,” she finally speaks. “However, Alberico has never pursued it. To regain control over Gautelfr and Raumelfr would force our people into a civil war and that is something Alberico has never deemed worthy. He wants to maintain the peace.”
              “Oh.” I can't think of anything else to say.
              We end up staying in Isobel's secret garden until night falls. I feel bad for missing dinner with my father but I'm sure he'll understand.
              By the time I return to my room, it's late and I'm surprisingly tired for not really doing much today. As soon as I lay down, my eyes drift close of their own accord. I can only hope that thanks to my exhaustion, tonight will be a night of dreamless sleep.
             
 

Chapter Five

             
M
y bathroom is like my own personal spa and I often think that I don't take advantage of it enough. The Jacuzzi tub in particular is seriously neglected.  Something I intend to remedy this morning—after all, it appears I have nothing else to do.
              It's been two days and still no word from Odin which means we still haven't had a council meeting. I never thought those meetings were very productive but at least it was more than just sitting around waiting.
              I'm getting so frustrated constantly having to wait for a decision to be made. I feel the anxiety building inside of me and I just know that I'm on the brink of exploding. I feel like all I've been doing is pacing around this rather expansive castle just waiting for
something
to happen.
              When I woke up this morning and heard the news—that there was no meeting again today—I decided that my much-neglected Jacuzzi tub was calling my name—might as well take advantage of the down time, right? Hopefully the relaxing jets of warm water can soothe my nerves and keep me from doing something I'll regret later.
              I light some candles and pour some scented oil into the tub. The gold mark on my wrist glitters faintly in the flickering light and catches my attention. I stare at it, holding my hand out in front of me and moving my wrist from side to side watching the mark light up and then fade. I remember what it felt like when Sól gently placed her hand on my wrist. It felt like a fire burning its way through my body starting at the point of contact and flowing steadily until I felt like my insides were completely inflamed.
              I barely have a toe in the water when I hear a soft knock at the door.
              It's funny how I can identify the person on the other side simply by the knock—I know without a doubt that it's Grey. I hurriedly pull my robe back on and open the door just wide enough to peek my head out.
              “Hey, what's up?” I ask Grey.              
              “Odin has returned so the king has called a council meeting.”
              “When did he get back?” I ask.
                 “Just an hour ago. They are calling the meeting right now.”
              Looks like my personal spa is going to continue to be neglected after all.
              “What? Like right now?”
              “Yes. We need to hurry.”
              “Why?” I ask. I don't understand why the sudden rush, I mean, it's been days and nobody seemed concerned but now all of a sudden we're supposed to have a meeting
right now.
              “I'm unable to say. I was just asked to come find you.”
              “Because you can't or because you don't know?”
              “I can't,” he tells me reluctantly. “I'm sorry.”
              I know he doesn't like keeping secrets from me so I try not to get frustrated with him. But it does seem to me that if he really wanted to tell me—he would.
              “Why you?” I ask before I realize how rude that sounds. “I mean, of course I don't mind, I'm just surprised that they wouldn't send the message along with Freya.”
              Freya is sort of like my own personal assistant so she's usually the one who would bring me a message.
              “You know I do whatever it is that His Majesty asks of me without question.”
              Yes, I did know that. It's why Grey has known me my entire life—from a distance anyway. Alberico trusted no one else with the knowledge of my existence so Grey watched over me and my family. 
              When I started my senior year of high school, he even enrolled as a student and got a job at the movie theater with me so that he could be close to me at all times.
              “I guess I should change first,” I tell him. I can feel the heat rise to my cheeks as I realize just how little I'm wearing. Sure the robe is thick and fluffy, but all it would take was a slight tug of the tie and it would fall open exposing me to him.
              The thought causes my face to turn a deeper shade of red. I cast my eyes downward, embarrassed that the thought even crossed my mind.
              He clears his throat nervously. “I shall wait outside.”
              Luckily I had just pulled my hair up into a messy bun on top of my head so all I really have to do is brush it out and put on one of those ridiculous dresses.
              When I step out of my room, Grey's indigo eyes look me over appreciatively and I feel the heat rise in my cheeks once again in response to the attention.
              “We should go on down.”
              Speechless, I just nod and close the door behind me. The castle looks like I always imagined the inside of a castle to look.  Practically every inch of the white stone walls is covered in pieces of art. Alberico is a bit of an art buff. It's what attracted him to my mother, Kate—she's also an artist. 
              The glossy marble floors are so shiny you can see your reflection in them as you walk.  There are arched entryways that lead into each of the four wings that branch off from the center of the castle.
              The extravagance was once overwhelming and though I don't suspect I'll ever be completely unaffected by the beauty, it has come to feel
normal
to me now which surprises me. How did I ever become used to such a place?
              “So can you at least tell me where Odin has been?” I ask, as we walk down the corridor leading to the staircase.
              “I am confident they will tell you everything once we join them.”
              “Join them?” I ask, puzzled. “You mean they've already started the meeting without me?”
              “The Royal Council had some things to discuss,” he says guiltily.
              “What kinds of things?”
              “Things your father wishes to keep private for now.”
              “More secrets? Really?”
              “I know.” He doesn't seem to agree with my father about this but I know he won't say anything out loud—not here anyway.
              “When has keeping me in the dark ever ended well?”
              Grey grimaces, but doesn't respond to my question. We descend the spiral staircase that opens up into the center of the castle.
              The north wing houses the guest rooms on the first floor as well as the spiral stairs that lead up to the tower where my room is located. The west wing is where the kitchen and dining areas are located, as well as the servants’ quarters. The east wing holds the main ballroom and several smaller entertaining rooms on the second floor.
              The library is also located in the east tower—I've spent countless hours in that library learning about the history of the Light Elves. The south wing is all Alberico’s. There is a third floor but I haven't been up there before. That is where, if there was a queen, her private chambers would be.  Since I’ve had no reason to explore that part of the castle yet, I don’t know what else is up there.  The war room is also in the south wing so that is the direction Grey and I head.
              When we get closer we can hear them arguing over something concerning me. For some reason their heated discussion makes me nervous, and I feel like we are entering into the lion's den.
              Grey and I step into the room and take our places at the table on either side of Alberico. Everyone stands, of course, and they don't sit back down until I take my seat.
              “Mia, thank you for joining us on such short notice,” Alberico says.
              I'm thankful he refers to me as just Mia but most of the other elves still refer to me as Princess despite how often I ask them not to.              
              “Of course. Wouldn't miss it. What are we
arguing about today?” I keep my tone light, but the message is clear. I think that all this delaying is a complete waste of time. We know where the Dark Elves are. We know that they are no longer hindered by the curse that I unwittingly broke a few weeks ago—we need to act now before they can wreak havoc on the mortal world.
              It seems pretty simple to me but for some reason the council is refusing to act and my patience is wearing thin. If we don't do something soon, I'm afraid I'm going to end up doing something stupid—again.
              “I believe I may have a solution. We need larger numbers if we want to stand a chance of defeating the Dökkálfar. We cannot do it alone so we need to acquire an alliance,” Odin from the House of Lords responds.
              “Okay. So who are we planning to ask? You know the Móh'rhím won't get involved,” I point out. I met Herdis, the queen of the Móh'rhím in the Underworld. She told me herself that they don't get involved in the affairs between the Light and the Dark Elves.
              “I am quite aware,” he replies. “I was referring to the kingdoms of Raumelfr and Gautelfr. We need to persuade one, or preferably both, to form an alliance with us,” he continues, “I've just returned from Raumelfr and I believe that King Valdar is willing to at least hear us out now.”
              “Wait—Raumelfr and Gautelfr? I thought we didn’t interact much with them?”
              Alberico seems very uncomfortable. “That is true. We have had very little to do with them ever since the defection. They live their lives, we live ours.”
              “Oh,” I say. I'm starting to understand the problem. “So we've pretty much ignored them for all these years, but now we suddenly need something from them.”
              Of course they aren't jumping at the chance. How can we expect them to want to help us when we have effectively cut ourselves off from them? It's definitely not how I would have done things if I was in charge. We would be so much stronger if we all stood together despite our differences.  
              Alberico nods. “I recently called on King Magnus of Gautelfr and I believe he is willing to at least consider joining us in our fight. He is of course, trying to persuade his own council to agree to it.”
              “And how long does he think that will take?” Loud-Mouth Lars pipes up.
              “As you are aware, sometimes it takes time for the council to be persuaded and even longer to get them all to agree on something,” Alberico points out and Lars backs down.
              “King Valdar will be difficult to persuade without a little groveling on our part,” Adele grumbles. “However I suppose if that's what it takes—”
              “I am uncertain whether it is worth our time to try to form an alliance. We might be better off just attempting to end this ourselves,” Brigit interrupts.
              “Don't be so daft, Brigit.” Adele rolls her violet eyes and tucks a strand of her platinum blonde hair behind her ear.
              Adele always stands out in a group of elves because unlike most of them who wear their hair long and usually braided down their backs, her hair is cut short in a stylish pixie cut and her eyes are like amethysts. 
              Adele continues, “This isn't something we can go rushing into. We have to plan for it, otherwise we will lose too many of our people.”
              “Can't the Princess just heal the injured,” Brigit snaps, looking over at me with a superior look that I find unsettling.
              “Sure she can heal the injured but she can't bring anyone back from the dead. And besides, have you seen how much healing wears her out? Do you really want to risk harming our princess?” Adele fires back.
              “It is her fault we're in this mess anyway, it's the least she can do,” Brigit mutters under her breath but it's no use. Everyone in the room heard her anyway. Most of the others seem shocked that she actually said that out loud but I think I see a few who appear inclined to agree with her.
              “That's enough, Lady Brigit.” Alberico stands up. “If you remember correctly, the Princess was trying to save the Duchess, Isobel's life. She was tricked by Finnegan and we shall not hold that against her,” he thunders. “And do not be so careless to forget whose daughter she is.”
              Brigit seems to cower at the reprimand by her king. I would normally feel bad for her if she wasn't being so completely awful.
              My eyes dart to Isobel who is looking down at her hands. I don't think she has quite forgiven herself for not realizing that her husband Finnegan was a double agent. She probably feels just as guilty as I do.
              “So we are trying to get the kingdoms of Raumelfr and Gautelfr to form an alliance with us, but they are not easily persuaded and I'm guessing you were arguing about how to go about persuading them before I got here right?” A general murmur of agreement fills the room. “Okay, so what do you want me to do?”