I shook my head slowly.
“I’m no one without Selene,” I said.
I wasn’t royalty or nobility. I was a half-witch with no title, no great power. My family hadn’t been in any position of power since before my great-grandfather. Nobles were purebloods—apart from Viridis, but they didn’t count. No one took their lines seriously. Dylan was proof of that.
“That’s what she wants you to think,” Katrina interrupted my thoughts. “And you’re so brainwashed by the politics of race, class, and the Houses that you actually believe it. But you’ve not gone unnoticed. Some people think you’re something special, Percy. I’ve not seen it. But it’s not for me to decide. Your lineage and current status make you the perfect symbol for all sides of this emerging was. Having met you, I disagree. But I’m just meant to get you out of here—alive.”
“You knew this was going to happen? Who are you?” I asked, distrusting her, and refusing to believe what she had said. I was no one. My heritage didn’t mean anything, and I certainly couldn’t remember doing anything—ever—that would give anyone the idea that I was, or even wanted to be, someone important.
“We knew it was a possibility. I’d hoped to get you out and to leadership before this,” she said.
“I’m not who you want or think me to be. I don’t care about whatever group you’re with. They’re no different than whoever’s bombing downstairs. I need to find Selene,” I told her, pulling at my arm. “Let me go,” I demanded.
“I can’t do that. You’re coming with me.”
25. Devoured Hopes.
Selene Borealis
The first detonation was little more than a rumble beneath my feet, but I recognised the explosive nature of the event. Rylan didn’t so much as wait for my instruction—Percy’s name had barely left my lips before I heard him running past the office, in the direction of the main foyer. The direction of the blast. The direction of the servant’s kitchen, because it was lunch time and we both knew that my pet would be seeking something to eat. The cook had been given orders not to overly indulge her sweet tooth. Had she eaten already? Was she somewhere else now, far from the foyer? I hoped so. Rylan would find her.
“Elise,” I called. The head servant was always somewhere close. I wondered if it was by design—to be within summoning or spying distance.
“Marchioness,” she greeted as she entered, her heart racing.
“Do you know what has happened?” I asked her.
“No, but Ardens guards have been deployed to the lower levels,” she informed me.
“And Adamantia?”
“I do not know.”
“My pet—have you seen her?” I continued.
“Last I knew of her whereabouts was the servant’s dining room,” she answered.
“How long ago did you know of her location?” I questioned.
“Maybe half an hour ago. One of the kitchen staff informed me that she had rabbit stew with no desert, keeping with your request for only healthy sustenance for your pet.”
I nodded.
“Gather all estate servants to the orchard evacuation point. This is an emergency,” I commanded.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Elise, there is to be no bravery from non-armed and untrained servants. Evacuate. The safety and preservation of life is now your highest priority.”
“Understood,” she answered with a grave nod.
I had no option but to trust Elise and that the others of the estate would follow evacuation protocols. Yet I did not trust my head servant. And I knew that none of the estate had ever had need to evacuate before.
Lydia and her useless husband were behind this. It was undoubtedly a foolish attempt to take Ardens Estate by force. It would end in their deaths regardless, but if Percy was harmed in anyway—even the smallest of scrapes—I would skin them alive and force feed them their own flesh.
I wanted to scream. Ardens was meant to be our refuge in the North. Far away from politics, from public intrigue, and the danger associated with the wealth and power of my Royal titles. Ardens Estate could be our home. It could provide the safety and peace that Percy required. I would not allow one of my half-baked, dim-witted, arrogant, delusional cousins to destroy what Ardens could become.
If Ardens and the North was not our refuge, I would condemn it all to ashes and hunt down every remaining relative I had to ensure no such attempt by my blood was ever made again.
