Desmond looks at me with a hard glance, either not understanding my words or not believing what I say. But I know what I saw that night, and what I saw on the Prince’s shoulders didn’t match any of the other men that were with him. His darks braids moved on their own accord, darting forward in a way that wassearching.
“I don’t know how else to explain it,” I offer, “except that the hair of his braidsmoved. They took the form of snakes, Desmond, and even moved like snakes across his shoulders.”
Desmond’s typically unreading face falls into a grimace, his eyes thoughtful.
“And you saw flames under the Prince and Princess of Pyre, yes?”
“Yes,” I nod, remembering those strong red swirls under their skin, “did you not?”
Keane didn’t.
“No, Lady Alexis,” he replies, turning back to the road ahead of us as his features retain their normal look of Discerni indifference.
“I’m not making it up,” I scowl, “there was magic in his hair.”
Desmond sighs in his saddle, “I believe you, Alexis. We both believe you. What we don’t understand is why you can see more than the average human is allowed. More than even us, as Discerni.”
Weagain.
Him and his brother.
They talk about me.
“Then tell me what you know about them,” I reiterate, “help me to understand.”
Desmond stays stoic atop his horse, his dark eyes not meeting mine as he sighs again.
“The Leviathans are brash and hasty in their decisions…” he replies after deep thought.
I nod in encouragement, already having the same impression.
“The one you met, Prince Yiannis, is the least level-headed of the three. He roams the Riverlands and Bulwark Plains, inching closer to our borders every day.”
“Hence, Fumagalli,” I nod in thought, “but what of Varon?”
“We have been building the same there,” Desmond replies quietly.
“And their summoning? I watched a man control Lord Daniel’s body without touching him.”
Desmond frowns, his dark eyes finally turning to mine. “As our summoning roots itself in the earth and ground around us, the Leviathans channel the elemental water in everything around them. The man you saw that night was summoning the water out of Lord Desmond’s body.”
Elder Father and Mother.
Desmond nods at the look of horror on my face. “We owe you a great debt, Alexis.”
“Can every Leviathan do that?” I ask, my voice heavy.
Having access to that kind of power is raw and unforgiving. It’s the kind of dark magic that I stumble upon when visiting Disce’s libraries. The books that detail that horrendous type of summoning should not exist, nor should the summoning be allowed.
“Only the strongest,” Desmond replies.
“And what of the other two Princes? You said there were three. Are they on the same level as Yiannis?”
“The oldest is,” he nods, “as are a handful of high-ranking family members that they keep close to their inner circle.”
“Which of the three is requesting an audience on behalf of their Kingdom? From what I’ve read, the oldest Prince is the one in charge.”
“He is, but it’s the youngest that rides with the delegation. ThePeacemaker,they call him in their lands… his summoning has yet to reveal itself, but it is rumored that he will outrank both of his older brothers in the years to come.”
