“Is that…” I whisper.
“A hawk,” Lord Daniel nods.
I scowl at the faux animal heading our way, its appearance eerily similar to that of Stormfall. Daniel takes a step at my front just as I push my shoulders back tall, my gaze landing on the two Leviathans with an openglare I don’t care to hide. Both men smile back at me as the hawk soars high into the sky before disappearing into the dark. It then comes flying back down in a clear path directed straight at me before it bursting into the finest of mist.
Everyone cheers in amazement, their eyes alight in wonder.
Everyone except a select few…
My own gaze is still bouncing back and forth between the Leviathans, the hatred emitting from me unable to be held back. Desmond is standing next to his father with a hardness in his silent features as he grips the hilt of his sword, the King shifting on his feet as he notices his son’s reaction. Keane is…
Ancients,Keane.
He’s looking directly at Edam and Prince Isham with me, analyzing their smiles with a cool severity. I’ve seen that face before, seen those same features on the nights he dealt with Tadeo and Troy’s man at the mills. His right palm is turned towards the ground, his fingers tense and ready as he takes a step forward.
“Let’s get you inside, Lady Alexis.”
Lord Daniel places his hand on the small of my back, recognizing the gesture for what it was. I nod and let him escort us back inside the room, only turning around when loud footsteps follow us from the veranda.
“We saw,” Holis huffs.
“It had a likeness to Storm,” I scowl.
“It was Storm,” Mana scowls quietly.
I turn to Lord Daniel at my side and introduce Sera as the three approach, “Lord Daniel, this is Sera, Mana’s wife. She owns a beautiful café up in the Palisades.”
Sera smiles at me before extending her hand out to Lord Daniel to shake. True to his nature, Daniel takes her fingers and brings her hand to his lips in a chaste kiss, “a pleasure to meet you, Sera.”
“How can they know?” I ask as we move inside the room, far away from the balcony.
“Storm was flying above us when we rode,” Lord Daniel says in thought, “perhaps he saw then.”
“They knew before that, though,” I scowl again, my brows furrowing deeper, “they knew exactly who they were looking for that night.Whatthey were looking for. Is Hirovale prominent in Livyatan?”
The twins shake their heads as the five of us huddle in a small corner. Both brothers look at Lord Daniel briefly and then glance at me in question, asking if they can speak plainly of the Ancient and his Bird of Ash in front of the Lord.
“I plan to speak to him soon,” I smile to the twins in confirmation, “as well as Alanna.”
Holis nods his head and replies, “the Ancient is not revered in Livyatan. In fact, they actively reject his being.”
I cross my arms in front of my chest in confusion. “How can you actively reject death? It happens to us all.”
Both Sera and Mana give eachother a quiet smile as Holis continues, “several ways. The first is by extending life longer than magically or humanly natural.”
“That’s…”
“Yes,” Holis grimaces, “not the way of things. They practice deep magic to prolong their lives here in the Old World.”
“What kind of deep magic?”
“There are rumors,” Mana says quietly as his brother and wife frown in silence.
My mind slowly churns to Red Falls and Princess Clair.
“Two-hundred year old rumors?” I ask softly.
The twins look at me in surprise before Holis grins.
