“Then they can tell me, can’t they?” Smokey asked, his brow furrowed.
Nodding slowly, Jackson agreed. “They can…however, I have some questions that only you can answer for me.”
“Like what? I’ve already told you I’m gonna bite Norm.” Smokey suddenly realized he was sounding confrontational; he’d have to dial that back.
“I know, but this has to do with the safety of the Blackwood Pack,” Jackson responded. “If you’d like to, you can bring Theo and Norm to the meeting.”
“Yeah…that’d be good,” Smokey said, with a smile, before leaving the room. The need to see his mates pushed him to hurry out. He wasn’t sure what Jackson wanted to tell him, but at least his mates could give him a heads up so he wouldn’t be walking into the meeting blind—something both he and his bear hated.
~/~/~/~/~
“Ready?” Cody asked, smiling down at the young magic user.
Nervously running his hands down the front of his shirt, Tade nodded, staring at the door in front of him, his eyes tracing the carvings on it. Everything depended on him convincing the Ruler that he would be perfect for the job because he didn’t have a Plan B.
Pushing open the door, Cody whispered, “Remember what I told you.”
“Yes sir,” Tade murmured, slowly entering the Witches Council chambers. Never in all his life had he ever seen, or even imagined there could be such a place like it. He was astonished by its opulence. Everywhere he looked, all his eyes were dazzled by gold, gold, and more gold. It was then Tade realized how foolish his idea was. He didn’t belong in this world. He was nothing but a low-level magic user who, according to theprevious laws, was only good for a life of service. His stomach became queasy and bile began to rise in his throat. Desperately trying to swallow it before it splattered onto the golden floor, Tade had only one thought in his mind and that was to flee. Turning quickly, he rushed towards the door, only to find it closed.
“Tade?” called Remy, trying to stop the young man from leaving. “You wanted to see me?”
Sighing, Tade looked down at the floor, wishing it would open up and swallow him, but he wasn’t lucky enough for that to happen. There was no other choice than to turn around and answer the Ruler. Gulping, Tade slowly spun on his heels, until he was facing the owner of the voice—the Ruler of the Mystic Realm. He’d forgotten to ask Cody what the protocol was in regard to greeting him, so he just fell to his knees, lowering his head until his forehead was nearly touching the floor. “Your Majesty,” he murmured.
Glancing at Carson for a moment, Remy caught his raised eyebrow, then nodded. They were on the same page regarding Tade. Turning back to the kneeling young man, he said softly, “Tade, please get up…tell me why you wanted to see me.”
Rising slowly, Tade looked at the Ruler before flicking his gaze over to the man next to him, realizing he was the Mystic Guardian—a wolf shifter. Swallowing several times, he then opened his mouth, only to find his voice had left him. Chagrined, he cleared his throat and tried again, but other than a croak that sounded more like a frog, he was once more unsuccessful in answering the Ruler.
Keeping his smile to himself, Remy rose, stepped down off the dais and walked over to Tade. “Hey, you okay?” he asked, his eyes searching the young man’s red face.
Embarrassed, Tade tried again. “Uhm…yeah…okay…I’m okay,” he managed to squeak out.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Remy replied, then pointing to the chairs in the corner, added, “C’mon, let’s sit so you can tell me about yourself.”
Following the Ruler, Tade’s butterflies began to multiply as he thought about what he wanted to say, but remembering Cody’s advice he kept his nervousness at a manageable level—at least he hoped so. Claiming one chair, Tade sat down on the very edge, worried about getting the seat dirty.
Immediately grasping the reason behind Tade’s behavior, Remy said nothing to him about it, but made a mental note of what he needed to do for all the rescued low-level magic users. Sitting down opposite the young man, Remy watched him chew on his bottom lip. Seeing Tade’s nervousness, he decided on an approach he hoped would help relax him. “Why don’t we begin by me asking you a question first?”
“Uhm…okay,” Tade murmured. “What do you want to know?”
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen and a half.”
Surprised, Remy asked, “How long have you been kept here?”
“Only about three weeks, I think…maybe four. I lost count of the days,” Tade replied. “I should’ve reported here when I turned eighteen but my foster parents refused to send me until I finished school.”
“Foster parents?”
“Well…yeah…that’s what they always told everyone…but according to my parents’ lawyer, they were distant relatives of my mother.”
Frowning slightly, Remy asked cautiously, “Did they mistreat you?”
It took Tade a moment to understand Remy’s question, but then, vigorously shaking his head, he said, “No…no…not ever…beat me…that’s what you meant, right?”
“Yes,” Remy said.
“No, I was lucky…well not really lucky because my real parents died…but the lawyer told me I was lucky because I didn’t have to go to an orphanage.”
