Alek broke the knife in two before tossing it at Castian’s feet. “I would watch the language you use when talking to my wife.”
Castian took a step forward. “Now, why would I do that?”
“Because my father isn’t alone,” Sorin spoke up, drawing Castian’s attention.
Castian blinked before he rubbed his eyes only to squint at them. Then he turned around to Tiller in disbelief.
“Shit, when did you contract more blood suckers?”
“They’re not mine, they’re his kids,” Tiller said easily. Wondering if they would settle in time, for him to guide this meeting. “Though I do wonder why they are here.”
“They’re here to support their new mommy,” Lanias said with a grin, aimed at irritating the demon fox.
The door opened, and Raijin entered and surprisingly Sabina was with him. Lanias jumped up. “What is she doing here?” she exclaimed, glaring at the masked ogre. “She should be resting.”
“I have every right to be here just as you,” Sabina snapped. “I am not going to be left out. You’ve started leaving me in the dark when I was with my ex-husband David. But not anymore, I want to fight if there is something worth fighting for.”
Surprised at Sabina’s angry rebuttal, Lanias felt the air go out of her. “Hah,” she released a heavy sigh. “You’re right. You’re not a kid any longer, are you?” She grinned, retaking her seat. “So, where should we start?”
Tiller pulled out a folder and laid it on the table. “I would say let’s start at the beginning, but that would take too much time. We don’t know when the enemy will strike. They are a race of individuals who claim to have been here even before the great flood. From what I know they’re called Surrem, but there is another name they go by which is ‘True Ones.’”
“What’s the difference,” Malcolm asked.
“The Surrem are those that were banished or the fallen. They were sent here to our plane as punishment for their crimes,”Alek answered. “For them, every hour spent here is nothing more than being put on time out.”
“So, why are they interested in attacking us?” Castian inquired. “If they’ve lived here for so long, what triggered them to attack now?”
“I happened,” Lanias admitted. “Apparently, the prophecy of opening a gate was about me. Unfortunately, one of the biggest rules of the True Ones was not to have children with people on this plane. Some Surrem listened, others not so much. When I sent Legolas into the gate, it was a big red flag that the half-breeds had inherited magic from their Surrem parents.”
“Wait, you’re saying Legolas was one of these Surrem?” Castian demanded, his voice holding disbelief. “How long did you know this?” he asked Tiller.
Tiller shrugged. “I was never sure of what he was exactly, just that he wasn’t interested in doing good for the people of the Veil. I only knew of Surrem through Alek in reference to his personal war with them. It was still a bit of a shock to me when I learned of them more in depth.”
“It’s not all of the Surrem, just the True Ones who are interested in killing all of us,” Castian said, brushing his chin. “Are they dangerous?”
“A lone entity killed every person in my kingdom of two thousand. The only survivors were me and my sons,” Alek delivered without visible emotion.
Lanias reached back and took his hand in hers. “They do not think as we do, they don’t feel as we do. I am a walking bomb to them, as are the children who are trying to make lives for themselves.”
“They’ve been attacking Being’s,” Raijin stated. “They seemed to have broadened their view of their targets. Do you know why that may be?”
Lanias frowned. “From what I know at least from Roni, he’s the one who’s protecting the other Half-breeds. He speculates that Beings may be descendants of those Surrem who were banished long before the flood. At first the True Ones may have ignored them but if they get appropriately motivated, they could come for all of us.”
“Then ‘the cleansing’ is their attempt to wipe their blood from this plane completely,” Eliza concluded. “That means they’re going to try and kill anyone they believe is hiding Lanias.”
“Not if we can stop it,” Malcolm said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “If you called us all here, you must have a plan.”
“I do,” Tiller said, “but I can’t say it’s mine alone.” He glanced at Lanias. “Are you sure this is the best way to handle them?”
Lanias grinned. “I usually play in the shadows, but I think the threat of them is far more demanding of my attention. Knowing this is the case, we should use our trump card.”
“And what’s that?” Sabina asked.
“Me.”
“How could you think about sacrificing yourself?” Oye countered, she stood and glared down at Lanais. “Did death not fix you of that Marty nature?”
“I agree with Oye,” Eliza added her own two cents. “You shouldn’t have to put your life on the line like you did before.”
