“We’ll visit tomorrow,” Raoul said. “Brightmore is only a few hours’flight from here.”
I looked up at him, finding his amber eyes on me. The heat there made my breath catch.
“I’ve had access to these records my entire life and never studied them the way we have today.” He hit his forehead with the heel of his palm. “What kind of king overlooks something as vital as this?”
I shrugged. “We have three hundred years of data. Want to talk about the prior kings and what they missed as well?”
“You’re right.” He sank back into his chair. “The important thing is that we’ve identified it, and if there’s a problem right now, we can see if we can come up with a solution. Thank you for pointing that out. I tend to?—”
“Take responsibility for everything, even things you can’t control?”
He smirked. “Something like that.”
“Yes, something.”
A warm breeze swirled around us, carrying the scent of summer rain.
We leaned closer?—
The archive door burst open with a bang that made us both jump apart.
Demi rushed inside, holding a small message scroll aloft. “We have a problem.”
We both got up from the table.
“What’s wrong?” Raoul asked.
“It’s about the Summit.” Demi moved into the room, her usual cheerfulness replaced by tension. “Two of the clans are threatening to boycott unless we address a crisis with their newborns. They’re accusing each other of sabotage, and both are demanding we take a side before they’ll attend.”
My stomach sank. A Summit boycott would be a political disaster.
“What kind of crisis?” Raoul asked.
“That’s the strange part.” Demi handed him the message, explaining for me while Raoul read. “Both Clan Silvervale and Clan Goldwing are reporting the same issue. Their infants won’t stop sneezing. At Goldwing, they’re also coughing. The parents are exhausted, and everyone’s blaming everyone else.”
Fletcher slunk out from under the table.That sounds annoying.
“When did this start?” I asked, my mind already spinning through possible causes.
“About two weeks ago, according to the message.” Demi looked between us. “They want answers before the Summit, or they’re not coming. And if two clans boycott, others might do the same.”
Raoul’s jaw tightened. “We’ll figure this out.”
“How?” Demi asked. “We can’t exactly tell their babies to stop sneezing or coughing.”
His gaze met mine. “We need to visit both clans and see if we can find out why this is suddenly occurring. Silvervale and Goldwing are in the east. We can stop at the village along the way and then continue from there.”
“Alright.”
We shared a smile that felt giddy on my part because this meant we were going to spend time together.
“You two…” Demi’s eye had taken on a sparkle that didn’t fit with a clan dispute. She shook her head. “Never mind. I think you two need to discover this on your own.”
CHAPTER TEN
RAOUL
Iwoke to Fletcher snoring directly in my ear after spending another night on the sofa.
