The others all nodded smugly as if hiding a key was some kind of diabolical genius. Fuck.
“All in favor, say aye,” Braydon stated, and a chorus of ayes echoed around the table.
Hell. After hours of arguing, they’d decided to do nothing. What a bloody waste of his time. Gordon could have told them that they would have voted that way in less than a minute. He could have made the decision for them and saved them all that time. Decision-making by committee. Thank fuck it was nearly over.
Maeve cleared her throat nervously. “What shall we do about James?”
“He’s obviously completely lost control,” Finn said, his voice laced with judgment. “We all knew the blood Shadows had… repercussions.” The Healer leaned back in his chair and looked pointedly at Gordon.
It was so tiresome. Of course there would be repercussions. It was hardly a secret—once you were on the Council anyway. It sure as hell was a secret from the rest of the Order.
This was exactly why he hadn’t discussed it with anyone until he’d perfected the method. None of them had the kind of drive or commitment it took to become truly excellent. None of them would have understood just how powerful it was possible to be. And none of them had the strength to make it happen. Not like he had.
It had been extraordinarily difficult. He’d been distracted by Abigail for years. He’d fallen in love with her, or he’d thought he had anyway. She was so vibrant and bright and filled with joy. She’d been everything he’d never had. But then, when his father was dying, he’d learned of his true destiny. He’d taken it to her, explained everything, but instead of supporting him, she’d disagreed.
She’d told him that she’d always known the day would come when the fate of the Dru-vid lay in their hands. And for a few moments, he’d thought she was on his side. But then she’d tried to make him abandon what he’d learned. She’d argued vehemently, determined to convince him to deny his birthright. She’d believed she could persuade him away from his path.
That was when he realized she had never truly loved him. She had married him in the hopes of changing him, and he couldn’t allow it.
Still, in the end, it was her sacrifice that opened the door. Her death had forced him to reassess his methods, to truly consider just how far he was prepared to go to become the Archdderwydd.
First, he’d lost Abigail, and then he’d lost Emma. He’d expected to shape his daughter into the strongest Seer the world had ever seen, but instead…. He shuddered. What had happened to Emma’s Shadows was disgusting, but it had given him the missing key. After long years of failed experiments and uncertainty, he’d seen her in Paris, taken one look at her Shadows, and finally understood where he’d gone wrong, and what he needed to do to fix it.
Not that fixing it was easy. People had died. And the old Council wasn’t like these fucking idiots. They’d seen the Shadow Weavers through two world wars, and their decisions were swift and decisive. If any of them had found out what he’d been doing, they would have known exactly what he was capable of and ended the threat by Shadow stripping him and asking questions later.
It had been a battle. But then he’d realized that every great master had to overcome their doubts. Anyone who ever achieved anything had to face the struggle, and the struggle was even greater when the achievement was so very big. Abigail’s death had been the push he needed. He’d realized he had to set aside childish emotions and fluffy dreams and focus on what was real. Power.
He’d gone back to the beginning. Back through the precious notebooks left to him by his father. There was a man who had no time for stupidity. His father had been a harsh, often brutal, master. As a boy, Gordon had been filled with hatred for the vicious old man, but now he saw the truth. Everything his father had done, every thrashing he’d handed out, every correction, every punishment, had been because he saw such momentous potential in Gordon.
When his father had looked up from his deathbed and handed over the carefully preserved ancient records, he’d looked Gordon in the eye and revealed the truth. “You’re the one, my son. You’re ready. Only you can make the Dru-vid great again.”
His father was right. Gordon had worked through those cracked pages again and again. He’d kept going, even when it was hard. Even when it was painful and dangerous. And he’d been rewarded.
He’d finally succeeded with James. The sudden understanding Emma’s Shadows had given—that you couldn’t use Dru-vid blood on the initial sacrifice—held. All that effort, all that dedication, had finally paid off. And Gordon controlled it all.
Finn cleared his throat loudly. What had he been on about? Oh yes… repercussions. Gordon raised an annoyed eyebrow at the gray-haired Healer. “Are you trying to make a point?”
Finn frowned back. “I think we should take James into—”
“No.”
“But I—”
Gordon folded his arms. “I said no. James is being cared for by Bryn. If you sweep in and take him, you’ll achieve exactly what I’ve tried to avoid. You’ll unite Bryn, Elizabeth, and David against us. Didn’t you all just vote to keep David where he is? Or are you ready to haul all three of them in here and Shadow strip them now?”
Silence fell around the table. Bryn, Elizabeth, and David were stronger than all of them—except Gordon. Obviously.
Bryn and Elizabeth had been vocal among the Circles in their criticism of the Council. If something happened to them now, it would cause suspicion at an awkward time.
Bloody James. If he had just gotten rid of Kayleigh Stewart, as Gordon had instructed, Elizabeth would be grieving and distracted, David would be worrying about Elizabeth, Bryn would be smoking his herbs or whatever the fuck he usually did, and none of this would be an issue.
Kayleigh herself might have been a threat. She was as strong—maybe even stronger—than Elizabeth, but she had no backup. Her Guardian triad had crumbled. James was broken and he would have taken Zach down with him. She was alone now.
Gordon smiled. Judging by the way the others inched back in their chairs, it was exactly as unfriendly as he’d intended. “James doesn’t know anything. It suits us to leave him where he is with Elizabeth and Bryn fluttering around him. When we’re in our rightful place as leaders of this country, then we can take whatever action we want against whomever we choose.”
Gordon looked slowly around the room, settling his eyes on each of them in turn and letting them consider who, exactly, might be added to that list next.
“Okay, fine,” Maeve agreed, swallowing heavily. “So maybe this would be a good time to talk about roles for after we’re in power. We should discuss who will form the primary triad to support the new Archdderwydd. We haven’t had a single leader for centuries and we need to start considering how we’ll divide….”
