Letters lay scattered in uneven piles across the dining table. From my side, I watched quietly and deciphered from their discussion that they carried citizens’ concerns and pleas to their Mage Lord, a man clearly important enough to warrant a litany of messages.
I had reluctantly agreed to join them for another meal, yet I might as well have been invisible. The lord’s pinched mouth and the tense pauses made it clear they had far worse problems than me.
Reagan squinted at the message in his hand, then at the table, as if lost in some private thought.
I kept my eyes on him, the most dangerous person in the room. My nerves were still frayed from yesterday, the memory of claws and sharp teeth so fresh I could almost see them again. I swallowed a hard lump of meat that slid down my throat as if it had sharp edges.
In my head, I replayed the moment he’d turned into an animal. Finn had said it was just a scare, just intimidation, but I wasn’t sure I believed him. It had felt like...something else.
It didn’t matter. I knew now that the threat he posed was far more vicious than I’d imagined, and if Finnegan was right, this was nothing compared to what he could do.
His gaze caught mine for a heartbeat before I lowered my eyes to the half-eaten plate of kale and meat stew, finding it far more interesting than seconds ago.
“Most of the pleas mentioned the harvest issue,” Cerridwen said, reclining gracefully in her chair. “This is the most pressing matter for the audience today. Focus there first. Nothing on the Rite yet. We don’t have enough to share.”
“It’s something we may need to reconsider if it’s still worth keeping,” Barracus Crow said tersely.
Cerridwen turned toward him, her eyes narrowing as though his suggestion annoyed her. “And what then? Tell them to hide and forgo the few occasions this estate still counts on? No. This year matters more than ever. Cancelling it would be worse than Zara openly admitting she will not stir in our favour.”
They both glanced at Reagan, whose eyes, as I belatedly realised, were still fixed on me, as if he’d noticed how closely I listened.
I cursed inwardly. They were the ones who had turned a meal into a business discussion. He didn’t have to worry. Almost everything they said felt foreign to me.
He finally turned back to the staff and answered, “We will have the Rite and work on what we need for the next few months.”
It was Gwinifer who spoke next. “I heard news from Eldritch.” She handed a letter to Reagan, who skimmed the paper over his food.
“No incidents,” he said, with a tone of relief.
“Not since the Wraiths that showed up last week, but they still have more patrollers there,” she replied.
All of them seemed to sigh for a moment.
“What’s a Wraith?” I asked, sensing this might be relevant.
Impossibly, the tension in the room thickened.
“Dead, cursed people,” Finnegan answered curtly. “They hunt mostly the mageborn.”
“They are not really people anymore,” Gwinifer added, as if she read the alarm on my face. “Their bodies are decaying, but they live by feeding on the powers of others. So they are dangerous.”
“Feeding?” I asked with cold dread.
“On our power,” Finnegan clarified. “They can drain a mageborn to the point of death, which is the main reason they cannot be near cities.”
“Should we be talking about this here?” Cerridwen asked, staring between their lord and me.
Reagan shrugged. “I didn’t invite her. But what can she do?”
“I invited her,” Finn said, unfazed. “She is staying for a year. You want to have her stuck in a room the whole time?”
I dropped my napkin on the table, ready to rise from the chair.
Reagan shook his head, reaching for his drink. “Fine by me. She should know what is out there.”
I couldn’t tell whether it was meant to prepare me or unnerve me. In any case, I leaned back in my seat and listened.
“We’re leaving for the border. Again,” Reagan said to Barracus, pinching the bridge of his nose as if fighting off a headache. “Then, after the audience, we can review our options.” He turned to Cerridwen. “I know you’re talking about current deals. When I’m back, we’ll go through your list and decide where I have to go, including Erisea. The location will make it easier.”
