39 Meeting the Elders Part 2
Lily POV
When we reach the room where the meeting is being held I knock twice before pushing the door open. Two female elves and eight male elves sit around a large round table. For Elders they don’t look much older than my parents, but I know elves age differently. My eyes meet Drake’s and I step to his right side while Jasmine steps to his left. I see the confusion on
some faces while others look on in disgust. Especially the two female elves.
Myra, Grant, and Liam stand off to the side near Vincent. “My queen, it is good to see you again.” “It is good to see you as well, Elder Maribelle,” Jasmine says. “Please, my queen, Maribelle is fine when we are not at ceremony” she says. Her eyes seem kind and her words to
Jasmine seem genuine. When her eyes move towards me, I can see nothing but disdain. She
must think I’m David’s new plaything.
“Do you have a problem, Mirabelle,” Drake asks, and her eyes snap to him. “I’m just confused about why you’ve invited these outsiders to join a meeting of this nature, my king,” she says. “Well, if you must know, Lily isn’t just any ordinary elf. She has many powers. One of those
powers is reading someone’s intentions, whether they be good or bad. Whether they are lying
or telling the truth,” he says.
Several of the Elders shift in their seats and I wonder exactly what they’ve done that they fear
David finding out. “So, I’m going to ask you some questions and this beautiful creature is
going to tell me if your aura is red or white. If your aura is red there will be consequences,” Drake says.
The elf that seems to be in charge pops up from his seat. “My king, you can’t be serious. We have all been loyal to you since the day you took power over the kingdom. Why not just ask
your questions and take us at our word? We have never given you reason to doubt us, yet you would take the word of this wh*re over us,” he says. “Sit down, now. If you ever speak about her that way again, I will rip the tongue from your mouth,” Drake says.
The power in his words have a shiver running down my spine. The elf immediately takes his seat and drops his gaze to the table. “Jeremiah, if you are honest and have done nothing
wrong, you have nothing to fear. Only a guilty man has fear of the truth,” Jasmine says.
His
eyes flash to Jasmine before they return to Drake. “Did you know that David killed my father and mother?” Jeremiah looks at Drake, who hasn’t changed his form yet, like he has
grown ten heads. “My king, you aren’t making any sense. You are David and of course you
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39 Meeting the Elders Part 2
didn’t kill Allister and Carmen,” he says. His aura lights up red with every word.
“That’s a lie, my love,” I say. Their eyes snap to me. Before any of them can speak, Drake
releases the illusion spell. This time three of the Elders are on their feet. “What the f**k is the
meaning of this? How dare you trick us, slave? Where is the king,” Jeremiah asks, his voice
laced with anger. Drake’s eyes turn a brilliant purple before he stands to his full height.
“I am the rightful King of the Elven Kingdom. If I were you, Jeremiah, I would have a seat
before I forget about the answers I want and kill you right now,” Drake says. Fear flashes in his
eyes and he slowly takes his seat. The other Elders do the same. “It’s time to show them who
we truly are,” Ariel says. David takes his seat and I remove the ring from my finger. Gasps fill
the room and the woman from earlier smiles at me, but this time it’s genuine.
Drake takes my hand and places a kiss on the back before he turns back to the council. “This
is my beloved, Lily Forester. As I’m sure you can already tell, she isn’t an elf. In fact, she is the
Red Wolf” he says. “How” Jeremiah manages to croak out. “How did this amazing creature
manage to make it here and save me from the bindings placed on me by a man that has my
blood running through his veins. I don’t know Jeremiah. That’s a very good question, but right
now you’re in no position to ask,” Drake says.
I rest my hand on his shoulder. He’s close to losing control and I know he wants answers
before that happens. He takes a deep breath, placing his hand over mine. “Now,
I’ll ask
you
again. Did you know that David killed my father and mother” he asks. I can feel his intention
to lie as the aura that surrounds him grows and deepens in color. “Tell the f**king truth“I say
with a growl and his spine stiffens.
“Yes, after he killed your mother and father and took you into his custody, he met with a small
group of us that “he trusted.” He told us that you would never be worthy of becoming king
because you were powerless and couldn’t speak. He gave us no choice, as he was the only
royal elf left to rule. You have to understand,” he starts to say, but I cut him off.
“Understand that you allowed a murderer to become king. That you didn’t protect the child
that was the future of your kingdom. Is that truly what you want us to understand“I say, my voice rising with every word. “Our power is limited and no match for a royal elf. We did what we had to in order to survive” he says, as if it justifies their actions. “How many of you knew,”
Drake asks. We both look around the room as five other elders raise their hands. Each one is
surrounded by a red aura.
“Did Elder Samuel know,” Drake asks. Regret and sadness flash in Jeremiah’s eyes. “Not in the
beginning, but he suspected your uncle had something to do with your parents‘ death. He also
believed it was wrong to declare you incapable of becoming king at such a young age. David
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knew that Samuel would never let it go. Samuel was my friend and I knew fighting David wouldn’t end well for him,” Jeremiah says.
Drake POV
“So he was your friend and, instead of standing by his side to avenge the true king and queen
you took the cowards‘ way out. You bent to the will of a murderer. You turned your back on the
rightful king. There has to be more to it, because with the power of the council and the tribe, he could have been dealt with. So what did you gain, Jeremiah? What did you all gain by being
complacent?”
He looks at Lily before he finally answers. He keeps his eyes cast down as his words make my blood run cold. “I was given Samuel’s place as head of the council, and we were provided access to the tribal mines,” Jeremiah practically whispers. Lily growls and takes a step toward
him. Without warning, she slaps him hard across the face, knocking him to the ground.
“You betrayed everything for power and money. All of you” she says, pointing at each one that had raised their hands “thought that no one would ever know. You thought that all dirty deeds done in the dark wouldn’t come into the light, but you couldn’t be more wrong” she says. Goddess, this woman is amazing.
“You have no right to speak to us like this. You are nothing to the kingdom. Do you really believe that the elves will bow down to a mutt and follow an elf that couldn’t speak or defend himself,” one of the other Elders says. I don’t even know his name, but honestly I don’t need to. This time when I unleash the vines, I don’t stop them as they wrap around the pr*ck’s neck. His eyes get big as he realizes just how much he f**ked up.
The vines tighten as he tries to fight against them. It doesn’t take long for him to stop moving. I drop his lifeless body to the ground before I focus my attention back on the others. “No one will disrespect me or my queen. Am I clear?“They all nod wordlessly. “My king, we can help you. We can speak to the royal tribe about all that David has done, We can convince them you have always been worthy of being king,” Jeremiah says.
Anger like I’ve never known courses through me. “Let me get this straight. You betrayed my parents, Samuel, and me for riches and a title, but now you want to help me. You actually think you can make things right.” I can feel power coursing through me as rage bubbles up inside me. Rage at the audacity of these elves.
The council was made to ensure that our rulers were not absolute. That power was not abused and here they are not only allowing it, but benefiting from it. “My king, what can we do to make up for our complacency,” Jeremiah asks. “Where is Elder Samuel,” I manage to grit
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39 Meeting the Elders Part 2
out. “David veiled his powers and sent him to the Red Death Tribe as a slave” he says with his
eyes cast down to the floor. I swear my heart stops beating.
The Red Death is a tribe that lives up to its name. They have been known to slaughter any outsiders that set foot in their territory. For the most part, the kings of the past have stayed
out of their business as long as their mayhem didn’t spill over into the other tribes of the
kingdom. I take a step toward Jeremiah. “For all you and the four other council members have
done, you are sentenced to death, which will be carried out immediately.”
Jeremiah falls to his knees and the others follow suit. “Please, my king, have mercy” he pleads. “Fine, I’ll grant you mercy.” I see hope flash in Jeremiah’s eyes. “If you can bring my parents back, then I’ll grant you the mercy you so desperately want.” The hope fades as
quickly as it came. The power surges through me again. A purple mist leaves my body and surrounds each of the guilty council members.
They begin to cough and grab at their throats. Purple streaks begin to cover their skin as they gasp for breath. “I pray to the goddess she gives you all exactly what you deserve. After a few more seconds they are gone. I turn to the remaining council. They immediately drop to their knees and bow their heads. “We pledge our loyalty to King Drake and Queen Lily,” Mirabelle says, speaking for the remaining council. “Rise, we have much to discuss.”
