Heir of Dust and Wind

Chapter 49 - Reunions I

"Well, I knew you'd bring more people," Orla said instead of a greeting as their little party descended the stairs and stepped into the living area.

"But I must say," the Goblin added, her gaze never leaving the huddled figure that Trygve had dragged with them, "that I am surprised in some of your choices." She arched a brow and turned back to Ava, who had already drawn breath to explain everything to the librarian, but Orla stopped her with a gesture of her hand.

"I'm interested in hearing all about it, but I dare say we should wait for Raban and Gainor to return from their mission. You all look as if you could need a break."

As always, she had a point. Plus, they would have to tell it all again once the other two males returned.

Ava all but passed out from relief at that moment. The Goblin's words had been curious, not judgemental, for which she was extremely grateful. Feeling the strain of having used so much magic even stronger now, a break sounded absolutely divine.

Much to hers and even more to Dathal's frustration, the Council wouldn't meet until immediately. Before they had come downstairs, Ava had made good on her promise to inform the Alderman of her findings right away and she had sent him a message orb. The reply hadn't taken long and appeared before they had even reached the first floor. High King Farvald had decreed that each of them needed to rally their forces and think on tactical options before they could talk.

Bloody moron. Could he not see that time was of the essence here?

Dathal's message had been very ... strong-worded and let her know that he shared the sentiment, which was hardly surprising. Having faced the brunt of the attack last night, he had – of course – opted for much speedier proceedings. Yet, Farvald had set the date for their meeting in three days' time. She could only pray to the stars that there wouldn't be another onslaught like the previous one until then.

Ava sighed and tried to shove away her feelings of frustration and the pounding pain beneath her temples. At least, it would give her time to replenish her magical powers and prepare for the talk she would need to have with Gainor later.

Thinking of him made her cast another worried look back towards Trygve. He had not said a single word against her decision to take Ferris with them, but she knew him well enough by now to recognise when he didn't like something that needed to be done anyway.

As if he heard her thinking of him, Trygve's voice broke the silence.

"I'm going to show Roarke and Ferris to their rooms," he briefly glanced at Ava who merely nodded. What else was there to say right now? Then he stalked off, the other two Dracaeni in tow.

"I'll briefly patrol the ground outside and see if I can spot Gainor and Raban," Gytha said, and Ava nodded once more before the Centaur disappeared through the front door. It was as if she sensed that Ava needed a little space right now to figure out what she'd do next, what she'd say to Gainor.

"Don't worry too much, darling," Orla's voice in her head tried to reassure her. "Let everybody get a moment to breathe and it'll all work out in the end."

Ava sincerely hoped that the Goblin was right. She couldn't bear the thought of Trygve and Gainor being upset. In the last couple of months, they'd become something of a family to her, giving her a sense of belonging, after spending so much time on her own. Now she feared that she'd destroyed all that they'd built with one single action.

"Now," once again it was Orla's voice that interrupted her brooding. "Don't you want to introduce our other new resident?"

With a start, Ava realised that she hadn't mentioned Kernan just until this moment, him being momentarily forgotten in the tangles of the whole Ferris situation and last night's attack.