Chapter 76 Enemy

Chapter 76 Enemy
"I'm here." My voice was hoarse. "I'm all right."

"Thank the gods." He pulled me into his arms. "You were screaming. The shadows were, they were everywhere. I thought I'd lost you."

"You didn't lose me. I'm right here."

I looked at Ash. He was still in his small form, curled on his pillow. His scales were gleaming again. His eyes were open and bright. He yawned, showing a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth, and then went back to sleep.

"He's going to be all right," I said. "The Umbral Host had latched onto him in the north. They were feeding on his dreams. Using him to spy on us."

"Spy on us?"

"They wanted to watch me. To learn my weaknesses." I paused. "There's something else. Something I saw in the dreamscape. The creatures were reporting to a master. Something that sleeps beneath the northern mountains."

Cardan's expression darkened. "The same mountains where the Ghost Raiders have been attacking."

"The same mountains. I think the Umbral Host and the Ghost Raiders are connected. I think the same force is controlling both of them." I met his eyes. "And I think it's been waiting for something. Something that hasn't happened yet."

"What?"

"I don't know. But we need to find out."

\-——————————————

The council meeting was predictably hostile. I didn't even know how news had reached even, but I suspected it had to do with Elowyn's many spies. 

"You performed forbidden Hel magic within the palace walls," Lord Castellan said, his voice cold with disapproval. "You endangered yourself, the King, and everyone in the vicinity."

"The ritual was contained. No one was endangered except me."

"The ritual was illegal. The use of dream-walking magic has been prohibited in Aurelia for over a thousand years. It is a crime punishable by exile!" 

"Then perhaps the law should be changed. It saved my dragon's life."

Elowyn, seated at the far end of the table, leaned forward. "The Queen Consort seems to believe she is above our laws. Above our customs. Above our traditions. She brings her Hel magic into our court and expects us to look the other way."

"I expect you to recognize that my magic saved a creature who has fought beside your soldiers in the northern mountains. A creature who has protected this kingdom more effectively than any of you have." 

Elowyn's eyes flashed. "You dare..." 

"The Queen is right."

Cardan's voice cut through the chamber like a blade. Everyone fell silent.

"The ritual may have been unorthodox," he continued, "but it revealed crucial information about the Umbral Host and their connection to the Ghost Raiders. Information that may prove vital in securing our northern borders." He looked at Lord Castellan. "The law against dream-walking was written in a different age, for a different purpose. I will not punish my wife for using her powers to protect this kingdom."

"And if she loses control?" Elowyn demanded. "If her magic consumes her or what if she gets lost walking in someone else's dreams? What then?"

"Then I will be there to bring her back." Cardan met his sister's eyes.

The council chamber fell silent.

Elowyn stared at her brother. For a moment, her mask slipped, and I saw something dark and hungry in her eyes. Then she smiled her blade-velvet smile.

"Very well, brother. If you wish to stake your crown on the Queen's self-control, I won't stop you." She rose. "But don't be surprised when it all comes crashing down."

She swept out of the chamber, her crimson gown trailing behind her like a trail of blood.

Lord Castellan watched her go, his expression troubled. Then he turned to me. "What did you see? In the dreamscape?"

I told them. The Umbral Host. The master beneath the mountains. The ancient power that had been sleeping and was now beginning to wake.

When I finished, the council was silent.

"We need to send word to your brother," Cardan said. "If there's something in the northern mountains, something old enough to control the Umbral Host, we'll need his knowledge more than ever."

"I'll write to him tonight," I said.

"Good." Cardan looked around the table. "In the meantime, we reinforce the northern garrisons. We increase patrols along the mountain passes. And we prepare for whatever is coming."

The council nodded. Even Lord Castellan looked grudgingly impressed.

\------------------

Three days after the council meeting, Lady Freya requested an audience.

I was in my private chambers, reviewing reports from the northern border, when Liriel delivered the message. "She says it's important, Your Majesty. She says she wants to speak with you privately and alone."

"Convenient," Thalia muttered. "The last time the queen met with her she announced her pregnancy at a family dinner."

I set down the report. "Where is she now?"

"Waiting in the eastern wing. She said she'd come to you if you preferred."

I considered this. Lady Freya had been living in the palace for weeks now, keeping to herself in the eastern wing. I had seen her only in passing, nothing else. She had not sought me out since the dinner that shattered everything.

Perhaps it was time we spoke.

"Tell her I'll meet her in the small garden," I said. "The one by the eastern colonnade. Neutral ground."

Liriel nodded and withdrew.

\---

The garden was quiet at this hour.

The sun had begun its descent, casting long golden shadows across the manicured paths. The night-blooming flowers were just beginning to open, their petals unfurling like tiny violet stars. I sat on a stone bench near the central fountain, my shadows curled lazily at my feet, and waited.

Lady Freya arrived a few minutes later.

She was dressed simply, a gown of soft gray, her dark hair loose around her shoulders. Her pregnancy was more visible now, a gentle swell beneath the folds of her dress. She moved carefully, her hands folded protectively over her stomach.

"Your Majesty." She curtsied. "Thank you for seeing me."

"You asked for an audience. I'm giving you one." I gestured to the bench across from me. "Sit."

She sat.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The fountain burbled. The birds sang. Somewhere in the distance, a servant called out to another.

"I owe you an apology," Freya said finally. "A real one. Not the performance Elowyn wanted me to give."

"Is that what the dinner was? A performance?"

"In part. Elowyn coached me for days. She told me what to say, how to stand, when to touch my stomach for maximum effect." Freya's voice was bitter. "She made me rehearse the announcement like a scene from a play."

"And you went along with it."

"I did." She met my eyes. "I'm not proud of it. But I was desperate. Elowyn promised me that if I did such, Cardan would realize he'd made a mistake. He'd remember what we had. He'd come back to me."

"And you believed her?"

"I was foolish your Highness, I wanted to believe her. Love makes fools of us all, Your Majesty. You told me that once."

I had told her that. In the conservatory, months ago, after I had found her saying goodbye to Cardan. When I had looked at her and seen not an enemy but a woman who had lost something she couldn't get back.

"I'm not your enemy, Lady Freya," I said. "I told you that before you left for the northern territories. I meant it."

"I know. I didn't believe you then. I thought you were just trying to get rid of me." She paused. "I believe you now."

"What changed?"