Chapter 88 Telling the council
The door burst open as they all filed in.
Konstatin looked angry. “This better be important. We were getting to the most important part of the training.”
Lucien motioned for them to sit, already walking to the drawing board, the report in one hand and a marker in the other.
“Sam looked angry.” Olivia chipped
in. “Are you guys going to say what's up or would you rather keep us guessing?”
“You could perhaps sit down and be patient.” He said to neither of them as he dropped the board.
Olivia recoiled while Konstatin rolled his eyes.
Lucien drew a large circle on the board before writing a name in the middle.
The Guatemalas.
“What the?” Seth swore under his breath, standing up almost immediately.
“Lucien?” Olivia whimpered.
Colour drained from Konstatin's face as he sat in his seat.
“What does this have to do with anything?” Seth was the first to break the silence.
Lucien nodded at Sam as the guard approached the three of them, handing over some papers.
“And?” Seth urged, his eyes scanning through it as he waited for Lucien impatiently.
Lucien turned back to the board, writing another word.
Bloodline.
He wore the last.
Moonlit.
Olivia shook her head in disbelief. “What led to this conspiracy?” She whispered as if afraid of being heard in the open.
He pointed the marker at the board before facing them. “These are who we are up against. These people.”
“And you know that, how?” Konstatin frowned.
“The papers.” He began, his voice restrained.
“A doctor has held several meetings in the palace in the few weeks that we've been gone.”
“A normal occurrence you should know since you were king.” Konstatin interrupted.
Lucien nodded. “I agree.” He turned back to the board. “And as King, I also know that rituals have not been carried out in the old ritual room for centuries.”
Olivia staggered, grabbing the chair for support.
Lucien wasn't finished. “And I also know that as king, there is absolutely no reason why a spiritual doctor should be brought to the palace.”
“Except in rare cases.” Seth pointed out.
“Yes,” Lucien's lips curled. “Rare cases like rituals.”
“Still doesn't cover anything.” Unlike the rest of them, Seth's voice was calm, his face seemed drained of life, but his voice was steady.
“It doesn't, I agree.” Lucien shrugged. “Not until you realise that the rituals about to be carried out are synthesised with the bloodline artefacts in connection with the ancient doctrine.
“The same one carried out years ago?” Konstatin hesitated.
Lucien nodded. “The same one.” He paused, studying their faces. They lokked like they'd just heard the worst possible news there was to hear in the history of the kingdom.
And he couldn't blame them. Even he, hadn't been able to sit still.
“The plans?” Seth broke the silence. “How do we know where they are? How do we stop them?” He paced, bringing his fingers to his mouth as if it had all just dawned on him.
“This is bad. This is really bad.”
Olivia sniffed. “We can't let this happen.” She muttered. “What do you know?” She said, turning to Lucien.
Almost immediately, as if on cue, Sam handed them another piece of paper.
“You think they are behind the attacks? Or rather, they've been behind the attacks?” Seth seemed to have calmed down.
Lucien nodded, writing something on the board. “Now that I think about it, Damien is too inexperienced to carry out such coordinated attacks.”
They all nodded in agreement.
“The planning, the logistics, the men. It's all bigger than him.”
Olivia nodded. “I agree.” She gulped as if thinking hard whether to speak or not.
“Olivia?” Lucien called.
Olivia looked away. “If this is them as you say, then this is bad.”
“The Guatemalas. You can call their name. They're not here.”
She sniffed. “We don't know that,” she began before turning to them. “I've read about them, like I'm sure you guys have. They're everywhere.”
“Were.” Konstatin corrected almost immediately. “Were everywhere. This is our space.”
Olivia nodded, even though she was far from being convinced.
“Besides this really is not the Time for emotions.” He flared. “I'm pretty sure Lucien knows them enough to feel everything there is to feel.”
Olivia snickered. “They're not mutually exclusive.”
Konstatin shrugged. “All I'm saying is that we need a plan. A solid plan.”
Lucien nodded. “I agree. But I don't think you know the full extent of what it is we're in.”
They looked at him expectantly, the room as silent as a cemetery, waiting for him to say the words that would determine their fates.
“If there's one thing I know,” he began. “Kt is that the Guatemalans leave no stone unturned in getting what they desire. No stone.”
“And?” Konstatin urged.
“I've been doing some research about Isabella.”
He could feel the shocked expressions on their faces. “You don't need to know why and it's been a good thing.”
The silence in the room, told him all that he needed to know.
“The Moonlit blood concentrates from generation to generation.” He paused, studying their faces.
“Say there was a 20% concentration in the first, there would be 40 in the next.”
“Isabellas's is how much?” Seth asked the dreaded question that plagued their minds.
“From the research, she's 80.”
“No,” Olivia groaned, biting her lips. “It can't be.” She shook her head in dismay.
“They plan on using her to legitimise their reign. Her bloodline legitimises the doctrine.” Lucien continued.
The words came out with a lot of effort that seemed to break his heart.
“And Damien?” Konstatin asked. “He is their instrument in helping bring all these to fruition.”
Lucien nodded. “Either he knows or he has a death wish.”
“The rules of exception,” Seth muttered, making Lucien nod in agreement.
“That applies as well. He could be thinking he has a place amongst them. They may spare him after all.”
“Wishful thinking.” Konstatin snickered.
Lucien's brows curled. “That should be his problem. We have to stop them from happening.”
“Can we?” Olivia cut in. “If everything you've said is correct, then it means they've been planning this for a century.”
Lucien could sense she was holding back. “What do you mean?”
Olivia cleared her throat, looking away guiltily. “Having explained the concentration of the blood ties, I'm afraid that everything that has been happening has been as a result of their plans.”
Lucien glowered. He could feel his head banging as he struggled to understand what Olivia was saying.
“Wait,” he staggered. “Liv, you're saying…”
Olivia nodded. “What are the odds that a bloodline of 80 would be the King's mate?”
Seth whipped his head up to meet their eyes. “And the child?” His eyes widened.
“The first of many. A complete one.”
Lucien groaned, massaging his temples. “You're saying that everything has been strategic?” He asked, even though the answer to the question was staring him right in the face.
They all looked away.
“I…honestly…I…” he spluttered, his eyes roaming the room all at once. It hadn't occurred to him that Elias had also been in their plans.
Isabella had been his major concern.
The room fell silent, with everyone enveloped in their thoughts.
Lucien's feet tapped on the floor, as his mind raced.
They'd gone through centuries of oblivion while plotting in the dark, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
He couldn't believe kings before him had not figured this out. Even he, if he weren't being affected, would not have realised that the Guatemalas had silently sneaked back into their world.
Age-long marriages and childbirth, kingdom division had all been part of a larger plan.
They were all pencils, pawns on the large chest board, being played by people they thought were dead.
And now, it was resting on him. His son and his mate were in danger, waiting for him to step in and save them.
He looked up. “We can't let this happen.”
“We shouldn't let this happen.”
He and Seth said the words out almost immediately.
The others nodded in agreement as their minds raced.
“What's the plan?” Konstatin murmured.
Lucien knew that if this were an entirely different situation, he would have smiled.
Konstatin was always impatient to hear about plans, hammering always on how action was the key.
Now, with the threat of the entire kingdom being wiped away by an almost inexistent group, he knew that it was the right thing to do. Plan.
Instead, he shook his head. “There are no plans.”
The surprise on their faces was enough to make him change his mind. Instead, Lucien shook his head, his resolve strengthening. “I have to go to Crestwood.”
He didn't need to tell them what it was he was going to do.
Seth nodded. “I agree. This madness needs to be stopped.” His voice was firm.
Sam, who had been quiet all along, stepped forward. “I have to go with you, Your Majesty.”
Lucien merely shook his head. “They need you here more, Sam.” His voice held no room for argument.