Chapter 166: The Council's Fury

Lucian's pov

The council chamber was cold and the walls were stone and the air was thick with tension.

I sat at the table with my hands flat on the cold surface and my jaw tight and my eyes hard. The elders were gathered around and their faces were stern and their voices were sharp. Elder Marlow sat at the head of the table with her gray hair coiled tight and her fingers steepled beneath her chin. Elder Thorn was on her left with his broad face carved from stone. Elder Whitmore was on her right and his spectacles were perched on his nose and his eyes were unreadable.

Marcus Voss stood by the window and his arms were crossed and his jaw was tight. The snow was falling outside and the world was white and cold and the silence was heavy.

"The witches are getting bolder," Elder Marlow said. "They are moving closer to the academy. The patrols have reported sightings near the eastern border. They are not hiding anymore. They want us to know they are coming."

"I know," I said.

"The hunters are also closing in. They are working together. They are coordinating their attacks. This is not random. This is planned."

"I know."

"And the girl is still here."

"She is a student at this academy."

"She is the reason they are coming."

"She is not the reason they are coming."

"She is."

"She is not."

Elder Thorn leaned forward and his voice was low and sharp. "You are blinded by your feelings for her. You cannot see what is right in front of you."

"I am not blinded."

"You are."

"I am not."

"You are."

I stood and my chair scraped against the stone and my voice was sharp and cold. "She is not the reason the witches are coming. She is not the reason the hunters are closing in. She is not the reason any of this is happening."

"Then why are they here?"

"Because they want power. Because they want control. Because they want to destroy everything we have built. They have been waiting for centuries and they are not going to stop because we send one girl away."

The room was quiet and the silence was heavy and the tension was thick. I could feel their eyes on me and I could feel their judgment and I could feel their fear.

Elder Marlow leaned back and her voice was flat. "We have made a decision."

"What decision?"

"We are going to send her away."

My blood went cold and my hands were shaking and my voice was steady. "What?"

"We are going to send her away. Somewhere safe. Somewhere the witches cannot find her."

"She is not going anywhere."

"She is."

"She is not."

"She is."

I stepped closer and my voice was low and dangerous. "She is under my protection. She is a member of this academy. She is not going anywhere."

"We are trying to protect her."

"You are trying to get rid of her."

"We are trying to protect the academy."

"You are trying to get rid of her."

The room was quiet and the silence was heavy and the tension was thick. I could hear my own heartbeat and the breathing of the elders and the soft rustle of Marcus shifting his weight.

Elder Whitmore removed his spectacles and cleaned them on his sleeve. "The council has voted. The decision is final."

"The decision is not final."

"It is."

"It is not."

I walked out of the chamber and the doors slammed behind me and the torches flickered and the tapestries moved.

Kade was waiting in the corridor and his face was pale and his eyes were dark. He had been waiting for hours and his hands were shaking and his voice was low.

"Lucian," he said.

"Kade."

"The council—"

"I know."

"What are we going to do?"

"We are going to fight."

"How?"

"I do not know. But we are going to fight."

I walked through the corridors and the torches flickered and the tapestries moved and the wolves stepped aside.

Kade fell into step beside me and his voice was low. "There is something else."

"What?"

"Something happened while you were in the meeting."

I stopped walking and turned to face him. "What happened?"

"It is Cressida."

My blood went cold and my heart started pounding. "What happened to Cressida?"

"She is fine. She is not hurt. But she is looking for you."

"What happened?"

"Her cat. Ember. She is missing."

I stared at him and my voice was flat and empty. "Missing?"

"Missing. She woke up and the cat was gone. She has been searching all day. She came to find you but the guards would not let her in."

I was already walking and my feet were pounding and my heart was racing. The corridor blurred past and the torches flickered and the tapestries moved.

"She was really attached to that cat," I said.

"I know."

"She needs that cat."

"I know."

"Where is she?"

"I do not know. She has been searching everywhere. She went to the greenhouse and the gardens and the training yard. She is not in her room."

I walked faster and the corridors blurred past and the torches flickered and the tapestries moved.

"She came to find me," I said. "She came to find me and the guards turned her away."

"They were following orders."

"I do not care about orders."

"I know."

"She needed me and I was not there."

"You did not know."

"I should have known."

I searched the greenhouse and the glass was cold and the plants were thriving and the silence was absolute.

Cressida was not there.

I searched the gardens and the snow was deep and the trees were bare and the world was quiet.

Cressida was not there.

I searched the training yard and the snow was packed and the torches were burning and the shadows were long.

Cressida was not there.

I searched the common room and the dining hall and the library. I searched the dormitory and the corridors and the empty classrooms. I searched everywhere and found nothing.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"I do not know," Kade said.

"She has to be somewhere."

"We will find her."

"She has to be somewhere."

The sun set and the sky was dark and the torches were lit.

I stood in the middle of the courtyard and the snow was falling and the wind was howling and the cold was biting. The frost was on the ground and the cold was in the air and the fear was in my heart. I had searched everywhere and I had found nothing.

"Cressida!" I shouted.

No answer.

"Cressida!"

No answer.

"Cressida!"

No answer.

The night came and the fire crackled and the candles flickered and the room was cold.

I sat in my quarters and the papers were spread across the desk and the strategies were written and the plays were drawn. But I could not focus and I could not think and I could not breathe. She was out there and she was hurting and she was alone and I could not find her.

I stood and walked to the window and pressed my hand to the cold glass. The frost spread beneath my fingers and the cold seeped into my skin.

"Cressida," I whispered.

The name echoed off the walls and the silence answered.

The witches were coming and the hunters were closing in and the council was against us. But all I could think about was her. All I could think about was the cat and the fear and the loneliness.

I would find her.

I would find them both.

No matter what.