333- The Elders’ Ultimatum
POV Viktor Averwyn:
A letter was delivered that afternoon, at the main gate. And it was quickly brought to me.
When I saw the wax seal with the mark of Noctheria, closing the thick, yellowish, ancient paper, I knew it was sent by the Elders. That always formalized the decisions made.
Alone in my office, I broke the seal and read the flowery text, with letters engraved by a fountain pen. It looked like a parchment.
“Dear alpha and son Viktor Averwyn,
It is with appreciation that we write these words, hoping that they find you well and at peace.
We deeply regret the recent events and are open to conversation. We were counting on your presence to reach the best decision, and since that was not possible, we resort to this final attempt.
The accusations weigh against your honor and against the laws of the Alphas of Tharnak. Until tomorrow, we will wait for you to reconsider and come visit us, accompanied by the human. Thus, we will be certain of your good will. And we will discuss the details.
If you do not respond to us nor appear in Noctheria within the twenty-four-hour deadline, misfortune will come to pass. For the good and peace among the territories, harsher measures will be necessary.
May your heart receive these words well and our sentiments touch your mind. May the fierce battles, so long prevented in our lands, not be perpetuated.
Return to obedience of the rules. With wishes for peace and affection,
The Elders.”
I shook my head at the confirmation that we would have war if I did not appear at the castle and hand over Seraphine, by the following afternoon. Just an empty, beautiful text, bringing no fucking news at all!
I crumpled the paper and threw it in the trash. They did not delve into the issue or offer another way out. Was Konrad so cunning that he seduced and deceived even the old men? I doubted it. That stank more and more, and the human was becoming a bargaining chip.
Why was she so important? After all, it would be easy to find out who was telling the truth; they would just need to start a serious investigation.
My suspicions about the Elders increased. They spoke of affection and freedom, peace and equality, as long as we obeyed them. It was an illusion. That is how they held power, kept everyone under their tutelage.
They took no action whatsoever when Lucian confessed, in so many words, that he ordered the murder of members of Adelina’s pack, and her, just for being a baby. He acted against innocents who sought him out willingly, wanting to please a more powerful alpha.
With me, it was war. Interesting.
I leaned back in my chair, analyzing everything, my eyes distracted by the silent environment. Until I began to feel a different smell, of pine trees and fresh firewood, my skin colder. The sensation of snowflakes falling upon me.
I blinked, recognizing what was coming into my mind, images forming. The emotions as vivid as if they were real. Or ingrained memories. I let it flow, closing my eyes.
I saw myself in front of a huge house made of thick logs, on a spacious piece of land. Snow was falling, turning the ground white. A dry sound echoed and I saw him before me. The large man in bear fur clothes, chopping firewood with an axe.
His long, white hair was braided, his skin tanned, his voice coming strong towards me:
“This is a lesson you must learn early, son. Do not trust those who try too hard to make themselves look good. Those who pretend to be friends and fill you with praise all the time. When they mess with our vanity, we like it, we feel powerful. And when we are like that, inflated, we stop seeing the truth.”
Another sharp blow on the wood, which split open and fell to the sides. He replaced it with another log. Before returning to work, he turned to me.
It was the first time I had seen him so close. His eyes gleaming between blue and silver, too similar to the boy’s. To Edric’s.
He smiled warmly.
“I learned this from your mother. Lioara always had a mystical side to her, which makes her see beyond us. Maybe it is the moon’s influence. Do you know what her name means? Full moon. Quite fitting, is it not?”
I tried not to move much, not to push away those images or his voice. But I was surprised that he told me her name. My mother. Lioara.
“She feels things. These days she woke up nervous, had dreams about betrayal, fire, close people surrounding us. Including those who call themselves our friends, who are among us in this city. It is not the humans. We can be betrayed by our own kind. Do you know why? Power, ambition, envy. Trust your instinct. And observe. That is what we are doing.”
Another axe blow and everything vanished.
I exhaled, opening my eyes, the certainty alive that it was not madness in my head. Fuck, he was my father! I had a family that ended, that was destroyed. This feeling, this lack, had followed me almost my entire life.
I could no longer fool myself, deny that parallel reality, but it grew inside me. The memories were becoming even more frequent, vivid, showing me another time, a distant place. And which, apparently, was destroyed. Forgotten, erased.
I felt rage seize me, suspicion turning into certainty. Konrad pretended to be good. The Elders did too. Were they working together? What were they hiding? Or was I simply losing my mind, trying to cling to a family that never existed?
I decided to do what he asked me: I would trust my instinct.
I advanced the last deliveries as much as possible. Since my deadline was until the following afternoon, I would send one more shipment of ores and stones as soon as the sun rose, by the river. After that, no one else would leave Averwyn. We would be under attack.
When it turned seven in the evening and the afternoon had fallen, I adjusted my coat, which flared down below my knees, over my dark clothes. Flawless, serious, and focused to talk to those I truly cared about and owed explanations to. The people of my village.
I left the office and the center of the square, next to the tower, was already full. Lights on in the lampposts and a crescent moon in the sky illuminated the place. Everyone fell silent when they saw me.
My four trusted men flanked me as I stopped before them. Emil, Florian on one side; Cezar and Lonut on the other. Quiet, making it clear they were by my side for everything.
I scanned the curious and tense expressions. Some smiled, others admired me and also looked anxious. The three duchesses waved, as seductive as ever. Including Katarina, knowing the tense situation, had tried to ease me that afternoon, offering her services. But I dismissed her, with no time for that.
I saw Daciana near her youngest son Petru, owner of the village bar.
On her left side, Adelina. On the right, Seraphine.