He turned to Celestine. "And what of your people?"
Celestine shifted her black velvet cloak and stepped forward to stand beside him. "Around half my Sect has arrived. It takes time. We are secretive in nature, and many of us are hard to track down. But we hear and obey the will of the king."
Alaric's lips compressed in irritation. "Yes. But not as fast as I would like."
Footsteps rang through the hall. Lord Drowan's high-collared black cape flared as he stalked toward them. "Treachery, my lord. Neither Killian nor his Sect will be coming. He has joined the cause of the Guelph."
"Has he?" Alaric kept his voice neutral. The news was expected. Killian had long desired to be free of Co'nane supervision.
"That is not all, milord. I saw the Aberran fugitive with Killian. The Malic must have ushered him away before you could question him in detail. It is clear they schemed to upset the council with news of this Reaver."
Celestine's mouth twisted. "And you did nothing to him? You should have struck the traitor dead even as his words were still on his lips."
Drowan gave her an icy glare. "Did someone die, Celestine, so that I now answer to you?"
Her cheeks flushed, but Alaric raised his hand before she could retort.
"Peace, Celestine. I have known for some time Killian's heart was not with the Code and the Covenant. And this Gile Noman is of no true consequence. He was a mere distraction, sent to gauge our strengths and weaknesses, no doubt."
A raspy voice hissed from the shadowed corner of the room. "I can destroy him for you, my lord." Krolo shuffled forward, gripping his tattered cloak with clawed fingers. Tasith averted her gaze, and Drowan stiffly turned his back. Celestine alone kept her composure, but Alaric heard the frantic pounding of her heart.
Krolo gave her a twisted smile before turning his burning stare back to Alaric. "Give the word, and my brethren and I will tear apart the fiery-haired one and his Sect."
Alaric hesitated before shaking his head. "No. Killian is bold in his treachery, but would never have admitted to it unless he was sure he is well defended. Separating our attention between him and the humans may be just what the Guelph want. I will pull the truth from him before I destroy him. But it will be in my time. Now leave me."
They bowed and went their ways separately, leaving him almost alone.
"I meant everyone, Serona."
She glided from behind a pillar. "Is my company a bother to you?" She gave a low laugh and ran her hands lightly across his chest. "You have changed, Alaric. Now you are like yourself from long ago. Strong. Decisive. So different from the melancholy cloud that has hung over you for so long."
He took her hands and held them firmly. "You have been coming and going much lately, dear one. One might begin to wonder why."
She smiled in her characteristic manner. "That is my way. It has been so since we have known one another."
"Do I truly know you, Serona?"
"What words you say." Serona looked up with moist eyes. "We are solestra, Alaric. Heart to soul, soul to heart. You have always known my mind. You know what lies in my soul like no other. If anyone is an enigma, it is not I. You bear the weight of your secrets, my love. You have never told me what happened to you when you went into Ersetla Tari."
"Nor shall I ever. What I experienced was for me alone, you must understand that."
For an instant her face was a crimson mask, frozen in an eternal scream.
"You must never ask me of that matter." His voice grew hoarse. "The truth is a two-edged sword. It cuts deeply, and the wounds do not heal. Not with the passing of an Age." His chest heaved as he placed his hands on the windowsill and stared at the billowing sky.
She placed a hand on his arm. "Forgive me, Alaric. I do not wish to conjure up memories of pain. What you did, you did for us all, and we are grateful even if we don't know the price you paid. But since that time you have been a shadow of your former self, as though the pleasures of life have failed you and you only live through the power of your will alone." Her eyes searched his, and for a moment he saw through her allure and beheld her pain and confusion.
"When you came back, it was as though you had returned from the dead. Yet it was only a part of you that came back. I have been alone, Alaric. Without the love of the one I gave my soul to. Can you imagine what it is like to have someone with you, and yet still apart from you? You have kept your obligation to your people, but you have abandoned me. Where have you been, Alaric? Why have you left me alone for so long?"
He slid his hand upward until it rested on hers. Their fingers clasped tightly. "I am sorry, Serona. I have lost much of myself to horrors so great I could destroy us all if I related them. But you are right; I should have never shunned you."
She laid her head on his shoulder, and he let his arm slide around her.
"We can change everything," she whispered. "You and I, together. No one else matters." She searched his face, but he knew it was as still as stone. "Why do you wait to destroy the human army? Would it not be better to attack before they can gather strength?"
"Our advantage lies here, in Aceldama. On their ground the Sects are vulnerable. They would be at the mercy of the sun. But here where the sun holds no sway, they are protected by this fortress and the Dhamphir guardians."
He frowned. "And too, I am troubled by the events that have transpired. The humans are not the true enemy. These Guelph appear to be guided by someone more powerful, or else they would never dare to challenge me. I cannot help but think that by engaging the humans in war, I am doing exactly what this invisible hand guides me to do. If that is so, I will be playing directly into their plans."
"What else can you do?"
Alaric stared into the distance. "I can do the unexpected, Serona. I can sue for peace."
She pulled away with shock on her face. "Peace? With the domestics? Have you gone mad? Do you know how weak you would appear to your people? Just the fact that you would even consider that—"
Alaric turned away. "What would you have me do, Serona? We are being played for fools. All of this — Leilavin, the Reaver, the Guelph, — all of them cannot be working in unison to destroy us. That means someone else is behind the design."
"Who?"
He hesitated. Could he trust her? If not, I can trust no one. "There was one far more powerful than any Co'nane. He has been absent from our world for quite some time, but he has always been eager to return."
The color drained from Serona's face. "No."
Alaric tilted his head. "Do you think I am the only one who has been beyond the black Threshold to Ersetla Tari? I have heard that another entered the realm of endlessly shifting gateways. The Threshold to Narak can be found if one is desperate enough to find it."
"Where Stygan is imprisoned." Serona's voice was strained.
"That person returned as Stygan's foremost Acolyte. Sent to do his bidding and act in his name. Under that person, agents of chaos go forth subverting the Sects, turning the kingdoms of men against one another, arranging the destruction of the Co'nane."
"And you believe that is what we face?"
He stared at the shifting blanket of clouds. It obscured the view of everything below, much like his view of the future. "Who else but the Dreadlord could arrange such a chaotic but cleverly designed scheme? Looking at it, I cannot help but admire its brilliance while fearing for us at the same time."
"But to what end, Alaric? If it were even possibly true, why would Stygan go to such great lengths to drive the entire realm to madness?"
"I still do not yet know." Alaric grimaced at the admission. "But I do know this plot must be unraveled if we are to survive. And for that to happen, we must have peace."