Page 40 of Iris of the Crowned Flame

Father and I exchanged a look. We were confused. Instead of paper, Juniper pulled a bundle of twigs out of thin air and lit them. She started mumbling quietly and very quickly, too fast to hear or understand her. She walked the perimeter of the room, waving the burning sticks’ smoke into various nooks and crannies as she mumbled. Juniper stopped in one area of the bookshelf, closest to the conference table we normally sat around to discuss things. The smoke was drawn sideways into a crack behind the books. Juniper repeated more unintelligible words quickly while fanning the smoke at the crack. Nothing seemed to change. She seemed to start this ritual over, still with no change. Turning to us, she stopped and held a finger to her mouth. She then sat her twigs down on the table and wrote a note.

This room has ears to hear. We need to move to my officeto discuss what we came to discuss, but we can’t let on that we know the room has ears.

As each of us read the note, we nodded. Juniper made a loud ruckus with her papers, and then said, “My apologies again. It seems I’ve misplaced the notes for this. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?”

Father nodded. He’s clearly thrown off his game by learning that someone was listening in. After a moment, he remembered he should speak. “Yes, of course. Today has been an eventful day. How about we just retire for the evening? I’ll send a message in the morning where we can meet once I review my schedule.”

Juniper smiled. He fake-canceled the meeting perfectly. “Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I’ll make myself available when you next have time.”

We trickled out of his office, trying to avoid appearing as if we were in a rush. When Amyra, Ivy, and I left, I led us away from Juniper’s office, towards my chambers. I figured if anyone has eyes on the doorway to Father’s office as well, seeing us go in different directions may help to deflect concerns about our discovery.

A while later, we were all regrouped into Juniper’s office.

“What do you mean by that room having ears? Wasn’t that just a crack in the wall?” Ethan started.

Juniper shook her head. “It’s designed to look that way, but it’s a magical tool the Oracles have used for centuries to listen in. We didn’t create that one, and it’s immune to our closing spell.”

“How do you know a past priestess did not create it?” Ivy asked.

“We keep detailed notes of all ears and close them when we are done with them. That one was relatively new; I’ve searched the room before.” Juniper ducked her head towards Father.

“My apologies, Your Majesty. We had suspicions about a trade agreement. I had to protect my region.”

Father nodded. “I am grateful for your actions, in the past and today.”

He smiled at Juniper, which she returned.

“OK, so what do we know about Egan’s group? We know for sure it’s a group, right?” Spencer redirected.

I was momentarily surprised by how quickly Spencer healed. The blows he received during each round seemed so painful. I wondered how many bruises he still had, though he showed no signs of feeling discomfort.

“Yes,” Juniper replied. “Egan is working with at least three others here. He’s also sending off letters daily through traditional means, so we believe this is just a cell within the capital, and that there is more going on.”

“Do we know what they want?” I knew I had asked this before, but I needed to continue asking it until the answer was obvious.

“They seem to work with a network that is against the return of the Gods. Ironically, they call themselves the Priests of Bel, a long-dead god who once lived among us. They share conservative views and apparently support the men who opposed the Gods in the Last Great War. Over the years, they had released many missives about how women need to be subjugated and subservient to their husbands, to worship their husbands as if he is a god walking this land.”

“And Lord Denenbaum, not Lord Luther, sponsored him?” Father questioned.

I nodded. Juniper added, “Eric doesn’t seem to share all their views, at least through his voting history, but he has financial ties to the Priests of Bel. We don’t have any evidence yet that Eric and Egan are directly coordinating this together. It seems like the Belus priests has influenced him to sponsor Egan without knowing him well. We have an acolyte making friends with Katelle to gather more information on that aspect.”

Ethan nodded at the mention of his fiancé.

“So, what do we know? And is any of this tied to Mother’s death?”

Father’s face tightened, though I wasn’t sure if it was because I brought her up, or if it was because he knew the answer and that I wouldn’t like it.

Juniper answered, “We have some circumstantial evidence that the Denenbaums played a role in her death. They have Ashenwoods acquaintances who have noted that they were bragging about Katelle becoming the next Queen in the months before Her Majesty’s death.”

Juniper paused, letting me take in that information. “Ethan and your father have been working with some of my network and the official guards towards confirming that. If they can, then we will strip the Denenbaums of their titles and lands.”

“Wow, ok. Here I thought Luther was going to be the biggest pain.” I inhaled deeply, absorbing all this information. “But why do the Belus priests care? Who are they?”

“They demand the entire realm obey their teachings and subjugate all women. Their overall plan is to infiltrate every monarchy, and to force the ruling families to conform to their beliefs and changes in rule, or face death.” Juniper paused.

“But for here, it’s worse. Since the Oracles of the Gelid originated here, and they believe we are their biggest threat since we can harness the magic of the Gods, they intend to kill you, Lyla. They won’t offer you the choice to bend the knee. They think that Ethan will bend his knee after seeing his sister die. We know that Katelle also believes their teachings. We don’t think she’s involved in the plot against Lyla.”

Spencer stood up indignantly, attempting to hide his wincing as he did. “No, if you know this to be true, why haven’t they all been dealt with—murdered, exiled, or arrested?”

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