Page 33 of Winter Goddess
I jumpout of bed the second I wake up. So much to do, so much to tell the others.
"Council meeting, now," I say loudly before checking if anybody is actually in the room with me. Luckily, Frost and Crispin are there, playing chess on a small table by the window.
"Glad you're awake, that rescues me from being beaten by Crisp," Frost chuckles and gets up from his chair. "What's up? Why the Council meeting?"
I smile at him. "You know how Blaze said that Summer will be betrayed? Well, I think I know who will betray him. Or better, who has already betrayed him."
I'm giddy with excitement. It all makes sense now. The words in my head have cleared and have assembled in a beautiful pattern. I know so much that will help us. This is the opportunity we've been waiting for.
I run to the guys and touch them on the shoulders before teleporting us into the Council chambers. Nobody's there, but it won't stay that way for long.
"Wait here," I tell them and let my magic search for the Council members. One by one, I appear by their side and teleport them into the room, ignoring their protests. The only one I don't immediately bring back is Zephyr, who's taking a shower. I really didn't want to see that, and luckily, there was a shower curtain hiding him from view. I've told him to hurry up though. The news is waiting to burst from my mouth and I'm not sure how much longer I can wait.
Everybody is staring at me expectantly - at least that's what their auras are telling me - but I wait until Zephyr bursts into the room, his wet grey hair sticking to his forehead. He's put his shirt on the wrong way round, so I ask my magic to correct it. I don't think he even notices, but next to me, Tamara giggles almost inaudibly.
When he's finally sat down, I stand and look at them all.
"I'm not sure how much you already know, so I'm going to start at the beginning. When we went to the Dragon Realm, we met their Queen, Dewi, who said she was a Goddess. Until then, nobody had ever heard of a Dragon Goddess, but Tamara discovered that until recently, Dewi used to be a demigoddess who turned into a Goddess, just like me.”
I ignore the frowns and gasps in the room. "According to the book Tamara read, Dewi's parents are a female dragon shifter and a God. Well, the translation must have been slightly wrong, because according to several of the books I read it wasn't a God. It was a Goddess, and we've all heard of her. Any guesses?"
Nobody dares to speculate.
"Bridget. Before she met Angus and became his Queen, she had a relationship with a male dragon shifter. A child is mentioned, but it doesn't reappear until twenty-two years later, when the girl returns from Earth and starts to live in the Dragon Realm. I'm not sure if Dewi was taken away from her mother, or if Bridget didn't want anything to do with her, but I assume the former. Her and Angus have been trying to have a child ever since Beira conceived me, or maybe longer, so I doubt she would have simply given up her baby girl back then."
"But that means...," Gwain begins and I let him follow his train of thought. "Our new ally is the daughter of our enemy?"
"Exactly." I smile. "You've told me that Bridget is whispering in Angus's ear, influencing his decisions. Let's assume she's doing this for power. Imagine if she was to find out that her daughter is now a Goddess and the ruler of the Dragon Realm..."
"She'd want to be on Dewi's side," Storm finishes my sentence. "I don't think she'd go against Angus, but I'm pretty sure she'd try to convince him to change sides. She's a clever woman and if we're lucky, she's begun to doubt whether the Morrigan will let them rule the Summer and the Winter Realms after they win the battle. The assassination of Flora's husband has not just surprised us, but also Angus and his allies, according to our spies. They've seen now that the Morrigan isn't trustworthy and that they're not as safe as they'd thought themselves to be."
"Do you really think Angus and Bridget would change sides?" Zephyr asks sceptically. "No offence, Your Highness, but we've been fighting against them for centuries, millennia in the case of some of us. I doubt they can be swayed this easily."
"The love of a mother," Tamara says quietly, but the room immediately quietens. "There's nothing like it. If Bridget believed her daughter dead, then she'll do anything to keep her alive now."
Gwain turns to me. "It's worth a try. Be aware though that if it doesn't work, they'll know that we have the dragon on our side, and we'll use the element of surprise."
"We still have a few surprises in store," I interject. "I assume Storm has filled you in on the temporary Gates?"
The Master of Arms nods. "Yes, that will be a great tactical advantage. We'd like you to try and teach some of our most powerful mages how to do it. If they can replicate it, we won't be as reliant on the Dragons and on you."
I frown at him. "Are you expecting me to die before the battle?"
The room falls silent and Gwain clears his throat in embarrassment. "No, of course not, Your Highness. I just meant that you might want to stay in the safety of the Palace, and therefore..."
"No way," I interrupt. "I'm going to be fighting alongside everyone else. While my mother is sick, it seems that I am the most powerful person in this Realm. It would be a waste to keep me behind the walls of the capital, you must see that." I'm hoping that appealing to his sense of logic will help. He's a very rational, calculated man.
I decide not to give him any time to argue and turn to Tamara. "I'm sure you have a way of accidentally letting Bridget know about Dewi?"
The spy mistress chuckles. "I do indeed. I'll also work with Ada to make sure that the dragons are prepared in case Bridget tries to contact them."
"Is there any chance of Dewi changing sides if she finds out who her mother is?" Algonquin asks in his old, creaking voice.
"No, not after what the Morrigan did to the Dragon Realm," I say decidedly. "She practically imprisoned every single dragon shifter in their own heads and tortured their Queen. I don't think there's any way they could ever forgive that."
I think of my own reasons for hating the Morrigan. Could I ever work with her if my mother and my friends suddenly switched sides? No, I couldn't. She killed my mum, imprisoned my father, tortured Crispin. There's no forgetting that. And definitely no forgiving either.
I push down the hate bubbling up in me. There's no time to be emotional now.
