Page 7 of Winter Goddess
"The Spring Realm is fortified and our officers are helping train their soldiers. No reports of enemies have been made, but I'm sure Angus is monitoring the situation."
"What do we know of Angus's movements?" I ask, anxious to skip the small bits and move on to the bigger, important news.
"Not much. He's kept his armies in the same position for weeks now. We still regularly intercept spies and scouts within our Realm, but no more than usual. It's like he's waiting for something."
"No doubt the Morrigan," I mutter. "She's still not been seen?"
Tamara shakes her head. "No, and neither have any demons. None at all, which is extremely suspicious."
"Not a single demon?" I ask, knowing how strange that is. There are always demons causing mayhem, whether it's on Earth or in other Realms. Rarely in this one as our Gates are well guarded, but there have been some who've come through, probably by accident. They usually get killed on sight.
"Not a single one," Gwain confirms. "It's making my men anxious. The absence of demons is worse than having them where we can see them."
Yes, I get where he's coming from. Most demons aren't very clever, but now that the Morrigan has taken over their Realm, we have to assume that she's in complete control, which makes everything to do with demons very suspicious.
"Is there any chance we can get some scouts into the Demon Realm?" I ask them, but Gwain immediately shakes his head.
"The Castle Tioram Gate has closed as if it had never been there in the first place. I've never seen anything like it. The Gate looks dead, like it'll never work again. Of course, we still have a few people stationed there to monitor the situation. The problem is, sending my scouts via our Gates into the demon Realms would be a suicide mission. I'm not willing to risk that."
I sigh. "I wish we still had Aodh and Chesca. They rehabilitated several demons that might be willing to help us, but without them, we have no chance of finding them."
"And remember what happened last time you trusted a rehabilitated demon," Tamara mutters, reminding me of the day my parents got kidnapped. True, I don't think I could ever trust a demon again.
"So basically, we have no idea what's happening with the demons, or the Morrigan, and in some ways, Angus?" I summarise, a sinking feeling spreading in my stomach.
Gwain sighs deeply. "That's correct, Your Majesty. For now, it seems all we can do is wait. Alternatively, we could be the ones to start the battle, but I don't recommend it without having more intel on the Morrigan's plans."
"I agree. I have news myself, though," I announce and I feel all their gazes on me, despite not being able to see their eyes. Maybe I'm just imagining it, or maybe it's my strange new magic sense. "The dragons have been in touch."
I smile at their reactions.
"The dragons, Your Highness?" Algonquin asks, his aura swirling with excitement.
"Yes, the dragons." I turn to Gwain. "It seems your deputy hasn't abandoned us."
"Ada?" His voice is full of wonder and surprise. "She's contacted you?"
My smile widens. "Via a unicorn, yes. I don't know the details, but it seems that she's travelled to the Dragon Realm and somehow convinced them to help us. Having the dragons on board will be invaluable." I don't say that I've never seen a shifted dragon, so I have no idea how good they are in a fight. For all I know, they could be tiny, but I'm not letting that dampen my enthusiasm. "Blaze - that's the unicorn - says they want to meet me first to decide whether we're worthy of their support.”
"That could be a trap," Gwain says immediately. "How much do you trust that unicorn?"
A grey swirl floats through his aura. Is that doubt? It's going to take me a long time to figure out what all the colours mean. This might be more accurate than reading facial expressions, but a lot more confusing.
I think back to how I met Blaze, how he kept me supplied with sparklies. He was my drug dealer, so to speak, but somehow, I trust him completely. His aura is pure and there's no deceit in there, despite all his snarkiness.
"He's trustworthy," I say firmly. "If he says he's met Ada, he really has. And from what I know about Ada, she's as loyal as they come."
Gwain nods. "I should have never doubted her," he mutters sadly. "She's always been a great soldier, and a friend."
"You weren't the only one," Tamara says soothingly. "I doubted her myself after she disappeared. I think we'll have to apologise when she returns."
Anthony clears his throat, surprising me. He's an excellent treasurer, but he rarely speaks up in Council meetings. "Even if Ada and the unicorn are to be trusted, who says the dragons aren't lying to them? They could be using them to get you to their Realm."
"True," I concede. "But it's too great an opportunity to miss out on. I'll travel there and I will take my four Guardians with me. Not that I can't protect myself, but it's good to have the extra eyes and ears."
I can feel the advisors' dissent and worry, but I've made my decision.
Tomorrow, I'm going to meet some dragons.
