“I had wanted to do that yesterday before…” he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence without bringing up the horrible events.

“I know,” I whispered lamely. I didn’t want him to speak of it either. I buried my forehead into his chest to take comfort and let him hold me close as I tried to battle with the emotions that began to overtake me.

“I can’t tell you how worried I was when we couldn’t find you. It was then that I realized how stupid I had been. I know I had said I wanted to be your friend, but Thalia, I lied. I’m not happy with being just your friend.”

I pulled back and opened my mouth to speak but he pressed his warm hand over my lips and hushed me.

“Don’t say anything, I know you. You will try and deny what we have, but the feelings I have won’t go away Thalia. So it’s better if you don’t say anything at all right now. I want to talk to you tonight, meet me after the Council Session by the arena.”

I nodded numbly. Joss quickly kissed my forehead before pushing me back into the hall and toward the Council room. I stopped a few paces in front of the Council hall doors so I could catch my breath before entering. The guards at the door watched me silently, knowingly and opened the double doors so I could go in. “You almost didn’t make it,” the guard on the right winked at me. “Another minute and you would have been late.”

My cheeks burned and I tried to put all thoughts of our kiss from my mind. It was hard, but once I remembered the importance of why I was here, I was able to settle the harried beating of my heart. But just barely.

Entering the main Council room I was astounded at the vastness of it. The room was a giant circle with raised boxed seating for each of the twelve clans, Guilds and Adepts; each clearly marked by banners. The viewing section was a small boxed area closest to the entry doors. The round room created equality among the clan leaders because there was no obvious head of the table. In the middle of the room, on the floor, was a small dais for the speakers. The room echoed easily because of the high vaulted ceilings.

Sliding into the viewing section, I sat among a few of the older Denai students. A few had quills and parchment, obviously prepared to take notes of the proceedings. I turned to Tydus, an older Denai, with small spectacles and brown hair and asked him if he had been to one of these before.

“Of course, I’m the council recorder. You?”

“Uh, first time.”

Tydus frowned. He obviously took his studies very seriously.

Queen Lilyana came forward to address all of the Clan Leaders and Adepts.

“We are here today because of an incident that can no longer be ignored.” She paused for effect. “And that is the persecution of our people, Denai and Human alike. Someone has been kidnapping the people of Calandry and performing heinous experiments on them. This will not be allowed and will not be tolerated. We don’t have all of the facts yet, but we have found the remains of an abandoned prison, where these crimes have taken place.”

I sat up straighter; this was the first I had heard of them finding the prison.

“We could not find the ones who are doing this, the ones known as the Septori, because we were looking for them in our land. It seems that they are not locals, but come from Sinnendor.”

Silence befell the room and then loud rumblings were heard as everyone began to talk at once.

“Impossible!”

“How can that be?”

“How do they get past Sinnendor’s elite?”

“Is Sinnendor behind this?”

The Queen raised her hand and the room fell silent again. “We don’t know how much King Tieren knows, for the Septori were hiding underground right along the river that borders both of our lands. But there were numerous paths that led straight into Sinnendor territory from the Septori’s hideout. We cannot lay blame without proof, and right now we don’t have any. I will not risk another war without more proof.”

Heads bobbed up and down in understanding. A few murmured disagreement and I was careful to watch those boxes closely. I couldn’t help but notice that throughout the whole proceedings there were two clan sections that remained empty. One was for the Skyfell clan, their Clan Leader’s wife was ailing and their leader refused to leave her side, so he sent his deepest regrets about his absence.

Leaning over to Tydus, I asked him about the other empty box.

“Oh, that’s for the Valdyrstal Clan. They’ve never acknowledged the actual delegation of the Council and have yet to ever make an appearance for a Council Session. Supposedly their clan leader, Bearen Valdyrstal, is extremely against any Council business and progress. He is supposedly even anti Denai.”

Something about the name made my pulse start to race. “But why do they continue to keep a spot for him on the Council then?”

“Well, they are one of the larger clans, and because of that and by clan right, they are allowed to have a vote. By his absence, his vote is automatically cast as a negative.”

“Where is this clan from?” I could feel something deep inside start to stir.

“Their lands cover the parts of the Shadow Mountains and the Ioden valley that borders the northern edge of Sinnendor.”

There was definitely something, a memory, a flicker of snow, of mountains. Sitting back from me, Tydus ended the conversation as he quickly scribbled notes on his parchment to catch up with what he had missed during his explanation.

Leaning back as well, I tried to adjust my weight in my chair to find another comfortable position, but no luck. The chairs were meant to be uncomfortable and to keep people awake during these proceedings. But I was now desperate to find out what I could about the Valdyrstal clan. I couldn’t sit still.

After two more hours had passed, Adept Pax stepped forward to address the missing children. Before he could go on the Council room doors opened, and one of the most fearsome looking men I have ever seen strode through the doors. Large, muscular, outfitted with dark furs and brown leathers, he looked like he was ready to battle the cold. On his back was a very large battle axe. His long dark beard covered a hawk-like nose. The retinue of men that came behind him was equally dressed in furs of all shades and kinds. A few wore wolf and bear pelts, and I could see one man wearing the red furs of a fox.

Their battle gear and leather armor looked out of place amongst the formal robes each of the Councilmen was currently wearing. The leader strode into the room, showing no fear and stood before the Adepts, not saying a word. His gait and demeanor looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t place where I knew him from.

“Bearen Valdyrstal.” Adept Pax stood up and addressed the giant of a man. The council erupted into titters of frenzied whisperings. “We are honored that you have decided to join us for the Council Session, albeit a bit late.” A few snickers were heard from Bearen’s men.

“You do realize that weapons are forbidden in the Council Rooms? And if you had been here earlier, you would have had time to change into your formal robes,” Pax stated stiffly.

Bearen showed his teeth then in what could only be considered a pass at a smile. Something I could tell didn’t come very easily to him. “Come now, friends,” he said in a slight accent, holding his hands out in an imploring gesture to the Council. “I am here now, and you must excuse my lateness and forgive me for my attire because we just rode in. We thought it…” he paused for a second, “prudent to come right away rather than miss more of the proceedings because of our lack of grooming.”