Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

“Are you okay?” Cole asked, his voice laced with worry despite our disagreement.

I swallowed, looking between the three. “Um…” I glanced back towards the door, Seriena gone. Prepare for what? The war? She had to be speaking of the war.

“Mark,” I finally said, turning back to the table. “Go outside and play, okay? Cole will be out in a few minutes.”

He looked from me to Cole and back. “Is everything okay?”

I nodded, smiling. “Everything is fine, I promise. Maybe go check on Letak,” I offered, his eyes lighting up. “No pushing him to fly though. He’s awake, but still sore.”

He scarfed down a few large spoonfulls of food and was up and flinging open his bedroom door within seconds.

Only a few seconds passed before Mark was on his way out. He kissed me on the cheek. “I love you!”

“I love you too, little fox,” I told him, smiling. “Havefun.”

I waited until the door was shut before I turned back to the two men at my table, and I prayed they wouldn’t call me crazy because honestly, that’s all I felt in the moment.

I shoved my plate of food away and leaned back, Trick frowning. “You need to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” I returned, pushing my hair back, the headache persistent. “This woman named Seriena Vellacore has been appearing to me. Hasappearedto me,” I corrected. “Twice.”

She was real. She had to be real or else what? I had finally just snapped? I wouldn’t accept that. Not yet. There had to be an explanation for it. There had to be.

“Appearing how?” Cole asked as Trick eyes changed. They hardened and cooled until nothing remained but the High King the world told stories about.

I thought about it, trying to find the right words to describe what she looked like. “Like…smoke,” I decided. “An apparition. Fuzzy around the edges, solid in the middle. She told me just now that there was a limit on what she could tell me because of the laws of the Veil, but that ‘he was coming’.”

“Who is ‘he’?” Trick asked, voice now cold. Familiar and oddly comforting.

I leaned over the table, feeling guilty for not thinking about asking her any questions. “She said we all know him.”

When Trick didn’t say anything, Cole asked, “Laws of the Veil? Is she from beyond?”

More guilt. “I don’t know. That’s all she said, but Iwould assume so.” Years of interviews, of asking questions, and I failed when it truly came down to it. It was frustrating.

“Hmm,” Cole pondered. “I never put much thought into whether or not that place had laws. I can look into it though. I’m sure Nick has something on the Veil, if not, Penny should know, it resides in her territory after all.”

I nodded, my eyes shifting back to Trick. She wanted me to talk about my dreams, which I could see the importance in after the Staff one had been true.

Last night had been a collage of dreams. Bits and pieces that didn’t really make sense but had definitely kept me up. “Can I ask you a question? It’s political, but I feel like it might be important.”

“Of course, Talons,” Cole replied, just as Trick opened his mouth only to close it again.

But it was more Trick that I was aiming for, if I was being honest. “Why does no one ever mention the last Order?”

Cole glanced to Trick and back. “The last? There’s only the Old and the New.”

I started playing with the charm on my bracelet as I shook my head. “Not the Order, but someone who was supposed to be on the Order but has never actually been included.

“The Knights of Oblivion, remember? They weren’t considered gods, not in the same sense the others were. They never created anyone, they aren’t really mentioned in history. Not even during the War of Ruin, you know? They were called the Order, but no one ever mentionedthem. Arius and Giselle, they’re the Forgotten Order, I guess, which would be a great title for a book, but I digress. Would you know why?”

Trick leaned back in his chair, adjusting his beautiful wings, clearly uncomfortable. His eyes became distant, studious, and part of me wondered what it would take to make the chairs more wing friendly. If they were going to be here, shouldn’t I accommodate them?

I remained quiet, watching him work through whatever he was working through.

While he thought, I found my hand drifting from my bracelet to the collar. There wasn’t really anything to hold onto, not unless I hooked my finger through that ring, but touching it brought my mind some comfort as I waited.

“Before the war, I met with the gods,” Trick explained, causing Cole to straighten.