Philo stood outside the fifth ring of Aurumist with two soldiers close by. He adjusted his dark cloak and shook out his long blonde hair, looking around the forest of the Great Surrounding that bordered the city. The trees were all almost bare. Fall would be over soon, and winter would come with its snow and harsh temperatures. The wind that swirled around him caused him to shiver slightly. He wondered what was to come in the season ahead.

He knew the queen and her supporters were planning something. They wouldn’t stay in the safety of Abscon much longer. Not when, he had found a way to take their queen from their very midst. Philo shook his head. He was tired of failure. He was tired of being bested by Gryphon, her protector, and her other friends.

He could have just killed her as soon as she appeared in the forest. He would have been done with her, but he would not have been done with the old magical folk. The young king would have stepped in. Philo thought maybe they would have been too weak to go on, but revenge and anger could be powerful forces. If Philo had killed Gryphon her friends could have rallied around the young king looking for revenge as well as a way to take the throne.

What Philo really wanted was the right to rule. As long as the right to rule belonged to the line of Adalwen, someone would always be out there, ready to take the throne, no matter how many people from the line of Adalwen he managed to kill. Philo wanted to take the right to rule from the Adalwen bloodline and claim it for his own.

He had been close in the forest. He would have done it if Golnar had not shown weakness and stopped him. He couldn’t believe the old man had turned on him to help the queen. That weak old man should have had no way to stop Philo, but Philo had not expected an attack from Golnar. Then Gryphon’s friends had arrived. Her protector, Talon, Kedan, and that false young king had come to take her.

Philo wanted to kill them all. He had always disliked Ansel. Ansel had been devoted to the Keene’s most of his life. He had followed Renweard and then Gryphon around like a pet, always doing their bidding. Talon Wendell was nothing except a grown spoiled child who had the luck of being born into the right family. Philo wondered how the Valley even survived under Talon’s leadership. Why Talon now seemed to follow Gryphon’s around, Philo could only guess. He supposed the Keene’s and the Wendell’s had long been bonded as leaders of the two most prominent magical villages.

Then there was Kedan. Kedan who was a useless figurehead in Aurumist when he served as the lord and then king. What value did Gryphon find in Kedan’s friendship? What good could he do her? He was a non-gifted person with few skills. What could he possibly do for Gryphon? She had risked her life to come to Aurumist and try to save Kedan’s wife, and she had helped him reclaim his son. Why did she show such devotion to the man? Philo could not wrap his head around it.

Philo took a deep breath to clear his mind. He adjusted the pendant he wore against his chest. He would be meeting with Cassia soon, and he needed to dispel his anger and put on his charm. If he was going to find a way to gain her cooperation, he would need to be open with her, without falling under her enchantments. He was no stranger to her enchantments. He had spent a few rather enjoyable nights letting her charm him. It seemed Philo’s wife did not mind. Philo wondered how much his own wife had enjoyed the charms of Cassia as well.

The air around him changed slightly and Philo smiled as Cassia walked up to him. She looked as lovely as always. Her dark hair fell perfectly around her shoulders. Her deep brown eyes blinked as she walked towards him. Her long eyelashes practically touched her face as they fell over her eyes. Her full mouth smiled wildly as she held out her hand to Philo.

“Good afternoon, Philo, it has been a while,” said Cassia in smooth voice as Philo took her hand and kissed it.

“It has, Cassia. I am glad you agreed to meet with me.”

“Our son and daughter will be united soon. We will be practically family,” said Cassia. “My husband may not want anything to do with you, but I am less inclined to give up old friendships.”

“I guess Hector is rather upset with me. He has sided with the false queen.”

Cassia folded her arms. “He was close to Renweard. There was some nasty business on the Ring, and he feels he can make up for his mistakes with Renweard’s daughter. He is loyal to Gryphon, even though she threw him off the Ring.”

“I have heard she has made a new Ring, throwing off the old families. The false queen is already making many mistakes.”

“Perhaps,” said Cassia as she unfolded her arms. She slowly circled Philo, putting her hand on his shoulder. “But I didn’t come here to talk about Gryphon or the Ring.”

Philo closed his eyes for a second and took a breath as he felt her pull. He hoped his pendant would help shield him, but Cassia was very powerful. He felt in danger of falling under her enchantment.

“No, we came to talk about your daughter and the opportunities she might have in the future,” said Philo opening his eyes.

“Indeed,” said Cassia. She stopped circling and stood very close to Philo. She rubbed his upper arm. “You said you had a way to make her a queen one day?”

“Yes,” said Philo looking down into Cassia’s eyes. She blinked and Philo felt himself respond to her. “I am in power in Aurumist now. I am almost as good as a king. I will pass on my rule to Marcus someday.”

“You say you are almost as good as a king, but you are not a king,” said Cassia. She reached up and played with Philo’s hair.

“No, not yet” said Philo. He reached out and stroked Cassia’s cheek. “But I have plans to make myself one. I have a way to take the right to rule from Gryphon and her bloodline.”

Cassia stopped playing with Philo’s hair and took a step back. “And how do you plan to do it?”

“It’s not important, but I know I can. I just need to get my hands on Gryphon. I am working on it, and it will not be long. Once I have this right to rule, I will need my son with me.”

“Marcus seem to want nothing to do with you,” said Cassia. “I have heard him tell Hector he has denounced you.”

Philo chuckled. “Marcus likes to talk as though he is noble, but if I can get him here, I can convince him easily to stay. Once he sees the power I have, he will want to join me. I just have to get him away from influences in Abscon.”

Cassia smiled. “You seem very sure of yourself, Philo, but you must need something from me if you have called me here today.”

“You hold much influence over your daughter. It seems your daughter holds influence over my son. I believe between the two of you, he could be convinced to come to me. If not, I would think you could find a way to get him out of Abscon so I could come get him.”

Cassia folded her arms again. “You know this will go against my husband’s wishes. If he finds out I did something like this, he will banish me from his house. I hold some power over him, but to betray him this deeply, would cause him to lose all interest in me.”

“Are you particularly fond of your husband?”

“You don’t live as long with someone as I have with Hector and not be somewhat fond of him. He is a kind man, and he has let me do as I please and still loved me. That does inspire at least a little devotion. We also have two children together. My daughter is the most precious thing in the kingdom to me, and he gave me her. We have a son as well, but Malchom has never really warmed to me.”

Philo considered Cassia. He moved closer to her, and she did not back away. “What can I do to convince you? I can guarantee your daughter will be the queen consort someday. I can guarantee I will keep her safe in Aurumist. What else would you like?”

Cassia moved very close to Philo. She put her arms around his neck and looked up at him. “When my husband kicks me out of his house, I will have nowhere to go. I will need a place to stay.”

“I can provide you with a grand house in the first circle of Aurumist. Somewhere close to the palace. My wife and I are both very eager to have you near us,” said Philo. He bent his face down towards her. He wanted to kiss her badly. He was falling under her enchantments, but he found he didn’t care.

Cassia brushed her lips against his. “It would be nice to be near you and Cecilia. I have missed her very much. We were very close.”

Philo pulled Cassia close to him and kissed her. She moaned against his lips, and Philo knew he was in danger of being completely lost. He would need to keep some of his wits about him so he pulled back slightly. “You will be very taken care of in the city. Your daughter will be safe and powerful. You will not miss your husband. I will see to that myself.”

Cassia pressed herself up against Philo and ran her hand down his cheek. “Very well, I will do what you need me to do. Give me some time to talk to Desmona. I will contact you soon and perhaps we can meet again. Maybe somewhere more private next time. You could even bring Cecilia if you wish.”

Philo smiled and held Cassia close. “I belive she might like that.” Philo kissed Cassia as she ran her hands down his back. He forced himself to finally pull away.

“I need to be going. My wife is expecting me for supper soon,” said Philo straightening his cloak.

“Hector will be looking for me as well. I will be in contact soon. Tell Cecelia I look forward to seeing her.”

“Of course,” said Philo. He turned to go when Cassia stopped him.

“Wait, Philo, I do have some information you might want to hear now.”

Philo turned and nodded at Cassia.

“The queen is out in the kingdom somewhere now, and she has been gone for a while. I am not sure when she will return. Also, Ansel is no longer her protector.”

Philo felt his eyes widen. “What are you talking about? Ansel is the only surviving man of the line of Raya. He must be Gryphon’s protector.”

“The queen had something done. I guarantee you, Ansel is no longer her protector. It is that non-gifted man they took in. The former lord of Aurumist.”

“Kedan?” asked Philo. This couldn’t be right. “How can he be her protector? Where did you hear this information?”

“I charmed it out of Hector one night. He heard it from Malchom who is on Gryphon’s Ring. Kedan is the queen’s protector, and Ansel has been training him, I believe.”

“Why would they change protector’s now? If Gryphon is planning on making a charge to take Aurumist, why would she not want Ansel by her side as her protector? He has trained his whole life. I wouldn’t think he would give up the right to protect the queen. I thought he was in love with her.”

“He seems to still be in loved with the woman. I believe they are betrothed. Why he would pick her over my own daughter, I will never know, but I like Marcus better anyway.”

“It will work out for your daughter better this way,” said Philo grinning. “I thank you for the information. It is very interesting. Please send me a message as soon as you have something to tell me.”

“I will,” said Cassia flipping her hair to the side. “I will try to have everything done quickly. I am rather anxious to see you and your dear wife again.”

With that Cassia turned and disappeared. Philo nodded to his soldiers who were standing a ways away. He waked towards the city. His meeting with Cassia had been even more fruitful than he hoped.