Phillipe Teuler, King of the Southern Kingdom, attempted to flip over the heavy ornate gold desk in his office, but only succeeded in scattering the papers and winding himself.

Plunking down his great weight onto the equally detailed matching chair of his desk, he let out a long angry sigh.

Why had he given in to his insane father and sired a child?

His father had been obsessed with the power of running a Kingdom, and his dying wish was to see that power continued despite his loss of the War of Kinds.

The fallen King had pushed his only son- whom had truly only loved the extravagance and wealth that came with the title more than the power or job itself, to take on the responsibility of continuing the family legacy.

Phillipe had learned since taking over the job, that it was a thankless, time consuming task that he didn’t much care for.

When he had heard that the North King wanted to place one of his own Northern Duke’s on the throne, he had smelt an opportunity.

The North King was a former peasant whom bled for the well-being of his people. He lived barely better then his lowly commoners in many regards, and had spent much of the treasury funding education and communal Body Magickers to care for the health of his people.

All of that meant that the King Aidan wouldn’t want innocent lives lost.

Which in fact, worked to Phillipe’s preference.

He no longer wanted to be King.

He wanted to sell them the throne.

A hefty fee he knew the foolish North King would part with for the sake of his worthless peasants, and Phillipe could retire in luxury without a care in the world.

It was the perfect plan until his son, the spawn of a psychotic demon, came into the picture.

The boy as an infant had been ideal. He had hardly cried, and that fact alone made it easy for Phillipe to ignore easily the boy’s cold eyes. The glittering darkness studied everyone with such a lack of feeling, that Raphael continuously made the nannies shudder away from him.

It wasn’t until he was around 4 or 5 that anyone had even heard him laugh.

He watched as a wild dog tore a squirrel to shreds. The innards and blood sprayed across the lawn as the mutt shook its kill with reckless abandon.

The guards immediately slaughtered the beast out of fear for the Prince, but he wasn’t the least bit afraid.

He had been so delighted, that he had even run to his mother to regale her with his story.

Queen Katelyn had responded by fainting.

In truth, since the birth of her son, she had been in poor health, and spoke very little. Not that she had spoken much prior- a feature the King adored about her, but she became sickly far too often.

Phillipe privately wondered if his son had stolen her life force for himself to feed his own manic strength, and love of power and pain over others.

He had distanced himself from his son, not wanting to be bothered with him, and not caring to address the glaring problem of his sociopathic tendencies. It was too much hassle.

Phillipe had never regretted his lack of involvement, until now.

When his chance at once again living free of all responsibility had been thrown away by the little monster’s need for blood sport…

He then realized he had loosed a man who had never known consequence to his actions.

-A man with great pride, and more harmful ambition than Phillipe had estimated.

“Sire?” The King’s lead advisor was visibly sweating where he stood. He wore long black robes with an orange colored sash tied around his waist, declaring his station.

His thin shoulders hunched protectively over his thin frame, and his mousey brown hair combed pointer straight down to his earlobes.

“He has taken the Prince’s fiancé, and is declaring that Agnes Beatha come in order to release her?” Phillipe repeated wearily rubbing his temples.

“Y-Yes your Majesty.”

“The little idiot…” He muttered to himself with a sigh.

He knew what needed to be done.

It was long overdue.

“Come here Horace. I have an assignment for you that no one can know about. If you fail in this endeavor, there will death like you cannot fathom. If you succeed however, I will reward you handsomely.”

Horace’s trembling ceased as he risked a curious look at the King. Upon seeing the sincerity on his face, he slowly approached.

The King then whispered into his ear orders that made his eyes bulge, and his jaw to drop.

“Now Horace, make sure they find her, and for Gods sake, don’t fuck up.”

***

“Why can’t I come with you?” Reggie demanded as Arlen and Aggie both donned the necklaces Ned gave them.

The necklaces contained an amethyst stone held firmly in place by silver wrapped around its base and leather necklace.

The stone would act as a shield against Seers, Mind Magickers, and anyone else that tried to apply magical powers to them without their consent. He had activated the stones with another strange word, and had informed them that the stones would last at least a year, and by that time they should have already returned to see him to retrieve their weapons.

“Because the Southern Kingdom are deeply intolerant of obvious Beast Awares. While most have a small percentage of Beast Awares blood, very few are apparent. You would be in danger and draw a lot of attention.” Arlen recited calmly as he turned to face the young Beast Awares.

“-And I will not be losing my son to these 2 fugitives with their insane antics any time soon.” Tork’s booming voice made everyone turn.

Aggie was finishing storing some of the knives Ned had made for her on her person, when she cast Tork a small smile. Birgitte was walking with her small hand clutching her husband’s forearm.

“I take it Tork, you know it’d be unwise for us to bring you with us.” Aggie turned staring sadly up at her friend.

While she still battled with her feelings of rage, she never wanted them to encumber her farewells- especially when deep down she knew that Tork, the Minkies, and even the Dwarves in their own mad ways, were some of the kinder beings on the continent.

“I do. While I have been to the South several times and could be of immense help, I cannot be seen with you for a while Lady. I am nervous of this task of yours, my gut is uneasy, so I will give you the name of a couple fellow Magee fighters you can go to for help in a pinch.”

Aggie beamed.

“Tork have I mentioned that you are my favorite?”

“You haven’t, and you should more often.”

Birgitte shook her head smiling at the 2 of them.

“Aggie should you succeed, will you then resume your goal of getting to the Island of Servicers?” Ned queried, making Aggie turn back to the Dwarf who donned a blacksmiths leather apron.

“Yes. Hopefully this all only takes a month at most.”

“Come back to see me at that time, and I should have your weapons ready.”

Aggie nodded, then turned back to Tork.

“So Bonnie and Declan are all settled back at the Inn?”

“Yes. Thanks to the large Shield stone that Ned gave them, the Thief of Souls won’t be able to find them as easily- or at least we hope. I will remain home for a few months just in case so that I can be close. I also anticipate the North King wanting to speak with me soon regarding certain fugitives.” Tork innocently rolled his orange eyes to the ceiling.

Arlen and Aggie both grinned.

“How do you 2 plan on catching up to them?” Birgitte’s serious face brought the weight of reality back into the conversation.

“We will get some horses and ride hard. With luck, if the snow doesn’t hit here in the North in the near future, we can still make the journey in 2 weeks, and ideally it won’t be too difficult to find Lady Maude. I anticipate a lot of people will be talking about this.” Aggie explained calmly, occasionally glancing at Arlen during her explanation.

Birgitte nodded and let out a breath.

“Well, I guess we better get going with our farewells.”

***

Alexander stared into the fire over his clasped hands. Servicer Ekon and Vera would be the last to arrive to the Keep with Master Buschi in tow, and he was ready to murder every last one of them with his bare hands for making him wait.

In truth, he was already in a horrendous mood over his Keep being turned upside down from every Servicer under his command being back under one roof.

His prison cells were full, and no information had been garnered from any of the occupants in them. If Servicer Ida’s bastards hadn’t already been auctioned off for outrageous prices to individuals of the North and South Kingdom, he would’ve tortured and killed them one by one until the bitch started talking.

He was tired of not having answers.

His Seers had been unable to see where Servicer Arlen was, and worst of all, no one knew what the hell the deviator was after.

The fire reflected in Alexander’s icy gaze matched the rage that stoked itself higher and higher in his chest, when he heard the door behind him open.

He immediately knew it was Celestine given that there hadn’t been a knock, and he was already preparing to toy with her a little bit in order to release some of his fury.

“Brother, I have come with an idea for you.” She announced silkily to his back.

Despite the calmness of her tone, the black haired beauty was trying to steel herself against the ferocity she knew was blazing inside her brother.

“I am not in the mood for your nonsense.” Alexander’s voice was nothing but a cold hiss in the darkened room.

“It isn’t nonsense. I have learned through some of the Servicers from the South that 2 boats of slaves have been set for passage to various ports over the coming 2-3 months. Why not take this opportunity of spare time to procure the lineage?”

Alexander stood. His powerful shoulders spread to their full width as he turned to stare at his sister, who was wearing a silk gown the color of rust, with layers of skirts to fight against the cold that was settling over the Island for winter.

“You may not be busy sister, but rest assured, I am. I now have to worry about food and accommodations for our Servicers and appeasing the nobility whom have now been stripped of their Servicers.” His tone was barely controlled as he stared at his sister’s bored expression.

“Why not allow my aid in those matters? You are well past the age our father was when we were born. Have you asked the Seers about this matter? It could be of grave importance.”

“Why now Celestine?” Alexander glared at his sister whom looked as though she were studying everything but him in the room.

“Because we need some security in our future. We cannot be negotiating deals for Servicers right now, and organizing food rations should level out given that it will be consistent.”

“Yet you want to bring a boat load of slaves here so that we have more to feed?”

“We don’t have to keep all of them. We just have to keep the ones that are pure. The Seers can tell us that much. Then we at least know that the line is continued. We do not know how long this conflict will go on.” Celestine reminded.

In truth, she only had a small selfish reason for the push of her brother procreating.

She wanted him to blow off some steam.

He normally was frightening and unpleasant, but lately he had escalated his tyranny, and violent outbursts. Several male and female Servicers were sporting bruises as a result, making the entire Island rather tense- and was beginning to lose beauty sleep over it.

As she had pondered how to improve the situation, she begrudgingly remembered how her father had always been in far better spirits after a nightly meeting with their mother, and decided to throw a more pleasurable distraction at her brother.

“What about you, Celestine?”

Her eyes snapped to his face.

Alexander was calculating her.

It was more than a little annoying- and incredibly unsettling being under the deceptively icy gaze.

“The slaves are women, not men, but again, why don’t we ask the Seers?”

Knowing he couldn’t find fault in her for suggesting the logical solution, he gave a slow nod, but his suspicious expression didn’t fade.

“Very well. Let us summon one.”

*

A Seer with silver peppering his dark hair had appeared before them within the hour. He looked incredibly weary as the Seers had been working exceptionally hard to locate Arlen, while also trying to continue their work in discovering future Servicer pairings that would be favorable.

“What is your name?” Alexander demanded as the man stood with his hands clasped behind his back and his feet spread wide.

“Dante, My Ruler.” The Seer bowed again.

“Dante, my sister and I have been discussing whether now is the time for me to continue the line of the Ruling Family, or if my sister should take on the honor.”

The Seer didn’t show any hint of surprise, but nodded agreeably.

“Would you like me to search for this answer now?”

“If possible.” Alexander said softly.

“Of course my Ruler. For the best results, I will need to hold first your hands, and then Ruler Celestine’s.”

Alexander visibly stiffened, but gave a slight jerk of his head in agreement. He knew this was not an uncommon practice, but he was not particularly fond of being touched.

“You may come closer.”

Dante moved swiftly to place himself in front of the Ruler, and Alexander briefly wondered why the man didn’t seem afraid. Perhaps he was too weary to feel fear, or perhaps he had seen the meeting before in a vision.

The Seer turned his palms up, and waited, as Alexander placed his own over top.

With a deep breath, Dante closed his eyes, and after a few moments when they opened, there were lines of electrifying blue shooting through the normally dark eyes.

“You will select 5 slaves to lay with, and one will garner a smile from you, my Ruler.”

Alexander couldn’t mask his shock.

A slave would make him smile?

“Will a son be born from one of these unions?” He demanded uncertain if the Seer could hear him yet, or if he were still immersed in the vision.

“You will sire no children, my Ruler. At least not in what I see.” The electrifying blue faded and the Seer dropped his hands quickly before bowing to Alexander once more.

“Yet I lay with the slaves?” Alexander demanded, his hard tone not escaping anyone’s notice as the fire continued to cast menacing shadows behind him.

“I believe so.”

Alexander frowned. Why in the world would he still bother with the women, when he knew no children would come of it. He knew the Seers could typically only predict 2 possible paths in the future for larger matters such as this, but the man said nothing else about an alternative.

The Seer turned to Celestine whom had gone quite pale.

She had not anticipated the turn of events.

She didn’t want a brat to carry and raise…

How had this gone so wrong?!

Still, she couldn’t deny the Seer in Alexander’s presence, so when he approached her and offered his hands with his head bowed, she hastily placed hers on top. Hoping that Alexander hadn’t noticed the shaking.

The Seer closed his eyes, and once again, after a steady breath, opened them with the same alarming blue sparks

He said nothing for several moments.

“Your future has yet to be determined, my Ruler.” Celestine blinked in surprise.

“Pertaining to children only?” Alexander demanded, his eyes accusing the top of Celestine’s head.

The Seer went silent once more, and waited several more minutes as Celestine’s heart thudded in her chest. If she fell due to the words of some sleep deprived Seer she was going to take him down with her.

“She will always be loyal to you, my Ruler. Until the time of her death, she will not ever abandon you. Her fate in other details has yet to be decided.”

Alexander was briefly appeased, and he could hear the shaky breath of his sister, which pleased him. She knew better than to ever think of betraying him.

“Then neither of us are to procreate?” Celestine asked after a moment.

This comment brought Alexander’s momentary triumph crashing down.

“I-well n-not that I can see.”

The Seer swiftly stepped back, his face with its fine lines had gone pale as he realized what he had just said could easily warrant his execution.

The Rulers stared at him with inscrutable expressions on their faces.

If neither of them sired children then…

The siblings stared at each other, for once, in perfect understanding.

They were in greater danger than they realized.

They needed to find Arlen, the traitors, and slaughter them all as quickly as possible.

***

While standing staring up at the open hole in the ground they had first entered the Dwarvin tunnels from 3 weeks before, Aggie shook hands with each Dwarf that had come to bid her farewell. Arlen had already began his magical ascent up the well, when Tork gently pulled her aside from everyone.

“Ora will have returned by the time you make it back. It’s why I left Quib up above. There is a Fey entrance near this well, but please when you see her, do not mention that she is Beast Fey to her. She is quite sensitive about it.”

Aggie nodded slowly. She felt guilty that Ora had seldom entered her mind, and hadn’t thought twice about Quib taking off before the Dwarvin tunnels. She had been too consumed with everything else to pay much heed to those around her.

“If this fails Lady, I cannot help like before. Please succeed.” His gruff tone made Aggie’s heart swell. His worry was palpable, and it made her reach out and squeeze his hand reassuringly.

“I will heed Arlen’s advice pertaining to caution.” She whispered.

It could have been the dim light, but Aggie could’ve sworn she saw tears in the Beast Awares eyes.

“You have the names and details to contact my comrades?” The rasp in Tork’s voice was enough to make Aggie want to cry.

“Yeup.” She patted the breast pocket of the fur-lined cloak Birgitte had found for her.

“Good.”

“Tork?”

“Yes Lady?”

“I can’t every repay or thank you enough to-”

“Beatha?”

“Yeah?”

“Just change it.”

Aggie frowned, blinking back her tears rapidly.

“Change what?”

“Change everything. Change everything so that we can all be together. All of us.”

Aggie couldn’t hold back anymore, she flung her arms around Tork and let tears overcome her.

Birgitte smiled from afar as she watched Tork embrace Aggie.

In truth, Aggie had given her people and her husband more than she could possibly know.

She had given them all hope. Someone was out there fighting to change what was broken in the world, and…

Agnes Beatha might be mad enough to do it.