58. Aurelia

Chapter 58

Aurelia

L ate the next day, the Devi pack brings my animas to see me in the dining room of our suite. They each hug me, one by one, and present me with a lovely card, which Stacey illustrated with flowers and nimpins. It says ‘We love you to infinity' on the front and they've all drawn a picture inside. Minnie hands me a bunch of flowers and Connor plonks down an entire platter of food, clearly taken straight from the lunch service.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," he chides me. "I have connections in the kitchen, remember? And Dolores wasn't even supervising today."

"That's always a plus," Stacey says, handing me a plate with a cheese and tomato toastie. "He's been particularly fussy lately. But we don't want to talk about him."

"We want to hear about you ," Sabrina says quietly, tugging her hood down. "Are you alright, Aurelia?"

I smile sadly at my leopard friend. "It was probably the worst day of my life." I tell them mostly everything after that, the males talking amongst themselves in the TV room. Minnie holds my hand when I talk about meeting my mum for the first time. We all cry quietly when I talk about the funeral, and even though I was reluctant to share it, it eased something in my stomach to feel the support of my friends around me.

Only Minnie remains by the evening when the others leave to attend to various detentions or homework.

It's then that both of our packs gather to speak about my fifth mate.

"He was there," I say to Minnie, fiddling with the edge of my placemat. "Ghoul works for my father."

Minnie gapes around the table, her eyes finally landing on Marduk.

"I've been investigating the serpent generals for years," the Caspian tiger says, his hands steepled on the dining table. "And the one made of smoke has always eluded me."

"For good reason," Scythe says darkly. "His shadows are highly effective at concealment."

"Basilisk shadows," I say.

Eugene, who is sitting quietly on the table between Minnie and me, visibly flinches.

I stroke his warm, soft feathers. It feels strange to say it out loud for the first time. I'd been thinking about it ever since Savage had commanded Eugene to ‘guard' me.

"You've got to be joking!" Minnie cries. "You've got a Goddess-cursed basilisk in your pack! What was the Mother thinking?"

Savage makes a disgusted sound and gestures at Minnie as if to say ‘Right?!' He's re-claimed Toastie the wombat from zookeeper Rick and absently pats his rounded lump that is the wombat joey's body, hidden inside the cotton sack.

But it's Marduk who makes a contemplative noise and says, "I suppose the Wild Mother had no choice. There are no basilisks left that we know of. As it is, Ghoul suddenly appeared within the ranks of Mace's generals out of thin air, seven years ago."

"Seven," I reply dully. "Just as I'd left the family house."

"He is highly prized amongst the serpents," Marduk says gently. "They've kept the secret locked tightly. No doubt his ability to kill with just his gaze helped keep them quiet."

"He wasn't supposed to be there," Lyle says. "I guess he couldn't give up the opportunity."

"What opportunity?" I ask.

My mates all raise their brows at me. Savage grumbles, "To see you, of course."

I stare at them, my throat suddenly tight, my palms suddenly sweaty. He'd been here, at the academy. Stalking me, watching me, all the while reporting back to my father. And then he had the audacity to desire to see me?

"Fuck him," I mutter. "He's been snitching on me this whole time!"

"We think, at least in part," Scythe says. "He is…complicated." My shark's eyes glitter dangerously. Complicated like him. Like all my mates. None of our relationships have been simple and they know it.

"He's got to be a bit cuckoo, though," Minnie says. "If he's your literal enemy. Those text messages he was sending you were all just fluff then? Just trying to manipulate you?"

"It's the regina draw," Scythe says. "Even the most psychopathic beasts struggle to withstand it. They get too curious."

I note that Marduk reaches for Minnie's hand under the table. Even Titus couldn't withstand his draw to Minnie, and he'd still hurt her in the worst possible way. My heart suddenly aches for the both of us. Reginas with dangerous, cruel mates.

Suddenly, Minnie tosses her head and those bubblegum pink curls go bouncing. "The Wild Mother must think you can handle it, Lia. That's the only possible reason."

Smiling at my friend, I nod. "Perhaps so. Perhaps he's just an asshole. But he can't be trusted, whatever he is."

"He has been somewhat useful now and again," Scythe says. "But his so-called help is always twisted to his advantage somehow. It may be because of him that we have this." He turns expectantly to Lyle, who has a new ring binder in front of him.

"I've been trying to organise it," Lyle says, pushing the simple white binder towards me. "But these archived notes from years ago were present in your mother's room."

My muscles seize up as I stare at the aged papers within the folder. I don't touch the thing, my hands refusing to move towards it. Minnie takes my left hand in hers as Lyle opens it up in front of me.

A wind howls outside, whistling past the windows. Under my bare feet, the floor trembles slightly.

"If it's too much, we don't have to look at it," Lyle says gently. "We can do it another time."

I take a deep breath and the floor goes still. "Is there anything important in there? Honestly, I just want to burn it."

Lyle nods. "Yes, regina," he says quietly. "I found records of blood draws. They were drawing blood so regularly it drew my attention. And none of them came with blood test results. It leads me to believe they were selling her blood."

A pressure on my heart makes it hard to breathe. "He couldn't get children from her, so he started selling her blood." The ways he wanted to exploit her were boundless. "But of what value is her blood?"

"Her blood. Her venom, too, but they couldn't get that as regularly."

"How did they even expect to bypass the conception ritual?" Minnie asks, her voice harsher than I've ever heard it. "Why didn't he keep her awake?"

"The notes indicate she was conscious for some time," Lyle says, leafing through more yellowed notes at the back of the binder. "But eventually, they sedated her, and somewhere along the line, her body gave up. They should have let her go, but Mace gave the order to keep her on life support, then he hired Halfeather and his specialist eagles."

I rub my eyes and push the folder away. "I don't want it, Lyle. Thank you for getting it and the information, but…you keep it for the moment."

"Of course, regina," he says, closing it and taking it off the table. "I'll have it if you ever want to look at it."

I swallow the nausea down. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at that thing. And if Ghoul was the one who provided it for us…well I can't even begin to understand what that means.