Chapter Twenty-eight

S printing back to Damien's office, she left the guard at the door and grabbed the book from the shelf again. Throwing it onto Damien's desk, she found blank parchment and wrote at the top, Separatist Attacks .

Damien hadn't been diligent about recording the dates of each attack, but the previous kings had. She filled in the dates and locations of the attacks she could remember, the one Damien noted before she was in the picture, then worked backward from there. Raphael's entries took the longest with all the battles leading up to the war. Then they became sporadic. Once she had them all listed, she copied the list and magically added it as a page in the book before shelving it again.

Sprinting back to the library with her list, Liana used her magic once more to reveal all books that made any mention of the Ranville name.

A heavy sigh exploded from her when lights glowed everywhere throughout the room even up to the third level. "We are going to need a lot more help."

Liana and her guard gathered over fifty books and piled them across the tables scattered throughout the library. Then they each copied her list of dates ten times.

"Okay, take me to Sasha, please."

The guard brought her to Sasha's room on the second-floor east wing. Bleary eyed and her blonde hair mussed and so at odds with her usual sleek pulled back look, Sasha answered her door after Liana's incessant knocking.

"What?" she spat before registering who it was. "Sorry, Your Majesty. What is it?"

Liana's eyes caught on movement over Sasha's shoulder. A shiny, bald head sat up in her bed at the mention of her title. A very naked Owen glared at her.

She raised a brow at her guard with a knowing grin.

Sasha just shrugged. "Is something wrong considering it's the middle of the night?" she snarked, eyeing the other soldier over Liana's shoulder who was on night duty.

"Yes. I'm recruiting help for an urgent project. I'll need you and Owen immediately. Then we will go get the others."

Sasha sagged against the door. Owen appeared in only his britches, his muscular torso on display and a telling bite mark on his shoulder.

"Are you in danger?"

"I am always in danger, I'm the Queen." He seemed to like that answer, or so she thought when he nodded in confirmation. "But no, not immediate danger. I've discovered something important, and I need help. Now, hurry."

"Two minutes to bathe," he grumbled before slamming the door in her face. Too keyed up with excitement, Liana didn't care about the rudeness. She would have murdered anyone that dared to wake her at this hour.

Once they returned, she sent her guard off and the three of them went in search of eighteen more trustworthy people. Liana retrieved her father. She was disappointed that Damien hadn't returned to their room yet and didn't disturb him in the dungeon, although she worried about him.

Sasha and Owen recommended the others. So, with twenty people settled around the tables in the library, Liana addressed them all.

"You will each find a list of dates and locations on the table in front of you. We are looking for information on the Ranville family's location during these events. This will probably be tied to the men in the family, the heads of the household during that time. I believe that the Ranville's have been leading the separatists since the inception of Triaedian. This book tells us that the first Ranville was on the first King's Council but was released from duty for separatist ideals. That, in addition to recent events with Frank, I don't think it is a far leap. With that said, I am looking for any information we've got to link the Ranville's to known separatist attacks."

"If we can trace it, what do you expect to glean from that information?" Raphael questioned, he and Eva still dressed in sleep clothes and robes.

"I'm not exactly sure. I have a feeling there's something here though." It would have been one thing to wake them like this for a guided search, but she was sending them off on a wild goose chase. Surprisingly though, no one complained. They just grabbed their lists and the nearest book.

Stunned, Liana sank into a chair and did the same.

It was silent for the most part while everyone worked. The vampires read slightly faster than everyone else, but the mage used spells to find specific mentions in each text of Ranville. Liana scribbled notes here and there of important mentions. Nothing screamed at her that she'd found something vital yet though. The sun rose hours ago, not that anyone mentioned it.

Not sure when it happened, Liana jolted awake when a clash of dishes startled her. Rubbing her heavy eyes, she eyed the trays of food scattered across the tables. Her father sat beside her at the table and handed her a plate full of food. With a grunt, she took it and munched on it while her eyes fell shut again.

She jerked again, face down in her plate and her arm reaching over the book. She squinted at the brightness in the room and wondered why everyone stood. Well, everyone except Raphael and Eva.

Sitting up, Liana dropped the half-eaten pastry from her mouth and wiped the drool from her face. That's when she finally felt him. Glancing over her shoulder, she found him standing behind her, arms folded and a frown on his face.

"Don't look at me like that. It's too early for your disapproval," she grumbled.

Eva snorted a laugh from down the way.

"As you were," he declared, and everyone sat. Damien pulled her chair back and knelt in front of her. His hand lifted, his thumb brushing a flake of pastry away from the corner of her mouth. His voice was quiet when he asked, "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"I could ask the same of you." He simply stared under her ire, letting her stew. "I couldn't sleep. Then I read the Book of Kings , and I discovered something important that needed more investigating. There wasn't time to sleep."

He rose, leaning one hand on the table while he glanced over the texts spread out over her and her father's reach then picked up the list.

"Why are you researching previous separatist attacks?"

Liana rifled through the stacks and pulled the council book out which was already opened to the page she needed. Pointing to the page, she explained everything again.

"What will tracking previous movements tell us?" he asked, just as skeptical as the rest.

Liana pulled at her tangled braid. "I'm not sure. I just know there is an answer here somewhere."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, damp tendrils of his hair fell into his face. He was clean shaven and smelled like the lemon soap Liana liked. He likely didn't sleep all night either and just came from a shower after leaving the dungeons.

"Did you get anything from him?" Her voice was a whisper, although most everyone returned to their reading already.

"Nothing. Kinley is attempting to dismantle the shields around his mind so we can read his memories. It has been slow."

Liana grabbed his arm. "You know I could probably blast through his shields in a matter of minutes. Let me do it."

"You aren't going near that worthless creature ever again. Do not even think about disobeying me on this one, Liana or so help me, I will chain you in the tallest tower."

He knew her too well. Huffing, Liana turned back to the books. "Like that would stop me," she grumbled, knowing he could hear.

His hand gripped the back of her neck, forcing her to look up at him. Stumbling into his chest, she gripped his shirt, helpless under his piercing gaze despite the vast well of magic at her disposal. It lay dormant though, at ease with the vampire it marked.

"You are toeing a line, Liana," he warned.

Liana. Not vixen or temptress. He was serious and she knew his vampire was close to the surface.

"Somebody has to," she breathed. He may not be in total control, but she was, and she knew challenging him was just as important as submitting.

He huffed, leaning his forehead to hers. "Why do I love you so damn much?"

With a smirk, she mocked, "Because I'm a stubborn, strong-willed, and completely unreasonable woman."

He chuckled. "Read that part, did you?"

"And added a bit of my own."

"Always breaking the rules. What am I going to do with you?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist. Into his mind she said, "Just love me."

"I do. For eternity."

Damien joined their quest for information, sitting across from her. Liana nibbled on the food while scouring the books.

The one she read now was of a purchase record. Ivan J. Ranville purchased a farm a few miles outside of Sapphire Cove. A lot of the mentions of the Ranville name were like this. Simple facts that didn't much matter. She was about to abandon the page when her eyes caught on the type of farm, a cattle farm.

What use would a cattle farm be to a prestigious mage family? She knew some of the wealthier families owned vineyards or gardens to grow special plants and herbs for potions. But cattle? That was not a lucrative business for mage. Shifters usually maintained livestock considering they were more in tune with animal nature.

Following her hunch, she got up to search for tax records. There was nothing there.

"Damien, where are the tax records kept?"

His brows furrowed. "In the treasury. Why?"

"I've got a new hunch." She clapped to get everyone's attention. "New plan, if you've found a lead, keep working on it. If not, start compiling a list of all land and homes bought by the Ranvilles as far back as we've got. I'll be back." To Damien she said, "Let's go to the treasury."

He led her to the first underground level, a place she hadn't bothered to explore yet. When they walked into a large, plain office, the man behind the desk fumbled to stand. Liana sensed he was a mage.

He bowed low. "Your Majesties, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We need to see the tax records for farms in Sapphire Cove," Damien instructed.

"Of course, Your Majesty. One moment, please." The man turned to the tapestry behind his desk and shoved it aside to reveal an iron door. He used his blood and magic to open it. For several moments they waited.

"What do you expect to find?" he asked her.

Liana shrugged.

The man labored for breath as he heaved a heavy tome onto a nearby table. "This is the most recent record, dating back for the last hundred years, Your Majesty. I can retrieve older records if you need."

"Thank you. This one will be fine for now," Liana said and immediately opened it, using magic to guide her to the right page. Into Damien's mind she told him, "The farm was bought five years before the first separatist attack during your father's reign."

She found the listing of the farm under Ranville's name. Starting at the first year and searching all the way up to current.

"The revenue was steady for the first seven years before abruptly dropping off and citing closure of the farm," Damien summarized.

"The dates though. They closed just months after the war ended."

"It's a bit of a leap. The war could have impacted profits," Damien reasoned.

"They are wealthy enough to prevent something like this." Liana planted her hands on her hips. They were missing something. "What role did Sapphire Cove have in the war?"

Damien mimicked her stance. "It's where the final battle occurred. The separatists held the city hostage and attempted to take over our second strongest seat of power in Triaedian."

That was proof enough for Liana although it wouldn't be for many others. "There must have been hundreds of rebels if they were able to successfully hold a city of that size."

Damien nodded. "Two thousand actually."

"And where do you suppose those two thousand people hid until they were ready to ambush Sapphire Cove?"

His brows drew down. "It's plausible that it could have been this farm."

"I think it was. And I bet if we find more locations throughout the years, it will align with the separatist attacks." She felt it down to her bones that she was right. Even her magic was charged with excitement.

"Okay. But what is the point? We already know Ranville is a leader of the rebels. We can't execute traitors that are already dead," Damien pointed out.

Liana looked back at the records hoping it would tell her exactly what this all meant. Chewing on her lip, she admitted, "I'm not sure why it's all important. Damien, please believe me that it is."

He pulled her into a hug. "I do believe you. That is not the problem. Our problem is lack of information."

"Agreed."

At least they were on the same page. Now they just had to figure out what to do next.