24. Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four

H aven had just figured out she'd be sat across from Roman, sandwiched between a council member and Nik when the door opened, revealing a guard announcing the councils arrival.

She had been told in preparation of this dinner that the purpose of the council was to advise the king or queen, or in this kingdoms case, the crown regent. Every kingdom had a council whose advice, Rea had told her, was always taken with the utmost respect. If the majority of the council was of the opinion that the current ruler was unfit, they could challenge him or her and dethrone them, causing the majority ruling power to be handed over to their spouse or next in line for the throne.

Haven stood nervously from her seat. Chances were that these fae wouldn't be her advising council but she still wanted to impress them. As she stepped closer to the door to greet the council members slowly entering, she felt a soft caress on the back of her neck. Turning swiftly, she found no one there. The only person anywhere near her was Nik but he was standing at least five feet behind her so it couldn't have been him. Haven shook off the feeling, chalking it up to nerves.

The first council member stepped up to Haven and introduced herself.

"Hello" She held out her hand, "My name is Celia, you must be Haven"

"That would be me, it's great to meet you" Haven smiled

Celia was about the same height as Haven, with smooth dark brown skin, long pointed ears that had piercings going the entire length, almost unnerving pale blue eyes and a small pointed nose. Where the crown regent had immediately set off Havens warning bells, Celia made Haven feel nothing but warm. She liked this woman already even though she had said all of nine words to her.

"Alright, I'm going to find my seat and let you mingle," Celia smiled, brushing Havens arm as she stepped past her.

There were six more council members after Celia and few others were as kind as she had been. Mostly they just skeptically looked over Haven and then moved on to do the same to Roman. Haven was secretly glad it wasn't only her they disliked.

Smiling when she found herself seated next to Celia, Niks presence on her other side dimmed that smile slightly. As soon as they sat down, Nik leaned as far away from her as he could without falling out of his seat. At first, Haven thought she'd imagined it but when she glanced down at her lap, she could see that there was easily four inches of the seat of Niks chair on the side closest to her exposed.

The crown regent, much to Haven's displeasure, stood up from his seat at the head of the table to make a speech as dinner was served.

"Esteemed council members, I am honored to be hosting this dinner in celebration of the realms newest royals." As the crown regent spoke, Haven swore she could hear a slight snicker come from Nik.

"Tomorrow they will begin the biggest journey of their lives by embarking on the tests that will determine what bloodline they hail from and what powers they are blessed with. Then they will train here at our lovely castle to hone their skills before being sent to their respective kingdoms. Let us all raise a glass to honor them,"

The crown regent picked up his glass, as did the entire council and Nik. Haven followed Romans lead and picked up hers.

"To Roman and Haven" Nik spoke loudly, startling her.

"Here here" The council cheered aggressively. Haven didn't miss the slight sneer on the crown regents face that appeared to be directed at his son.

Taking the basket of rolls that had been passed to her, Haven set one down on her plate and passed along the basket before looking over the rest of the spread in front of her. Tension bracketed her shoulders with Nik on one side of her and the crown regent not so sneakily sizing her up from the head of the table. She hoped this dinner would be over quick.

***

The dinner took almost all night. If she didn't know any better, Haven might have guessed that the crown regent was trying to keep them there so they'd be tired for their tests the next day. Haven didn't know what these tests were but she had a feeling that being tired would not help. As it was, she was likely only going to get an hour or two of sleep.

Other than the unnecessary length, the dinner had surprisingly gone well. Some of the other council members appeared to warm to her. Although Roman definitely seemed to have an easier time getting them to like him.

After saying goodnight to Roman, Haven had departed for her room where she found Astrea waiting at her door. Yawning, Haven said,

"What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night"

"I wanted to see if you needed anything, I'm sure dinner was stressful" Rea offered her a conspiratorial smile.

"Are you sure you're not just here for the gossip?" Haven snickered as she unlocked her bedroom door.

"Well, if you're offering."

Both girls laughed as they entered the room. Rea tossed herself down on the bed, her white hair fanning out behind her.

"There really isn't much to tell. The council seemed alright, the crown regent was his usually arrogant self" Haven had shared her feelings about him with Rea yesterday. Rea had told her that most fae felt like that when in his presence and usually tried to ignore it.

"What about the regents son? Did you meet him?" Rea questioned as Haven stepped into the bathroom.

"He's… Alright" Haven responded. Rea laughed aloud at that.

"He's hot!" Rea called through her laughs causing Haven to snicker as well.

"Yeah I guess so, if you like broody assholes" Haven called through the open bathroom door. Problem was, Haven usually did like broody assholes.

Beginning to take off her earrings, Haven looked in the bathroom mirror and cursed loudly at what she found there.

Rea rushed into the bathroom with her, "What is it?" She asked frantically.

"My necklace is gone" Haven cried

It didn't even take her a moment to think before she knew exactly who took it.