Caelix Serpienne's Arc

Chapter 10 of 10

For three days Caelix and Slit chased the whispers. They found no name, no traitor, only fear spreading through the shadowed courts. Then Slit dropped his pen on the map and leaned back. "We are hunting a ghost. The court fears the oracles because they do not know them. So show the oracles. Let the court see three children, not three omens." Caelix stared at his best friend. Slit rarely offered comfort. He offered strategy instead. "A gala," Caelix said. Slit nodded once. "Their mother will plan it better than either of us." Inbella agreed within the hour. She sat with the three hatchlings on the blue marble floor and made her list without ceremony. "Amy handles the food. Pastor Donnell blesses the room so the nervous ones relax. My father finds the lanterns." She looked up at Caelix. "You stand where every court can see you holding your children. That is the whole plan. Fear dies when people see a face." The gala filled the Azure Palace two nights later. Snake kin came from every shadowed court, wary at first, tails held stiff. They walked the soft blue pathway to the doors, its snake-shaped borders lit with lanterns Aldric had found. Inside, Amy's food and Donnell's quiet blessing loosened the crowd. Caelix stood at the center with Inbella beside him. Renn clung to his mother. Vex flicked his red tail and made an old courtier flinch. And Syl watched everything with her gold eyes. A lord from a distant court approached, bowing low. "Sovereign. We heard the gold child speaks prophecy. Is it true?" The room went still. This was the fear, spoken plain. Caelix felt the old urge to command, to threaten. He held it down. He knelt and set his hand on Syl's shoulder. "Ask her yourself." Syl looked up at the lord. "You came afraid I would name your death," she said. "I will not. I will name your name and eat your cake." A laugh broke from the crowd. The lord's shoulders dropped. He laughed too. Around the room, stiff tails loosened. The three children were only children. The whispers had nothing left to feed on. When the last guest left, Caelix stood on the pathway with Slit. Lanterns burned low. "It worked," Caelix said. "The court is calm." Slit did not smile. He watched the dark beyond the lanterns. "The court is calm. Whoever started the whispers is not." He turned to Caelix. "They wanted the oracles feared. You made them loved instead. That ruins their plan. People who lose a plan do something worse." Caelix looked back at the palace, warm and full of light. He had his throne, his mate, his heirs. Everything was good. That was exactly what frightened him. Inside, Syl pressed her small face to the window and watched her father. She did not smile either. She already knew who would come next.