The Art of Blood and Power (Book 2 in The Gifted Trilogy)

31- Preparations and Confessions

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" June asked me, hands pressed flat on the table that separated us, almost as if controlling herself so that she didn't accidentally start choking me over my egregious idea.

"Look I know it's dangerous-"

"No, trying to cut your hair with a knife is dangerous," June seethed. "But planning to break into the Shadow Court's palace? That's just plain suicidal."

I had finished relaying the details of mine and Cicero's trip to June, Ash, Kess, and Cicero in the strategy room, including the contents of my mother's letter. Everyone had remained silent while I spoke, but as soon as I'd mentioned the idea of breaking into the Shadow Palace to find the crown...

June whirled towards Cicero. "And you're just going to let her get herself killed like this?"

"This is the first I've heard of the idea" Cicero defended himself while giving me a disapproving look. "There's no way I'm ever going to endorse a plan that risky, Wren."

"Well good think I don't need your endorsement" I shot back. "Because I'm doing this, with or without you."

Kess sat forward in his chair. "Guys, this might be our only chance at-"

"Our?" June whirled towards Kess in a movement so fast even I leaned back in my seat in fear. "Hell must have frozen over if you thought for even a second that we'd let you anywhere even close to the Shadow Palace!"

Kess locked his jaw. "Watch your tone, June. I am your king-"

"And I am your General" she snapped back. "And I would like to continue being your General, but if I let you go through with a plan this reckless, this thoughtless-"

"I'm right here" I reminded her loudly.

"Then I might as well be the one signing your death certificate" June finished, her face flushed in anger as Kess stared back it her, both glaring at one another with such intensity I was certain at any moment half of the room would be engulfed in flames while the other half would be covered in ice.

"Why don't we all just calm down for a moment and hear the rest of what Wren has to say" Ash intervened, ever the voice of peace and balance. I smiled gratefully at him.

"Though I can't expect the rest of it to be any better."

I frowned again, mouthing "traitor" at him.

"I understand your sentiment for wanting to stake an infiltration into the Shadow Palace," Cicero spoke, addressing the room with a rational voice most of us seemed to lack at the moment. "Yet I must assure you that this notion of being able to sneak into and out of the palace undetected is a pipe dream. I've spent over thirty years of my life protecting that palace, and I can tell you that there is not a better security system in all of Naturian."

"Great," I replied. "So they'll never see us coming."

June smacked her face with her hand.

"We have unlimited knowledge of the palace's layout at our disposal," I motioned towards Cicero. "The system couldn't have possibly changed all that much in the year since you've left, even if you weren't the General for the past four years."

Cicero had briefly mentioned that, upon his coronation, Nox had replaced Cicero with a new General. Cicero had stayed on as a Shadow Soldier but, after countless arguments with the new General over how the army should be run, Cicero had left.

He shook his head at me. "That doesn't change the danger of what you're proposing, Wren. Hell, I could give you the stars-damned code to Nox's bedroom, that doesn't mean that once you get there he won't be waiting with a sharpened blade in his hand."