hours dreaming of visiting Rome. Except here, while the coloring was the same tannish brown, the building had no cracks in it.
I thought we’d have to pass through the town area first, but my parents detoured to a side road before we passed the first building, stating we didn’t have time to be stopped twenty times before meeting with the council.
Ah, the council. I wasn’t sure what to think about them yet. As long as they weren’t power-hungry politician types, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Taking the stone steps up, we arrived at ornate wooden double doors that had to be at least twice as tall as me. When we entered, people were moving freely through the grand entrance, but they immediately stopped when they saw my parents to offer a slight bow before moving on.
No longer considered royalty, my ass.
My parents didn’t miss a beat. They addressed everyone by name who took a moment to greet them and introduced me before politely excusing us. The way they spoke and held themselves had me feeling like I had no idea who my parents really were. I suddenly felt very nervous about whatever came next.
Jordan must have sensed the shift in my emotions, because she looped her arm through mine and tilted my chin up with her other hand. “You’re going to be okay. Just act like you own the place and don’t let anyone make you feel like anything other than the strong woman I know you to be.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at her, because I really had needed to hear that.
We went up one more set of stairs before entering into a room with three men and two women standing around in blue robes.
“Brooks, Daliah,” an older man with thick white hair and hazel eyes greeted us. “And this must be Kaliah. It’s so nice to finally meet you after all these years.” He reached a hand to me, and I ineptly gave him mine as I stepped away from Jordan.
“Uh, hi.” I had no idea why I was being so awkward.
“Kali, this is Mathias. He took over for me as the leader for the council,” Mom said, and I choked on air.
“You were the leader?”
She grinned. “Before the kingdom was disbanded, we were a monarchy, so it had seemed fitting at the time when the council was first formed to keep some traditions in place.”
That was some of the best information I’d yet to hear, and I really wanted to give my mom a high five but doubted it would be appropriate at the moment. Instead, I greeted Mathias again, this time without the use of “uh” and was promptly introduced to the other four.
Next was Selene, followed by Rosella, Gracin, and Theo. Once introductions were done, the four of us took seats across the table from the five of them.
“So, we wanted you to meet Kali today, but we’d rather not get into anything heavy with her as we promised her a couple of days rest before we threw her into training, both physical and knowledge-based. Though, if there is anything pressing, she should be aware before we send her and Jordan on their way…” Dad said, leaving the sentence open for someone to finish.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have any news on Alaryk, the dark fae, but if Kali has any questions for us, then we’re happy to answer,” Selene said. Her green eyes flicked to mine, but I couldn’t stop staring at the intricate braids in her ebony hair.
“Nope, no questions. Well, actually, maybe one. How long and how often is this training I’m supposed to do? I’ve spent the last year being told what to do by a feathered tyrant, and I’d like to be mentally prepared for what’s coming.”
She nodded and smiled, dimples appearing on her umber skin. “Understandable. We’d heard Stryx decided to prepare you some. While that’s not conventional, it isn’t entirely bad given your unique situation. For future training, you’ll begin magic training with Ryland, Jordan, and Oliver serving as your guides. They’re some of our finest guardians, and considering your closeness to Jordan, we thought it would be best if she was present as well.”
Ugh, Ryland. I was really hoping to avoid him for as long as possible after our interaction the night before, but apparently, that was only going to last for the two or three days I had off.
Selene continued, “As for how long your training will last, well, that’s up to you. Whenever you feel confident in