Sewn & Scarred (The Fated Creations Trilogy #3)

Chapter Twenty-SevenMaddox

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Maddox

T he next afternoon it was finally time to meet with the Sorcerers about what could be done regarding the wards.

And the only reason I knew about the meeting was not because my father told me, but because I’d seen Fredrik at the loft the day before, and he’d mentioned it.

My father had intentionally kept me in the dark.

Wyott hadn’t known either, so he made sure to tell Cora.

When she hadn’t known, we’d all become infuriated. She was the Commander of our Navy, the only force we had in Rominia aside from my father’s army. So the fact that he didn’t tell her was both dumbfounding and disrespectful.

And the look on his face when the three of us walked into the war room, filing in behind all the other Sorcerers who joined him, showed that he knew his mistake.

But we didn’t confront him, at least not yet. We only moved to sit at a few chairs around the opposite head of the table from where my father sat. Wyott and I both moved to the first seat adjacent to the head and gestured for Cora to take it. On either end of the table, both of our wartime leaders sat.

The other Sorcerers took their seats around the table. There were four Water Casters, two Air, and three Terra. The Sorcerer Council was supposed to represent all the elements, but there was no Fire Caster on the island now that Lauden had left. As Arch Sorcerer and a First Caster, he’d represented two vital positions on the Council.

Which only made his betrayal that much more difficult. Not only had he been stealing secrets and giving them to Vasier, but he left a hole in his absence.

My father sat forward once everyone had arrived. He placed his clasped hands on the table and cleared his throat.

“Thank you for agreeing to move up our regular meeting,” he began, casting his eyes around the room to acknowledge all the Sorcerers. “I appreciate your flexibility as these are unprecedented times.” He took a breath and continued. “Vasier has sent these soldiers, both Vasi and Sorcerers, to create two different boundaries around our island. One comprised of Vasi, and a ward that locks the Kova in.

The Sorcerers nodded along, they would’ve heard all of this by now. Whether from the word that had traveled quickly through the kingdom, or from Fredrik when he sought them out to schedule the meeting.

“It’s important for us to tear this ward down. We need to be able to import and export, but more importantly, we need to stop the Vasi who stand out there so that our people can come back home safely.”

Vivian, an Air Caster, sat forward.

“We cannot help you with the ward, Kovarrin. Only certain Sorcerers are provided the knowledge on how to make them, even less on how to destroy them. It prohibits the knowledge from falling into the wrong hands. To protect us from being used to create them, whether we wanted to or not,” she said, and my father straightened at that. “Or to mitigate the risk of Sorcerers betraying our ways, and using the creation or destruction of wards for harm on their own accord.”

My father ground his jaw and then looked down at the table.

“Does anyone in this room know how to tear down this ward?”

He didn’t look up, but he didn’t need to. I watched as every Sorcerer in the room shook their head.

My father pressed his clenched fists against his eyes.

“Do you personally know anyone on the island, who has this ability?” he asked, and dragged his hands down his face.

The Sorcerers shook their heads again.

Stuart, a Water Caster, leaned back in his chair and flattened his hand over the table, blocking out the r on the entitled Srotian Sea.

“This is part of the system the original Arch Sorcerer created here,” he explained. “He worked with the other Sorcerers to stay within the realm of our beliefs. We don’t intervene in nature, we don’t intervene in war. We use wards only as a form of protection, and we have checks and balances in place to ensure no one person has too much power.” He shook his head. “It’s why those who could portal were killed long ago. And while none of us now agree with those barbaric acts, we still prefer a united community of Sorcerers. Here, and on all the other lands. The fact that we allow an Arch Sorcerer here is only because we know that the Kova fight to keep our way of life safe, and traditionally, the Arch Sorcerer spoke for our community.”

Stuart looked around the room at the other Sorcerers who wrung their hands.

“Ankin was an amazing representative for all of us, but Lauden…” he trailed off, then looked around again, looked to the door. “Well if I can be frank, Kovarrin, a lot of us are beginning to have concerns, which is why we were happy to hear you were looking for a replacement. He doesn’t come to our gatherings, and how is he supposed to represent us, to bridge the gap between us and the Kova, if he doesn’t attend? We’ve always trusted your judgment on who Arch Sorcerer should be out of those who volunteer, and it’s always worked out. But we’ve stayed silent on Lauden’s deviations from our way of life for long enough, I mean Gods, he helped the other two to stop the volcano from erupting—”

I sat forward at the sneer on Stuart’s face, cutting him off from whatever insult he’d been ready to fling at Evaline, who wasn’t even here to defend herself.

“I respect your traditions,” I started and tried to pull the growl from my voice. “As long as you’ll respect that not all Sorcerers have been raised like you. They stopped the volcano to save people’s homes, to save the wildlife and nature. They did far more good than they did harm.”

I hated defending Lauden and Sage in this, but it was necessary. For one singular action, they’d had the best intentions for Rominia.

Unless they’d only used it as a way to get closer to Evaline.

I pushed away the thought, there was no use in upsetting myself about it all again.

Stuart paled, his blue eyes wide, and nodded.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. You’ve got what you wanted, Lauden is gone, and someone needs to fill the role.”

There was a lengthy pause around the table as the Sorcerers looked to each other.

“What?” my father asked.

Stuart sighed.

“None of us, none of the others we’ve talked to, is willing.”

Wyott laughed aloud at that, and we all turned to him.

“You’re joking?” he asked, shaking his head. When they remained steadfast, he continued. “After all that talk about wanting a proper representative, none of you want to step up to be that person?”

A Terra Caster, Gregory, pursed his lips and leaned forward on the table to look down at Wyott, who sat on his same side, and then back to Kovarrin.

“It’s fairly clear that war is on the horizon,” he said, his voice grim. “The Sorcerers do not fight in war, we don’t use our magic for violence.” He swallowed. “We wish not to become involved.”

My father ground his jaw and gave a shake of his head. Wyott’s eyes widened, and Cora’s hardened.

And I sat back in my seat.

They didn’t want to become involved, but they wanted to be safe from Vasier within our wards.

I knew that they likely were afraid of Rominia falling, of Vasier getting in somehow, and killing them all, since historically we believed that was what he commanded of Sorcerers—execution.

But clearly, we’d misread him. He didn’t order the execution of them all, and must’ve retrieved or found them because he had Sage, he had Lauden, and every Sorcerer out on the water around us, right now.

I swallowed my anger at their inaction. It was their right, and I tried to remember that.

My father, defeated, continued the meeting in only the capacity it was meant for. To get updates on any issues in the seas, land, or air, and once they’d given their reports—that everything was fine—they left.

Cora, Wyott, and I trailed out after, too.

I’d planned to confront my father, but when I looked at my brother, at Cora, I saw that just like me, the wind had gone from their sails. The disappointment lingered, and the fight felt pointless. At least for now.