The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey by Melissa Myers Page B

him and found the room empty.
    “My dear, Jala, there you are.” Father
Belson’s voice came quietly from behind her, and she jumped half an
inch at the sound of it. She had forgotten he was even in the room.
She quickly masked her dismay with a smile and moved to give him a
hug.
    “Gretchen says the coach will be here anytime
and that I best make my goodbyes hasty,” she said quietly. “Thank
you for all you have done for me. I will miss you and the Temple
more than I can say.” She felt her eyes mist a bit, and he smiled
at her.
    “There now, child, you will be back before
you know it. We will miss you too while you are gone and we will
pray for you often.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek and patted
her on the arm to reassure her. She smiled again and hoped he
couldn’t see the truth in her eyes. From the conversation she had
just had, she wasn’t sure she would ever see this Temple again.

Chapter 4
Fionahold
     
    The heavy oaken door swung open with a groan.
It wasn’t quite fitted right on its hinges, and Victory had to put
his shoulder into it to get it to move at all. Light crept out from
the room beyond, the pale flickering light of candles and torches,
rather than the steadier more reliable glow of a mage light. The
air smelled strongly of it, all smoke and damp earth. He could hear
voices within, talking low and hushed, and from the sound of it,
more than he had expected. A heavy thud sounded behind him as Havoc
pushed the rough door back into place and stepped up beside
him.
    “From the sound of it, we are the last,”
Havoc murmured. Victory gave a slight nod in answer and stepped out
of the alcove into the room beyond. For a moment, the room went
silent. He scanned the room quickly, taking note of who was in
attendance. Caspian sat in his battered armor at a table stacked
high with paperwork that appeared to be partially sorted. His thick
blond hair was pulled back severely, and his expression was one of
distaste. He didn’t even glance up from the letter he currently
read as they entered.
    To his right sat Lutheron, the second in
command. He was dressed as dark as his reputation and looked as
though he had planned for a funeral rather than a council meeting.
Lutheron showed no interest in the stack of papers and watched
those in the room instead. His sharp features were expressionless
as he surveyed the room, giving no indication of his thoughts.
Victory tried to ignore the crawling sensation Lutheron’s dark gaze
left on him, and quickly looked past the man.
    Standing just beyond him at another raised
table stood Caspian’s wife Faramir, and across from her was
Symphony. Victory raised an eyebrow at the last, the first three
were senior members of the Fionaveir, and their presence was
expected at any meeting. Symphony, however, was not even a member.
She lived in the Fionahold under Caspian’s protection, but nothing
more. As if sensing his confusion, the young woman looked up at him
and smiled. Her gold eyes seemed to catch the torchlight, and for a
brief moment, they held a glow.
    “I believe the last guests have arrived,
Grandfather,” she said to Caspian in a low, rich voice.
    Caspian looked up from his papers and raised
an eyebrow. Silently, he motioned Victory and Havoc to seats.
Victory gave a nod and quickly found a place at one of the smaller
tables. He watched Havoc take a place at the end of the table,
perched on the edge of it, and wondered for the hundredth time why
they had been summoned. They were not council members and had no
place here. As he scanned the room further, he noticed others along
the wall seeming to try to blend with the shadows there. They were
not council members, either. He could see Charm perched in the
rafters above. The wiry rogue seemed more at ease in the heights of
the cramped room than most seemed at the tables. Leaning against a
wall near the corner stood Solace and Hawk. Both of them wore their
woodland leathers of green and brown, and from the