There was a pause while Celeste processed the information. After a while, she shook her head. "Less than a month? How has he hidden it for so long?"

  Saiph's voice sounded melancholy. "Father told us that he was poisoned by something long ago, and it slowly ate away at his body over the years. He had been searching for something to eradicate it, or at least mitigate his symptoms, but he hadn't had any luck. It's partly why he's worked so hard on trade with other dungeon cities. He believed the key to finding himself an antidote would come from one of the dungeons. He never found a panacea or any kind of healer that would be able to cure him, though."

  "All of the healers he interviewed... I thought he was just trying to improve our military," Celeste whispered.

  "Yes..." Saiph replied. "He had done a good job of obscuring his ailment from his enemies, and his family."

  "It's not a difficult thing to imagine that those groups could be one and the same," Callisto added.

  Celeste sighed. "You said symptoms... What symptoms did he have?"

  "Pain... irritability, he said he had become more prone to anger," Saiph replied.

  "Sounds just like him," Callisto joked.

  "How long ago did he get poisoned?" Celeste asked, ignoring the quip.

  Saiph shifted in place. "He refused to give us a straight answer, but it sounded like sometime shortly after Ganymede was born. The poison also seems to have caused him to lose his virility... Which is why she is the last of his children."

  "It might also be why Father chose to skip over all of us and make Ganymede first in line to the throne. He seems to dote on her the most, even though you're his firstborn and have such a long list of accomplishments in and out of the military," Callisto added.

  Saiph cleared his throat. "I always assumed she was skipped over because of... Celeste's mother."

  Celeste growled. "I asked father not to put me on the throne. It has nothing to do with my mother. I have never wanted the throne. Being dropped down to fourth in line was the compromise we came to. That conversation happened shortly before he announced that Ganymede would be his heir."

  "I wonder what Bellatrix did to piss him off, then," Callisto said.

  "She's a bit obsessed with monsters and dungeons. He once told me privately that her fixations would make her a poor ruler..." Saiph answered. "Do you really expect me to believe that though, Celeste? That you were his first choice, and it was only because of your generosity that he didn't name you heir? That sounds like a manipulation if I ever heard one."

  "Believe what you want," Celeste answered coldly. "I will do whatever it takes to support our family, but I do not want to be the one sitting on the throne."

  "For what it's worth, I think you would make a good queen," Callisto commented.

  "You and I rarely see eye to eye, but I believe you would make a better queen than Ganymede at least," Saiph said.

  Celeste suppressed another growl. "Be careful what you say about the heir. That could easily be misinterpreted."

  Saiph shook his head. "You've been away from home for too long, Sister. You don't know what she's like."

  Callisto cleared his throat. "We should table that discussion and get back to the topic at hand."

  "Emi! Are you in the back? I need a drink," Celeste called.

  Emi mimed that I should stay here and be quiet before entering the main tent and immediately whipping something up for her. The other two didn't seem to even acknowledge her as she mixed Celeste a drink and presented it to her.

  "I think you should return to Ironcastle soon, Celeste. The transition will go much smoother with you there. Ganymede likes you, I think you may blunt some of her... problematic tendencies," Saiph continued.

  "This poison, where did it come from?" Celeste asked, ignoring Saiph's comment.

  Saiph made an annoyed noise as Callisto answered, "We couldn't get him to tell us where the poison came from, but every time we brought it up, he ignored any questions and just started ranting about how much he hated the fae instead."

  "The fae?" Celeste asked, bewildered.

  Calisto nodded. "Yes, I think he was unable to answer the question directly for some reason. Maybe it was because of the poison, maybe it was some other reason, we're not sure, but it implies the fae are involved somehow."

  "Do you know something about that, Sister?" Saiph asked in a curious tone.

  "No, not exactly. But the weird thing with the dungeons... we think the fae are somehow involved in that too. Something strange has been happening in the region, and there are several signs that the fae might have something to do with it," Celeste replied.

  "Signs? Like what?" Saiph pressed.

  "In the Fallow dungeon, the floor that got nicknamed the 'Lost Halls' had seemingly been taken over by an outside fairy. Something one of my personal delvers have nicknamed a 'doppelganger.' She said the creature felt similar to the changelings. This dungeon has an entire floor of changelings. On the second floor, a changeling followed one of my delvers up the first time they explored it and was loose in the camp for a while."

  "A dungeon monster... leaving their floor? That easily?" Saiph asked in shock.

  "Yes, it was unexpected, but it happened on the first floor as well. My delver suggests that they are somehow connected to the oddities the dungeons have been displaying as of late. It also... caused problems for me," Celeste admitted.

  "You mean news about your secret daughter getting out," Saiph said in an amused tone.

  "Saiph," Celeste said warningly.

  "Relax, that's part of why we're here, isn't it? To have your daughter protected by her human fiancé?" Saiph asked.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Beastkin actually... What's your angle here, Saiph?" Celeste asked.

  "I'm not sure how Ganymede would treat your daughter, but introducing her right now would only complicate things further. It would be best to just leave her out of the line of succession if you really don't want her to be there. Having her married off in beastkin tradition is a smart play. Better to keep her tied to a human you have better control over," Saiph continued.

  "Saiph," Callisto said, exasperated.

  Saiph must have reacted to Celeste's expression, because he suddenly sounded shocked. "Wait, you're kidding. That human isn't your spy? I thought you were locking your daughter down!"

  "Helena is a fine protector for my daughter. I've tested her and even trained her a bit," Celeste replied evenly.

  "But you don't control her! You're just letting one of our family run off?" Saiph nearly yelled.

  "It's not like that! And no, I am not trying to control my daughter. Look where that's gotten me! All the manipulation, the political games, and the family alliances. I don't want any of that for her! Not after I watched the rest of my children die! Not after I spent my entire life... After everything that's happened, I will not let Luna take my place. I haven't done right by her, and things were even worse for her than I feared. I can't allow her to be dragged into all of this. Helena and their marriage will protect her from being used the way that I was. I won't allow it," Celeste's voice was somewhere between angry and sad by the time she finished.

  Throughout her rant, the two brothers had remained silent and even taken a few steps back. Eventually, Saiph was the one to break the long pause that followed. "I will not interfere. As I said, now is not a good time to reveal your daughter. If you eventually change your mind... I just hope you have thought through trusting this woman who's ensnared her. From my own investigations, I have not found any information about her at all. It's like she spawned from the Fallow dungeon like one of its monsters."

  Celeste snorted. "I don't believe she would appreciate being compared to a monster. She's... touchy about that."

  Saiph sighed and ran his fingers along one of his horns. "I will stay silent and sign off as a witness to their marriage, just as you've asked Callisto to. I do not think this is the wisest gambit, but it's your game to play, not mine. In return, please consider returning to Ironcastle for Ganymede's coronation. I think we will need your help with our sister. She's become quite temperamental in the time that you've been gone."

  "I'll think about it. This dungeon is incredibly valuable though. With the right defenses, this place could become its own Ironcastle. With proper trade, it would likely become even bigger." Celeste sighed. "It is important that this place stays protected."

  Saiph hesitantly nodded. "That's all I will ask of you. Tomorrow, I wish to meet with you and some of your delvers to talk about your discoveries in the dungeon. I was a bit surprised by Father taking you at your word that the dungeon was valuable enough to warrant all of the people I brought with me, but perhaps he wanted you to be officially returned to the family before he... passes."

  Celeste shook her head. "The information is too dangerous to send through a message that could be intercepted. I gave him a coded message that hinted at the scale of what I found, but it was too dangerous to even tell him our discovery in code. Father trusts me. He knows I wouldn't lie about this. I found something worth more than those broken alliances."

  "Perhaps I was too hasty in dismissing the idea that you asked him not to be his heir. I can't really think of a different reason for him to skip over you, but if he chose Ganymede as your replacement, I don't know how much I trust his judgment," Saiph said.

  "You'll understand tomorrow," Celeste replied simply.

  Callisto stepped closer and pulled Celeste into a hug. "Goodnight, Sister. Let's spend more time together tomorrow. My ass is quite sore from the pace that we rushed out here, so I need my sleep, but I want to take the opportunity to visit with you."

  Celeste chuckled and returned the hug before patting him on the shoulder. "It's always good to see you, Callisto. There are still some things I need to work out, but I'll make time to spend with you, I promise."

  "Of course! I know that managing this expedition has been quite the ordeal. See you tomorrow," Callisto said before waiting next to the flap of her tent.

  "Goodnight, sister," Saiph said with a quick nod.

  "Goodnight, you two," Celeste replied.

  The two brothers left the tent, and Celeste downed her drink. I stood there for a little while, unsure what to do. I kinda had listened in on that entire conversation, but Emi had told me to stay and be quiet. It's not like they gave me much opportunity to slip by. The longer I listened in on the conversation, the more I was stuck.

  "Helena, you can come out of there now," Celeste called out in amusement.

  I awkwardly slipped out of the partitioned area of her tent and stood near her desk. I wasn't really sure what to do, so I scratched the back of my head before apologizing. "Uh, sorry for listening in on all of that. We were kind of in the back, and Emi told me to stay quiet."

  Celeste glanced at Emi, who smiled back before pouring her another drink.

  "It sounds like you already know that you no longer have to call me 'my lady' anymore, then?" Celeste asked.

  "Yes, your highness," Emi replied with a teasing grin.

  Celeste sighed and shook her head, but there was a smile on her face. After that interaction with her assistant, she turned to look at me. "You weren't here. You didn't hear any of this. Clear?"

  "Can I tell Luna?" I asked.

  Celeste frowned. "Use your rings. Don't repeat anything you heard out loud. Don't tell the others, just Luna for now."

  I shifted in place. "Why... aren't you more mad that I stood here and listened in to the entire conversation?"

  "Do you want me to be mad?" she asked with a smirk.

  "Well... obviously not."

  Celeste laughed. "I knew you were back there the entire time. You were supposed to be here with Emi, looking at fabric samples. I don't really... trust my brother, Saiph. I didn't think it would come to blows, but if something did happen, I think your presence could have de-escalated things. I didn't plan for you to be here when he barged into my tent, mind you, but I didn't stop to shoo you away either. In retrospect, maybe that was a poor idea since he shared such... dangerous information with me. But I trust you, Helena."

  I smiled. "You know... I think I'm starting to trust you more and more each day."

  "Good," Celeste said with a smile. "Please sit down and have a drink with me. It's a bit of a cliche that people rarely get along with their mother in law, but I hope that's not the case for us."

  I took a seat across from her, and Emi put down a mixed drink in front of me. I picked it up and took a sip. It tasted good, but I could taste the underlying flavor of the alcohol. I wasn't a big drinker, and the flavor was pretty strong, but all in all, it wasn't bad.

  "Cocktails like this were invented in a city that weren't able to produce much alcohol, so they added other flavorings to spread the alcohol further. The practice spread, and now you can find some of the same mixed drinks all over the region," Celeste explained.

  I finished my glass, and Emi was quick to replace it with a fresh one. "Where I come from, it was a practice that started when the country I lived in tried to ban all alcohol. The cheap illegal alcohol served in the hidden bars tasted so bad that it needed to be mixed in order to be palatable. It was called... Prohibition or something that translates similarly. It wasn't very successful, and was eventually reversed, but the practice of mixing drinks lived on after that."

  "Fascinating. Would you... share more about the world you come from?" Celeste asked cautiously.

  I looked down at my drink and swirled it for a long moment before nodding. "Sure."

  Hello! Looks like Helena is starting to get along better with her future mother in law. Things are brewing in Ironcastle that will need to be addressed soon though, it doesn't look like it'll take much time for things to boil to a head there. But first, a wedding! Not long now! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading!

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