It took them a minute to realize who else was in the room with Enuolare. When Leon saw them and the book that they were holding, he mumbled a curse. Enuolare quickly caught on to what he saw too.
She slowly stepped closer to them. “Dear, you’re not supposed to have that.”
They kept the book away from her. “And why not?” The worst part was how none of them gave Enebish an answer. “What is it that you don’t want me to know? The fact that you have this at all? That you’re letting this happen?”
Enuolare gained a hurt expression when they wouldn’t let her touch their shoulder, afraid that she might take away the book instead. “I promise there’s a good explanation for all of this.”
“Then what is it?”
She sighed. “I suppose I should’ve told you sooner, but a part of me hoped you would never need to know… Etieno and the others, as my children by blood, will eventually need to take up my duties there. But you wouldn’t need to get involved at all—they never would’ve cared about an adopted child. I thought I could protect you from the reality we face here… though there’s no going back now. I’ll tell you what I know, then you can decide what to think yourself after I’ve talked.
“Adidell was created a couple of years after Saint-King Lucas’s crowning; they are founded under the belief that the old king’s royal line still exists out there and, for the most part, it does. The king had long heard of the rebellion—at that point, they’d hardly been discreet about it. He’d realized a few years earlier that it was only a matter of time before the people tried to turn against him. While most of his time was spent trying to find a way to show them the dangers of magic, he spent some of it in building a family.
“The plan itself was kept secret between a few of his trusted advisors, those that would become Adidell’s founders. When it became apparent that Saint-King Lucas’s rebellion was closing in on the capital, the king instructed his advisors to take his newborn child and leave. Before Saint-King Lucas came, the king wrote a letter to warn him about what was going to happen and then committed suicide. Saint-King Lucas and First Queen Clarimonda were the only two from the rebellion force to know and the new Seothia stemmed out of their hiding of details; Adidell, on the other hand, embraces the secret and the expectations they were given by their late king.”
Leon stepped forward to give her a short break. “The child of the old king became the first of the Mikahs. It’s… a rather bold heritage that I have no joy in associating with. Adidell’s main goal is to generate the perfect replacement for the king… by taking someone that has his blood and his spirit, then allowing his spirit to take over the person’s body. Unfortunately, Nadia met those requirements. My attempts to get them to consider other options deemed me a traitor, along with my joining of the army, and I haven’t technically been allowed to be this deep into northern territory since.”
Enebish eased a little with the assurance that they weren’t just going to avoid the topic. “So you know everything that they’ve been doing..?”
Enuolare nodded.
“Why do you let them..?”
“Almost all of northern Seothia is against Saint-King Lucas’s line—they had no reason to think him any more than a joke. Anything on the side of his descendants is considered a threat to their plans. To stand by the throne would be the same as losing everything. I allow what I do because I know what they’ll do if I don’t… I know that disobeying them could mean losing more than just my power and wealth—I’ll lose my family, too. It isn’t an easy decision to make but know that, everything I do, I do for all of you.” She paused. “So, do you understand now? Do you think that perhaps… you’ll be able to forgive me, despite the lies I’ve told?”
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“I forgive you.” They handed the book to Imena and hugged their mother. “I’m relieved, actually, that you’re not doing this because you want to… I know being forced is bad, but thinking that you did it all yourself is way worse.” They stepped back. “There’s just one more thing I don’t get. If Leon knows, you know, and neither of you really like them… why doesn’t the king know about all of this already?”
“The same reason, mostly,” Leon remarked. “Suffice to say they bring up very good reasons not to try to turn against them.”
“It helps that they keep up appearances,” Enuolare added. “They know how to act around the king. They say what they need to draw the attention away from them; it’s something they’ve been doing since Saint-King Lucas got on the throne. Telling anyone that there’s an organization bent on getting rid of magic and reinstituting the old line would get you branded as a conspiracy theorist. And it’s not like the throne now has the resources to explore the rumors, with the Skiá that need to be taken care of. It’s unlikely that they’ll notice something at all until it’s already too late to stop them.”
“Is there nothing that we can do to keep all that bad stuff from happening, then?” Enebish remembered what had been written in the log and felt sick again. They couldn’t imagine anyone going through something like that, let alone knowing that there really was nothing they could do to help.
Imena shrugged. “That’s what I’m for. I help protect people from Adidell so that, when the final hours come, only a handful have suffered at their hands…” She trailed off near the end and followed it with the mumble, “Like Zokel did for the Ilethera.”
Enuolare blinked. “I just now noticed your friend, Enebish. When did you meet her?”
“I met Imena when I went to get some fresh air earlier,” Enebish replied casually. “She said she’d help me find Nadia and was the first one to tell me about Adidell.”
“You don’t happen to… feel something, do you?” Enuolare then muttered something about a dreamer, though it was hard to understand.
“No? I thought we were done with the telling secrets part, why are you acting like that..?”
Imena interjected before anything else could be said. “It’s alright, Lady Enuolare, and your suspicion is well-placed. You’re right—I’m a Fos.”
Enuolare gave her a weak smile. “Legend used to tell of a little girl like you who would come to the aid of the magical people here. You brought hope to many, and crushed countless more when you disappeared.”
“Blame mortals, they’re the one that made it difficult,” Imena returned. “There’s so few of us already that I can’t afford to let the darkness take me now. At least there were still some good mortals who were willing to take up the challenges on my behalf.” She paused. “Though I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone I was here. The sooner you mortals learn to keep your mouths shut the longer I can keep you out of danger.”
“Uh, Mom, can you explain what’s going on?” Enebish prompted.
“She’s helped our family before,” Enuolare responded, gesturing to Imena. “Her reputation spread all across northern Seothia until a couple decades ago, when… the hero they thought they could depend on stopped coming.”
Imena seemed to ignore the main sentiment of the comment. “You just talked to them about your own self-preservation, so why turn around and scorn mine?”
“Do you plan on staying a while, then?” Leon asked, moving on from the subject.
“Saving Nadia is my mission, so I won’t leave until it’s done,” she replied.
He glanced at Enuolare and, seemingly having the same idea, nodded in unison. Slowly, he said, “With a Fos beside you, maybe… we can trust you to stay safe. I wouldn’t want to tell you something and you end up getting hurt, but I think you can handle this with someone like her on your side. I’ll show you where Adidell’s base is.”
Enebish perked up, looking between the two of them. “Really?”
“Stay safe and out of trouble,” Enuolare said. “If something bad happens, leave immediately. Don’t let anyone recognize who you are; don’t even let anyone get close. Do what you need and get right back out. Do you understand?”
Despite the seriousness of such a topic, they nodded ecstatically. “Yes! I promise!”
“I’ll be sure to look after them,” Imena said dutifully. “They’re not my mission, but still I think Day would like to keep them safe.”
Leon went to leave the room. “Then follow me. We’ll make sure we have what we need to keep you two hidden and then make our way there. As a fair warning, don’t be surprised if it’s much closer than you would’ve expected it to be…”