“Helly will do, dear,” she said with a kind smile. Then, her eyes flickered to Kerrigan. “I need to borrow Kerrigan right away, if you please.”
“Of course,” Moran said deferentially. “Kerrigan, go with Helly, but do remember your duties.”
“Yes, Mistress Moran.”
Kerrigan hastened out of Moran’s office, and she and Helly began to walk purposefully through the mountain.
Helly looked over at her once and shook her head. “Wipe that grin off your face, dear. I know all about your indiscretions. You hid much of it from Moran, but I know that you’ve been sneaking out to that heathen den. I know that you’ve been fighting. I know that you brought one of Dozan Rook’s spies into the House of Dragons box.”
Kerrigan wilted. “Clover isn’t a spy. She’s my friend.”
“I don’t think you know the difference.”
“You treat me like I’m still that twelve-year-old girl.”
“No, I don’t,” Helly said. “The twelve-year-old Kerrigan had respect for authority and herself. She got into trouble, but it was all just a game of fun. Not this… rebellion you have fancied yourself in now. It is not representative of the Society.”
“I’m not part of the Society.”
“You are Dragon Blessed. You represent us. You’ve been here nearly your entire life. I know you already know all of this. I just don’t know what has gotten into you.”
Kerrigan clenched her hands into fists. “You have no idea what I’m going through.”
Helly pulled her aside. Her dark eyes were warm with concern. “Then, tell me. Surely, we have known each other long enough for you to know that you can tell me anything. You have so often in the past.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Helly raised an eyebrow. “Try me.”
“I’m a half-Fae, Helly. Half. You can’t possibly understand how everyone treats me because of who I am. I can’t tell people about my abilities.” She looked at Helly pointedly. She had been the one after all to tell Kerrigan to hide her visions in the first place. “I can’t show who I truly am. And even if I could, no one would accept me for it. My father is full-blooded Fae. He’s a royal in Bryonica—your tribe—and I’m stuck here because he didn’t want me.”
She was breathing heavily from her outburst. Only Helly would allow her to speak to her like this without reprimand. All Kerrigan saw was pity in her eyes, and sometimes, that was worse.
Kerrigan straightened again. “At least, in the Wastes, no one judges me for these.” She touched her short ears. “I can just be me.”
“I can’t understand that,” Helly said gently. “You’re right. But I do know you. Things are hard now because of the racial tensions among our people. They will get better. I know they will. And things will get easier for you after the Dragon Blessed ceremony.”
Kerrigan wasn’t so sure.
In one week, every member of the House of Dragons over the age of sixteen would be a part of the Dragon Blessed ceremony. Each Dragon Blessed would be selected by one of the twelve tribes and leave the mountain behind. For many of the students, it was the only way to advance in the world. Most of the Dragon Blessed had been left at the mountain like Kerrigan and being selected at the ceremony meant a new life—wealth, security, and a place in this world.
Helly must have seen the doubt on her face. She touched Kerrigan’s shoulder, and said, “When you’re officially a member of a tribe again, wearing their colors, living under their realm of protection, it will be easier.”
Kerrigan deflated. “I wish that I didn’t need protection from anyone to be… me.”
Helly gestured for them to begin walking again. “I hope, one day, that will be the case as well. You are too bright for everyone not to see the light within you. To judge you based on what you are rather than who you are.”
They remained silent the rest of the walk. At least Helly understood even if she didn’t understand. No one could really since they hadn’t walked in her shoes, hadn’t seen what it was like to be persecuted for a circumstance of her birth.
Finally, they stopped in front of the Society council chamber. The door was ajar, and she peered inside. Much of the twenty person high council were already assembled. They were the highest office of the Society governing body, the most coveted seats in all of Alandria.
“What’s going on?” she asked in confusion.
“We’re holding a tribunal to decide whether or not to permit Prince Fordham to compete in the tournament.”
Kerrigan’s eyes rounded. “Do you think they’ll allow it?”
“I don’t know.” The creases around her mouth and eyes said she was worried.
“But he’s not part of one of the twelve tribes. Surely, he doesn’t qualify.”
“Everything is different since the last tournament. I doubt he would come here from the House of Shadows if he didn’t have a plan in place. We’re here to see what it is.”
Kerrigan shivered. The House of Shadows. She only knew the haunting stories of the Dark Court, Fae who tortured anyone who crossed their borders. Dark Fae who slaughtered mercilessly on the battlefield and stole babies in the night. They were legend come to life.
“Helly,” she whispered, knowing that she had to tell her about her vision. “I… I had another one.”
Helly’s face snapped to hers. She drew in close and lowered her voice. “A vision? What happened?”
Kerrigan nodded. “I saw him. Fordham.”
Helly drew in a sharp breath. “What was he doing?”
“Just materializing in the tournament. Nothing more about him. I also saw a woman floating and screaming, some kind of crowd that had gotten out of hand, and a person in a… red mask.”
Helly blanched. “A red mask?”
Kerrigan nodded.
The Red Masks were an anti-human, anti-half-Fae hate group. Five years ago, they’d taken to the streets, burning churches and killing humans and half-Fae alike. Kerrigan had nearly been one of them. The Red Masks still haunted her dreams.
“I thought they were gone,” Kerrigan whispered.
“I thought so too.” Helly released a breath laced in fear. “I will speak to the head of security to keep an eye out. If the Red Masks are going to have a resurgence, then we need to prepare. Those were dark days. As for the rest of your vision, Fordham must be important.”
“Yes… but how?”
Helly looked grim. “I suppose we will find out. You remember to be discreet. Don’t tell anyone else of this.”
“Of course,” Kerrigan said hastily. She’d made that mistake once with Dozan. She’d never do it again.
“Good.” Helly straightened. “Now, wait here.”
“Here?” Kerrigan asked in confusion.
“Yes, oddly enough, I had already decided that your punishment would be to work with Fordham Ollivier.”
Kerrigan blanched. “What?”
“Whether or not he makes it into the tournament, you will be his escort.”
“But, Helly…”
“A force guides our hands, Kerrigan. We cannot ignore it.”