Chapter 13

Turi was wired. She'd dutifully read her notes out to the king, annoyed beyond measure at the lady Reinilian who was sitting lazily in the afternoon sun at elbow's length from them.

Turi had found them comfortably installed in each other's company on the deck at the back end of the palace, overlooking the gardens where wild roses were reluctantly starting to come into bloom.

Reinilian seemed to be purring every time the king addressed her, and she looked quite unwilling to leave his side, even after Turi insisted upon it. Brandishing a self-satisfied smile, the lady finally moved her feathered self elegantly to the edge of the deck, all the while betting her eyelashes at Thranduil. Turi felt ready to blow.

She managed however to keep her composure and turned to Thranduil, convinced she was finally going to get some answers. Turi registered with a shock that he was smiling at her, as if guessing at her feelings of frustration.

This was embarrassing. Turi wanted nothing but to run and hide. She wanted to disappear.

But that was not an option. Turi cast her eyes down and bit her lip. She matter-of-factly laid out her progress and her suspicions. When she looked up he was serious, the smile long gone.

'The cat, could he or she be hiding among the council? Who was a member back then?' Turi looked pleading, inwardly willing the king to give her the information she so badly needed. But Thranduil stayed quite still, like he was weighing his words carefully. Finally he spoke.

'If any current council members were affiliated with this group' he said, making a dismissive gesture with his hand 'they were granted asylum. We do not speak of this.' He dealt her a cold decided glare.

Turi was taken aback. Surely he'd want these killer caught as much as she did? She fixed him with a headstrong stare, but just as she wanted to ask him further questions the lady Reinilian pushed in between them and hooked her arm around Thranduil's.

'This all seems awfully serious' she said mockingly, pouting her lips. 'This is boring Thranduil.' She then sent him a dazzling smile, and unbelievably to Turi, he smiled back at this moron.

The edges of Turi's vision were turning black, so she turned away from the scene, acknowledging the futility of her questioning the great elven king. As she went to leave them, Thranduil said 'Remember Turi, keep your enemies close.'

Turi stopped, but did not turn back. She merely turned sideways and nodded, unwilling to face the cooing of Reinilian at the king's side. Pushing sudden tears back, she clenched her jaw and willed herself to walk away.

Her head was swimming as she marched away, quickly putting a much distance between her and the feathered vixen as she could. Possibly for both their safety.

Council members. Keep your enemies close. Turi swallowed hard and forced herself to think rationally.

Could Halaniel commit murder, attack his right hand elf to cover up corruption? Or was Areurion involved in some way? Maybe her own boss, Rhaidmir, was in this to make a bid for more power? This last option seemed not altogether impossible to her after his speech before the assembly the other day. Turi made a mental note to talk to him, like, sooner rather than later.

Turi's head was spinning with ideas as she made her way through the palace's hallways. Feeling unstable on her feet, she stopped and pushed her back into the cold wall next to a sturdy oaken table. Then she suddenly realized it wasn't her, but the walls that were shaking.

A low rumble emerged from the palace's belly, like a giant had woken up and was now pushing its way to the surface.