Chapter 583: The War Council Gathers
The night before the festival was to begin, while many in the fortress city were making final preparations for a day of joy and celebration, a gathering of an entirely different nature was about to begin in a formal dining room deep in the caverns of the ancient fortress.
Unlike the last time Ashlynn had dined with Nyrielle, Thane, and the handful of others who made up what passed for a ruling council in the Vale of Mists, this time the room was filled to capacity and not a single seat at the long cedar table was empty.
Nyrielle took her place at the head of the table, dressed in a form-fitting black gown adorned with spills of dark crimson lace that accentuated the curves of her lithe figure while making her appear even taller and more imposing than she was on her own. Though she kept her wings tucked away, it was impossible for her to conceal the aura of darkness that clung to her when her emotions ran high and the fresh, blood red coat of polish she wore on her pointed fingernails only added to the feeling of bloodthirsty menace that radiated from her as she gestured for the others to take their seats.
That aura of darkness melted like frost as sunrise as soon as Ashlynn took her place to Nyrielle’s left. One touch of Ashlynn’s delicate hand on Nyrielle’s slender wrist was enough to bring the powerful vampire out of her dark musings and place a smile back on her soft lips.
Of course, Ashlynn’s choice of attire may have contributed to the change in Nyrielle’s mood. While Ashlynn normally preferred natural hues of greens and browns that suited her nature as the Mother of Trees, tonight she’d adorned herself in a gown of deep crimson.
Paired with a half cape made entirely of dark raven’s feathers that gave the crimson gown an aggressive, martial feeling, as though she couldn’t bear to restrain her sword arm in the event that some violence should break out at the council meeting.
The dress, along with the absence of any of her signature hats, served as a reminder to everyone present that, although she was the Mother of Trees, a woman with status that could rival the Harbinger of Death herself, she was also Nyrielle’s Seneschal and tonight, she was making it clear which identity took precedence.
"You know, if you keep this up, my darling," Nyrielle said, her eyes shining with affection as she gazed at Ashlynn. "I’m going to need to find a larger table to accommodate your coven and my progeny."
"I’m sure that Ollie knows someone who would be happy to carve something for us when the time comes," Ashlynn said, laughing lightly as she looked down at what had become ’her’ side of the table.
To Ashlynn’s left, each member of her coven had come dressed in their finest. Whether it was Heila in her understated brown dress with its accents of coppery brocade, Ollie in his ice-blue tunic with its silver embroidered accents, or Virve in the formal midnight blue tunic with a crimson captain’s sash running from one shoulder to the opposite hip, each of them had come with an awareness that their actions in this meeting represented not only themselves, but the lady they served as well.
Even Hauke, who was large enough to loom over everyone else in the room, managed to make himself feel smaller as he set aside the chair at his place at the table to sit directly on the floor, reducing his stature until it felt as though he matched the height of the Clan of the Great Claw.
"Are you sure I should be here, Lady Ashlynn?" Hauke asked as he fidgeted into position. While Nyrielle’s formal dining room had been built to accommodate men and women like Lennart and Virve, if Hauke wasn’t careful, his iridescent horn would brush up against the crystal chandelier hanging overhead and the last thing he wanted to do was cause trouble by bringing the dozens of small oil lamps arranged within the chandelier crashing down on their dinner table.