The Dragon Kings' Forbidden Witch

The words were delivered without preamble, without explanation, without any attempt to soften the implications.

Cedric absorbed this without visible reaction, though his mind was already working through consequences.

"The noble daughters will be returned to their families," Draeven continued. "You will handle the notifications. The process will begin immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cedric said, his voice steady. "It will be done."

"Cedric," Kaelen said from near the window, his pale eyes sharp, "there will be consequences. The families invested significant resources based on the expectation that the Selection would continue."

"I am aware," Cedric replied. He was already calculating how angry the noble houses would be, how much diplomatic work would be required, how the council would react to this news.

But beneath the practical concerns was the deeper question: why had the kings ended the Selection?

They had not found what they were seeking among the noble daughters. Or they had found something....or someone, else instead.

"The council will require explanation," Cedric said carefully. "The noble houses will demand to know why the Selection has been concluded. Families have made sacrifices based on the understanding that this process would continue."

He was watching their faces as he spoke, watching for reactions, watching for cracks in their composure that might reveal what they truly knew.

"Let them demand," Draeven said flatly. "The Selection is concluded. That is all they need to know."

"The noble daughters have families," Cedric continued. "Families with significant political power. If they feel their daughters have been mistreated, if they believe the Selection was ended without just cause...."

"They will accept the kings’ decision," Thorne interrupted, his dark eyes cutting across the room. "They have no choice."

Cedric inclined his head slightly, acknowledging the point. The kings were right. The noble houses could complain, could protest, could express their displeasure, but ultimately, the throne’s authority was absolute.

But this didn’t answer the real question. This didn’t explain why.

***

Cedric took a careful breath and asked the question that had been driving his investigation.

"When the Selection began," he said, his voice measured and precise, "this council understood it to serve a particular purpose. We believed that finding the one from prophecy....finding the Mother of Dragons, might provide a path to breaking the curse that has plagued the throne for two centuries."

He paused, watching their faces.

"The noble daughters were brought to the palace because they fit the description of what we were seeking. Women of significant breeding, women of power and status, women who might be the one the ancient texts spoke of."

Cedric leaned forward slightly.

"Has the council’s original purpose been abandoned? Or have you found what you were seeking?"

The question hung in the air between them.

For a long moment, none of the kings responded.

Then Draeven’s golden eyes met Cedric’s directly. "We are already looking into it."

The words revealed nothing. No elaboration. No explanation of where they were looking or how they were looking or what they had found.

Just the statement that the original purpose of the Selection....finding the one who might break the curse, was still being pursued. But separately. Independently. Outside the council’s knowledge or involvement.

Cedric understood the message clearly.

The kings had their own investigation. And the council would not be part of it.

"I see," Cedric said, accepting this without argument.

Thorne spoke from his position near the wall.

"The council’s role was to provide candidates. That role is concluded." His dark eyes were fixed on Cedric. "Our investigation will continue separately."

It was a dismissal of council authority stated politely but absolutely.

Cedric recognized it as such.

***

Cedric shifted in his seat, preparing for more dangerous territory.

"There is another matter the council has raised," he said carefully. "One that requires addressing."

He watched all three kings come to heightened attention.

"Your ward," Cedric continued. "The girl you claimed under the Law of Crown Protection."

Kaelen’s posture stiffened slightly at the mention of her.

"The council is curious about the kings’ intentions in keeping her so close," Cedric said, choosing each word with precision. "A servant girl elevated to the royal wing. Afforded status and protection that would normally go to nobility."

He paused, letting this settle.

"There have been whispers," Cedric continued quietly. "Some are saying she has bewitched you. That her presence in the palace is unnatural."

The room went very still, And Cedric could feel the weight of their attention.

Draeven’s expression hardened.

His golden eyes became something colder, sharper and more dangerous.

"Morgana is not the concern of the council." he said.

The statement was final and absolute.

"She is the kings’ ward. That is all the council needs to know."

Cedric started to speak, but Draeven continued, his voice becoming harder.

"If the council wishes to speculate about matters that are not their jurisdiction, that is their choice. But those speculations will remain exactly that....speculation."

Draeven leaned forward in his chair, and his golden eyes burned with something that was not quite anger but was close enough.

"The council would be better served focusing on sending the noble daughters home and managing the political fallout from ending the Selection, rather than wasting time on whispers about our ward."

Kaelen had turned fully to face Cedric now, and his pale eyes held a warning that was impossible to misread.

Even Thorne, from his position by the wall, had shifted his weight slightly, a gesture that suggested absolute solidarity with his brother.

The message was clear: the subject of Morgana was closed.

Cedric inclined his head in acceptance.

He understood completely what had just happened.

The kings were not going to discuss Morgana. Not with him. Not with the council. Not with anyone. The girl was theirs to protect, and they would permit no interference, no questions, no council involvement.

The questions Cedric had come prepared to ask....about her origins, about her significance, about whether she was connected to the prophecy, would remain unanswered.

And that itself was an answer.

The kings were protecting her. Which meant she was important. Which meant the kings understood something about her that they were not sharing.

Cedric realized he could work with that.

"Understood, Your Majesty," he said simply.