"Bad news, Bee…"
"What else is new?" Noble rolled her eyes at Fort as she came down the stairs of her house. It had been a few days since the infighting of the House of Night, and every time Noble turned around, there was another tragedy.
With the collapse of the Clan and the defection of Bloodwave, Naeve and Aether to the Sword Domain, the commerce system, which had already been tenuous, completely collapsed in the waking world.
The best navigators were either taken by Mordret, killed, or became fugitives. Lord Anvil had allowed the Awakened of the House of Night to return and resume their duties, but it would take time for things to recover to a semblance of what they once were.
Even the cafeteria at the Academy was feeling the strain of the shortages. As for the rest of the NQSC, things were even more tense.
"What is it now? Don't tell me there's a shortage of molten rock in the volcano now and we will all freeze to death…" Noble smiled wryly until she saw her husband's face.
He sat at the kitchen table looking at the report that Teddy had brought only a few moments ago. His cheeks were devoid of color, and he looked paler than she had ever seen.
"Fort?"
The ambassador shook his head. "You are going to want to sit down for this."
Noble began to object that she was unable to sit until Fort pushed back his chair and offered his knee. Normally a move like that would have made the husband smile like a Cheshire Cat, but just now there was not even a little bit of amusement in his face.
"It's that serious?" Noble glanced at the front door. She would have to be late for work.
'That's not new, sadly.'
Noble pushed aside the self-deprecating thought. She took a seat and waited for Fort to tell her about whatever calamity was in the morning report.
"It's Mordret. He's made it past Rivergate and is steadily marching toward Bastion. Saint Athena sent a report that Mordret plans to take the city and gain control of the citadel. He may already be there."
"Bastion?!" Noble bolted upright, her feet pressing against the cold floor and sending a shock through her body.
Fort passed the page to his wife; the news would be common knowledge soon enough, and he saw no reason to hide it from her.
Ignoring the pain. Noble devoured the text. Each word filled her with greater dread.
Mordret had not only made it past Rivergate, but he had mostly obliterated it in his assault. The people who had survived had been evacuated to Bastion, but with Mordret now breathing down on the city, it now seemed like the escape had only delayed the inevitable.
Mordret was determined to wrest his father's kingdom from him, and that meant claiming the Great Citadel for his own.
There was one saving grace.
"Morgan used the component of the citadel." Noble took a deep breath as she made it to that line in the report.
"She sent the copy of Bastion away and the people with it. When Mordret arrives, he will come face to face with the real Bastion instead." Fort confirmed.
Noble had seen how the ruins of Bastion had looked in the Nightmare. Unless Valor rebuilt the structure, she had no reason to believe they would be any different than they were then.
'Maybe even worse.'
Noble sighed.
"That's only a temporary delay, though. While the people of Bastion might not be in immediate danger, they were far from safe."
"You think he will try to go through the lake?" The Ambassador remembered that detail from Noble's tale.
"If the moon is right, he might try. But I think his goal is to take the citadel outright, which could be done if he gains access to the place below the real city." The woman lowered her voice.
She didn't think anyone was listening, but on the chance that they were, Noble didn't want to give them any ideas.
"That would be a problem." Fort tapped his fingers on the kitchen table. "There's no good way to warn them about that if they don't already know."
"And there is no way of knowing what Mordret knows either. He is the Prince of Nothing and can travel through mirrors." Noble wondered if the Others still existed.
Was it weird for her to hope they did, and that they wouldn't let Mordret pass through their kingdom?
Returning the page to her husband, Noble began to pace.
"Even if Morgan hid away Bastion's citizens, she can't defend all of Bastion alone, can she? Mordret has thirteen Saints under his control. And they are all him, too! Sharing one mind and moving in unison. They would not only be united, but their coordination would be unparalleled. How can one Saint hope to compete against that overwhelming force?"
"Morgan isn't alone." Fort sifted through the rest of the report and handed her another sheet. "The surviving Saints from the House of Night and also Saint Athena, Saint Jet, and Saint Kai have joined her to stop them."
"Saint Nightingale, Saint Soul Reaper, and Saint Raised by Wolves are all fighting for Valor right now? So much for government neutrality..." Child of Promise rubbed her forehead.
She knew deep down that it would happen sooner or later, but Noble had been hoping for the second option. Mordret had not only tilted the balance of power, but he had discarded the scales entirely.
Did he care that he had messed up the world just as much, if not more than the Sovereigns?
Probably not. His vendetta against his family trumped any regard for anyone else. The world was collateral damage, and if it needed to burn for Mordret to meet his goal, then he would strike the match in a heartbeat.
He needed to be stopped.
"I've got to help." Noble felt her husband's emotions spike.
"You can't." He shook his head.
"Why not?" The woman's eyes swirled with determination. "Because I'm from Ravenheart? Kai is anchored here, and Valor didn't refuse his assistance! If you are worried about Clan Song, they may come after us for being aligned with the government anyway and…"
"That wasn't my reasoning, though the second is a serious consideration. If Song decides we are a threat, we do need to have a contingency plan." Fort shook his head. "However, my concern for your intervention was more of a logistical difficulty. You would first have to admit you are a Saint, and then you would have to make it there in a reasonable time to battle. The conflict will be fierce, but unless something unexpected happens, it won't be prolonged."
"But Mom and Julius!" Noble's heart clenched. She couldn't just leave them when they were in danger.
"Even if Mordret gets control, he's after his father, not the people of Bastion. Neither of them is part of Clan Valor, and they aren't important enough to warrant being a target. As long as they sit tight, they should be fine." Fort's words sounded more confident than he felt, but he did believe they were true.
Noble mulled over the situation in her mind.
"Fine. I won't go. However…"
Assuming the Awakened were still connected to the waking world, Noble could meet Julius in the NQSC.
"Do you have a spare sheet?"
Fort raised an eyebrow at her as he dug through the pile of work and found a page.
"What are you going to do?"
"Give my mother everything I know about Bastion and Mordret. If I can't fight, I'll give them the best chance to defend themselves."
'I only hope they won't need it…'