Chapter 152

“I am afraid that I am in danger,” she stated, her voice firm with determination. “But I don’t want to stop dreaming.”

She didn’t say anymore, didn’t say that she was more afraid to be alone in the world, more afraid to wait for him not knowing if he would return.

Whatever the danger, she would rather know, would rather have the chance to help him always return.

“That is your choice, Ilyin,” Aden said. He squeezed her hand. “And I will find a way for you to dream safely.”

He thought about the red string he’d taken from the Mollys. If there is a way, I will find it. I will bring you to that safe, kind world I promised you.

“I’ll protect you at all costs,” he continued. “And if I’m correct, winter may hold the answer.”

***

“April is a difficult time to go around investigating,” Idith said.

“Then let’s wait to proceed when it warms a bit,” Aden replied. Aden wasn’t as stubborn as some might think. The other three houses operated in a very authoritarian way, but the Duke of Winter was often much more flexible in how he worked.

“Very well,” Idith said with a bow as he continued his report, “we’ve also done some preliminary research into Miltons, but what we could find so far isn’t much different from what we already knew.”

When the superiors of a house were busy, their aides became busy as well. Idith was living proof. While Aden was running three consecutive military campaigns, he had taken care of Delrose affairs and had even begun an investigation of the Miltons at Aden’s request.

He was a talented aide, no doubt – and part of that talent lay in his connections, such as Milo. He’d been a part of Idith’s research, though he lacked the stamina of a knight. He was currently passed out in the carriage heading to the warm region.

Idith thought about the document Milo had organized for him even as he’d been drifting to sleep.

“As it is known,” he’d said, “the empty territory southeast of the mansion had been known to be their territory.”

In the warm region, borders could move at any time. Titles changed, houses rose and fell and contested each other for this plot or that one. But in the winter region, things stayed more constant. The families and monsters that held territory here couldn’t afford the effort of warring over land. The power balance between everyone was equal enough that to challenge anyone just made you weaker to everyone else. As a result, things tended to stay settled.

“I also looked into the foresight, as you asked,” Idith continued, “but there were different methods for it.”

“Different methods?” Aden asked.

“Yes,” Idith said, nodding, “There is little discussion of it that we could find, but there were a number of ways the Miltons could attempt to gain knowledge of the future.”

“Such as?” Aden asked. The news piqued his curiosity.

“Some used the stars to make predictions,” Idith replied, “or there were various tools that were used for such things.”

“So, there could have been some among them that saw the future through dreams,” Aden mused.

“Yes,” Idith said with a nod, “We’re attempting to dig deeper into that, but we don’t have anything certain yet.

Then there could very well be a connection between the winter region and Ilyin’s ability to see the future in dreams. Aden thought about the red string of the Mollys, and the Blue North’s cloth, and the ten-colored mobile that had been passed down through Ilyin’s mother’s family. All of them seemed to be of the same fabric.

Could Ilyin’s family have some old connection to the Miltons? That could be problematic if true. Humans always feared and hated that which was different from themselves, and monsters in general were treated as less than humans. Even more so in the winter region, where the monsters that remained were so unlike men.

Aden didn’t care what might be in Ilyin’s lineage, and neither would Delrose. But the other houses would be different. Even though the three elders had advocated for Ilyin and delivered her to him, they might change their feelings toward her if her family had some connection to monsters.

A knock came, interrupting his thoughts, followed by Emil’s voice from outside the door.

“Grand master, it’s Emil.”

“I’ll listen to other reports later,” Aden said to Idith, dismissing him with a wave.

Aden had been expecting someone, as Idith knew, so the aide nodded quietly and opened the door. Emil stood outside, and just behind him was the elder of Shining Elo.

“The weather has been unseasonably warm for April,” he said coyly. “Is the Mistress well?”