FORGED EMPIRES

Elaris’s POV

Gasp after gasp was heard as Virelle held up the parchment, its red seal illuminated by the torchlight.

There was an unnatural silence in the yard.

Even the warriors did not know whether to pull out their weapons or bow to the decree.

I watched from the balcony as the elders leaned towards each other with worried expressions.

Averic was standing in the center of the square.

The purse of coins was sitting on the altar in between the regent and the council.

Next to it was now the parchment which allegedly contained the last wish of Maevra.

Two pieces of proof.

Both were showing up at the perfect time.

Perfectly too.

My stomach clenched.

This was no spur of the moment challenge.

It was a well thought out coup.

“Luna Maevra signed this before her tragic death!” Virelle shouted.

Her voice echoed throughout the whole yard.

“She appointed Caedmon the regent until my child is born.”

Murmuring erupted among the people.

Caedmon lifted his chin.

Immediately several elders turned towards him.

I clutched at the balcony railing.

Virelle’s child.

Those words tasted like poison.

She was still telling the pregnancy lie.

And she was now using it in an attempt to bring Caedmon within range of Averic’s crown.

An elder lifted his hand.

“If this decree is legitimate, pack law makes it our responsibility to accept the ultimate ruling by the Luna.”

The voice of Averic broke through the assembly.

“Then check the legitimacy.”

Virelle’s expression remained unchanged.

“We have done so.”

“No,” answered Averic. “You accepted it.”

This remark silenced the whole courtyard.

Averic approached the altar.

His aura burst out.

The stones cracked at his feet.

Several younger guards automatically dropped down due to pressure.

“My mother never issued any decree like this.”

His stare locked with Virelle’s.

“This seal is counterfeit.”

Virelle pressed one hand against her breast.

“How convenient.”

Averic’s wolf became clearly visible underneath the skin.

“You have been in my mother’s chambers before she died.”

Virelle’s features stiffened.

“I visited her.”

“She searched through her private property.”

“I was worried about her wellbeing.”

“She gave you no reason to look into her drawers.”

Virelle’s eyes flitted once.

But I noticed that.

Averic noticed as well.

His face turned even colder.

“What were you searching for?”

She did not respond.

Caedmon stepped between them.

"Grief is clouding your judgment."

Averic laughed out loud.

There was no mirth in the sound.

"Stop talking to me about judgment."

Caedmon raised his sword.

The scraping of metal made everyone fall silent.

He placed himself before Virelle, wearing a smug grin.

"Elders have recognized the seal, Averic."

His blade pointed downward.

"Surrender, or else face charges for treason against pack law."

Averic looked at the blade.

At Caedmon.

"I entered your territory with armed men."

Caedmon’s smile vanished.

"You have attacked my house."

"I have proof."

"They could have planted it."

The elders started disputing with each other.

Averic’s hand went for his sword.

I felt my heart clench.

This was precisely what Virelle intended.

A fight between him and Caedmon right there on the court.

Averic going out of control.

Caedmon provoking a blow first.

And then a decree giving justification for getting rid of Averic.

I stepped away from the balcony.

There must be another solution.

Thoughts ran through my head.

Signet of Maevra.

Something I had seen many times before.

Kept by Maevra in a narrow wooden box behind a pile of ceremonial shawls in her bedchamber.

I remembered the time when Virelle had stood beside the exact drawer when I saw her in the company of Maevra’s medications.

Colder ran through my veins.

“She stole it,” I whispered.

Neryss looked at me.

“What?”

“The signet.”

I indicated the direction to the courtyard.

“That decree couldn’t be signed without having access to it.”

Neryss looked in the same direction.

“Then we prove that the document is fake.”

“Before the council adopts it.”

Neryss nodded.

“But the archive is locked.”

“Then we find a way inside.”

Neryss looked at me in an encouraging way.

“I know exactly where we can find the spare keys.”

We went from the balcony.

The guards of the sanctuary tried to follow us.

I showed my hand.

“Stop here.”

“Royal Caretaker—”

“If Caedmon controls the council chamber, then sanctuary won’t matter anymore.”

The guard was hesitating.

Neryss intervened in this dialogue.

“She is right.”

I said it quietly.

“We should get to the archive before signing the decree.”

At last, the guard nodded.

“Take care.”

We passed through a narrow servants’ passage.

All my instincts told me to go back.

But if she managed to take control of the council, Averic stood to lose not just his title, but his protection too.

Which meant that soon she would have nothing holding her back from taking what she desired.

Neryss suddenly appeared next to me with an old iron key ring in her hands.

She showed me her teeth with a nervous grin.

“Borrowed.”

“Stolen.”

“Temporarily borrowed.”

I couldn’t help but almost smile.

“Where’d you get them?”

“From the housekeeper’s office.”

“Was anyone watching?”

“A cat.”

I shook my head.

Neryss even found some kind of a reason for a joke under pressure.

We found ourselves at a tiny stair that led down to the council chamber.

“The archive room is connected directly to the western wall,” she whispered.

“Then it seems like our way.”

We started descending the stairs when footsteps echoed over our heads.

We froze.

Two guards marched over us.

“We’ll make him regent after the decree.”

“What about the old Alpha?”

“Locked up if he opposes it.”

My insides churned.

Time was running out.

The air in the archive passage smelled of dust, old papers, and dried herbs.

Neryss opened the first door.

Then came the second one.

The last lock proved stubborn.

“Come on,” she mumbled.

The key turned.

The door unlocked.

Rows and rows of ancient papers extended into darkness.

Treaties.

Register of bloodlines.

Succession papers.

Marriage agreements.

Luna decrees.

Everything that the pack had deemed worth preserving at any cost.

I hastened my progress down the shelves.

“Registry of Maevra.”

Neryss searched yet another cabinet.

“Found it.”

She passed me the heavy leather-bound book.

I opened it.

The initial pages were signed with the handwriting of Maevra.

Elegant.

Clear.

Distinctive.

Just like I had expected.

However, then I discovered a peculiar thing.

The signature on Virelle’s decree was almost identical.

Almost.

Though, the very last stroke of the pen went in the wrong direction.

“It is a forgery.”

Neryss leaned over the page.

“Aren’t you sure?”

“I watched Maevra signing the documents for years.”

I felt my pulse racing.

“We have evidence.”

I dug further.

The registry included imprints of official seals on wax next to their descriptions.

I flipped through the pages quickly and found the registry of Maevra’s seal.

"Silver dust added to all private Luna communications."

I gasped.

"The wax."

Neryss turned to me.

"What about it?"

"Maevra always added silver dust."

I reached for the decree copy we had gotten from council records.

The wax was too smooth.

Very smooth.

No shimmer.

No silver dust.

"The seal may be fake."

Neryss frowned.

"But how can it be like this?"

"Whoever did this had enough knowledge to recreate the outer marking."

I touched the wax.

"But not one single thing inside."

A cold shiver ran through me.

Someone knew Maevra's powers.

But didn't know her personally.

I put the forgery and the registry side by side.

The discrepancies were clear.

The ink formula was wrong.

The last letter in the signature was not right.

And there was one more thing.

The date.

I looked at it.

I gasped.

"This was prepared before Maevra died."

Neryss fell silent.

"How do you know?"

"See."

I showed the ink.

"This ink formula needs days to dry properly. Council archive keeps records on which batches of ink were given out."

I turned to the next page.

The date was right there.

Two days before Maevra's death.

Neryss placed her hand over her mouth.

“So Virelle didn’t forge the decree after Maevra’s death?”

“No.”

Thoughts churned in my head.

“It was all prepared when Maevra was still alive.”

This could mean that the poisoning and the fake decree were parts of one and the same plan.

Someone was already ready to kill Maevra.

I hugged the registry book tightly.

“We’ll take it to the council.”

Neryss nodded.

“And the ink record.”

I grabbed the archivist’s ledger as well.

“This will show that the decree was prepared while Maevra was alive.”

We made our way out of the archive.

Then I stopped.

Something was floating in the air in the archive.

Herbs.

Aconite.

I felt sick.

“Neryss.”

She turned.

“Yes?”

I followed the smell to the farther shelves.

Behind some ceremonial records I saw a small wooden box.

The lid was a bit open.

In there was a ribbon of red sealing wax.

Beside it was the signet ring.

Maevra’s signet.

I reached for it.

Neryss grabbed my wrist.

“No.”

"Why?"

She pointed at the bottom of the ring.

There was a layer of black powder under the ring on the velvet.

The same scent that I detected by Maevra’s medicine.

It was deliberate that the signet was left at this place.

And in case we were discovered with it, the proof would work against us.

The archive door closed behind us with a click.

I turned around.

Caedmon emerged from behind a huge tapestry.

His broadsword was no longer in its place.

In his hand was a slim silver dagger.

His eyes locked on to the registry book I was carrying.

And on to Maevra’s signet.

A smile slowly formed on his face.

“You have always been curious, Elaris.”

Neryss blocked my way.

Caedmon’s eyes focused on her.

“Move.”

“She will not.”

Caedmon took another step forward.

“You have stumbled upon something you were never supposed to know.”

I squeezed harder on to the registry.

“You forged Maevra’s decree.”

Caedmon chuckled.

“No.”

My blood froze.

“I did not forge it.”

He held up the silver dagger.

“I only carried it for her.”

Neryss looked at him.

“Who then made it?”

Caedmon’s smile faded away.

“You do not understand what you are stepping into.”

He pointed to the shelves.

“The one who forged that decree is not outside of this palace.”

His eyes fastened on mine.

“She has been here for weeks.”

Creak.

Caedmon’s expression shifted.

For the first time, he appeared frightened.

Then the lights in the archive went out.