"Grandmother." Sera called out to her, tearfully. Opal grabbed their hands. "You did good making your way back to grandmother." Opal praised them softly. "Calin? Where is he?" Sena asked. "He's still asleep but he woke up last night." Opal reassured her.
"Is he that badly injured?" Sera asked through her tears. "He'll survive." Sera weakly raised a hand and touched her still flat stomach. "The baby?" She asked hopefully even though more tears fell from her eyes.
"It was too late." Sera closed her eyes and clenched her fist as he made a muffled sound. Calin woke up to the news and stayed silent, his tears dripped. Opal heard movement outside. "Your parents brought breakfast. Do you want to see them?" The twins nodded.
"Come in." Soria, Varin, Kain and Rain walked in. Kain closed the door behind them before walking behind the screen. Soria and Varin went between the two girls for a few minutes. "Are you hungry? Your father and Uncle cooked some chicken soup for you." Vain told them.
Although the twins weren't their children, Kain and Soria treated them as their own. Especially since it was just them for six years before Rya was born. Even after the children became plentiful, that never changed.
Opal took a bowl from the pot and walked around the screen to Calin, who was slowly pushing himself up. She placed it down on the table and helped him sit up. "How are they?" He asked. "Better than you." Opal picked up the bowl, scooped some soup, blew on it and fed it to him.
"You're now my grandson, no longer my subordinate. Remember that." She said as she fed him another spoonful. "Yes, Grandmother." Dasa stepped forward and bowed to Opal but didn't say anything. "Finish the bowl. When I come back, I'll check you over." Calin nodded as Opal stood and gave the bowl to a servant.
Opal stepped out of the room and Dasa draped her cloak around her shoulders. They walked through the snow quietly. Kasian stood when the doors to the main hall opened. "How are they?" Kasian asked. He'd seen their state when they returned to the Mansion, so he was genuinely asking in concern.
"Three alive, one dead." Opal answered simply. Kasian was shocked into silence. The situation, to him, became worse. "Who is it?" She asked him. Kasian hesitated for a few seconds before sighed deeply. "My eldest daughter and her aunt were responsible."
"What?" Lion, who was listening in outside, burst in angrily. "I checked." Kasian confirmed. "If you had just told me a lie, I would've killed you were you stood." Opal took a step forward. "14 days later in the main hall of the palace. If no one shows up. I will plunge this continent in the worse war you've ever seen." Kasian nodded.
"I'll personally deliver the messages." Kasian promised. Opal turned and left the room. "Father. How could they really dare?" Lion was seething. "Bira was who told me. She stopped Lia but didn't know that Palari was also sending people. If Bira hadn't stopped her, those three would all be dead." Kasian sighed tiredly.
"If your mother were alive, she would hate me for not raising you properly." Kasian shook his head and left the room. Kain stood in the snow, glaring at Kasian. "Your daughter?" Kasian asked him. "My nieces." Kain answered despite the way he looked.
"I'll make sure-." Kain cut him off. "No need. Get ready. The Killing has just begun." Kain turned and walked back towards the medical courtyard.
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The main hall held a tense and heavy silence. Lanin had already separated himself from Palari the night of the banquet. Her parents were staying in the Palace, so she stayed in their unoccupied manor, a few streets away from the Palace.
The past few days, the news have been coming in from the Pendant Tower. Bodies of family were found strung up; their heads were cut off and laid under their feet. With every piece of news, Palari's mind was crumbling. She knew these people well. They were the people she took from her sister's group and made into her own people.
Now with everyone gathering in the main hall of the Palace, she sat near the door and her body tensed at every slight noise. Lia wasn't any better. Almost all of the animals she was raising with her mother's permission were dead. They were gutted and placed in her bed or outside her bedroom door. A large white owl, her favorite, was missing.
The large doors were pushed open and eyes turned. Opal stepped in, a white kitten in her hands and her family behind her. Dasa placed a chair in the middle of the hall and Opal sat down. The twins and Calin sat to the side with the rest of the children standing behind them while Opal's children and Gena stood behind her.
"If you want to be on my side, come over here now." Opal stated calmly. Elira didn't think, she ran over like her life depended on it. Lanin was closer and took a step forward, but Opal glanced at him and he stopped moving.
Melire and Lyria stood next to Lanin. Opal looked at Malari and Railin. "You don't need to move. I know where you lie." The two remained silent and stayed in their seats. Lion and Kai moved forward but Lia grabbed their arms. "Where are you going?" She asked but before they could answer, Opal spoke. "You don't need to move." Lion and Kai pulled away from Lia and walked over to their grandparents' side.
Opal looked down at the kitten in her hands. "I knew you would make a move. but I expected that you'd go after those in your generation. I expected better of you but clearly everything I taught you went down the drain, or maybe you never learned anything." Kasian's breath hitched, Malari placed a hand over her mouth as tears sprung to her eyes.
"You had people attack my grandchildren and cost a life to be lost. Tell me. How should I calculate this hatred?" She asked, not bothering to look up at them. "All of them are, unfortunately, still alive." Lia said, not feeling the fear that Palari was.
Palari's body was shaking uncontrollably. "I heard that you've been raising a beautiful white owl that was given to you by your mother." Opal continued, ignoring Lia's words. This caused Lia to drop her unbothered facade. "Where is it?" Her voice trembled as she spoke.
Rain whistled and a lump of white dropped from the ceiling and landed on the chair handle. Opal suddenly threw the kitten in the air. The owl flew up and caught it before dropping to the floor. Everyone watched at the owl killed the kitten and ripped it open with its beak.
"Oh no. My new pet." Opal smiled and reached her hand out to the owl. The owl flew onto the chair handle and Opal gently petted it. "You really know how to gut something open, don't you?" She asked gently, almost cooing at the bird.
Opal grabbed the bird's head with one hand and a wing in the other. "NO!!!!" Lia screamed out as Opal ripped the wing from the bird's body. She didn't wait and ripped off the other wing. She then snapped the bird's neck. Opal threw the bird's body to Lia and it landed before her kneeling figure.