"The Elysian King's properties are yet to be disposed which can only be done after the ritual is done" Robin told him.
"She's far too exhausted yet she wanted to gather all of you to perform it. She can't concentrate to reach you through telepathy so she tried getting to you on foot and ended up like this" Claude added.
"Why didn't you help her?" Roy seethed not wanting to look at the older pair of Jemaux.
"You do know how stubborn she can be" Clyde said and before any more questions and glares were exchanged Tyra spoke up.
"Mademoiselle will never get well if we all stay here asking, answering, and glaring. Mademoiselle needs a better place and environment to rest. So please set all of your personal concerns aside and help me get her to the ship"
Robin placed all the Elysian King properties into a box and sealed it shut himself using some of his blood which he used as ink in drawing the sign of their House across the opening. Clyde and Claude opened their merged gate for everyone since they can no longer open a gate for themselves. Someone was about to speak up again after Nightingale was completely laid in a room reserved for her when Tyra sewed their mouths with a string that none of them were able to take off. Even Cougar, Claude, Clyde, and Robin didn't slip from this.
"If you, monsieur, would want to fight to your heart's content, go outside and do it. Make any more unnecessary noise and I'll make sure none of you will be able to go out of your rooms until mademoiselle wakes up. Do I make myself clear?" they all nodded vigorously hoping that she will undo the stitch on their lips but she did not, instead she assigned maids to each of them who could assist them without fuss.
'How can we eat and drink with this?' Cougar asked her, almost pleading. She undid the stitches on their lips but she made sure that they won't be able to use their voices.
"Don't worry. I'll give your voices back when mademoiselle is to wake" she told them and had the maids force them into their rooms as she goes into her own. They let Robin hold onto the box mostly because they're afraid of it and they do not know how to handle it.
All of the Paladins fell immediately into sleep after taking a bath but Roy, Ethan, and the boys fell asleep in their tub. The maids are not allowed inside the comfort room unless they were alarmed so they drained the tub and replaced it with warm herbal bath that can help them ease their nerves. Even if Clyde, Claude, and Robin were back to being an Ethereal, some of the Paladins especially Roy and Ethan are still anxious about their being with them. Most of them though are still in between especially the boys whether to fully trust the parents they barely know.
Tyra was immediately summoned when Nightingale woke up after midnight but they did not made it obvious to the other Paladins and Ethereal, they made it look like Tyra will just see to her. Nightingale still have her eyes tinted with rich red but Tyra can tell that she has somehow rested but not relaxed. She's still on high alert.
"Mademoiselle" Tyra spoke up when Nightingale didn't glance her way.
"I know you're here but please don't tell me relax and just rest. I will rest but I won't let my guard down. Not until those Elysian King properties disappear before me"
"I understand" Tyra said or more like agreed to her thought.
"If this is one of the ships... it sounded peaceful. I can easily rest... just like back at home before it turned to a junk" she chuckled painfully as she reminisce everything in the past but it did not stop her tears as she finger the gem hanging around her neck. It's the ring that her mother owns. Twilight gave it to her before she leaves for Pentagon. She remembered now and it only added to the anger and the pain.
Tyra gently sat at the bedside and effortlessly made Nightingale cry on her lap and she brushes her long curly sky blue hair. Just as softly as she does every stroke, she hummed the Song of the Stars. Tyra thought it can soothe her but then Nightingale cried harder when she recognized it. Tyra was about to stop but it seems the song is finally soothing Nightingale. She continued humming the song over and over again until Nightingale cried herself to sleep.
It was a shock for Tyra, Cougar, and Andre to learn that Sophie is not an ally. Nightingale told them that it's not only her brother Ardent who has the stinking smell of Elysian. She has already chosen her side even before Nightingale, Ethan, and Roy went to get her out of the Valley. Sophie was worried of the miasma but she seemed to have forgotten about it along the way. Right after Ardent was killed, Sophie concealed her Elysian presence. She's not one of the Supremes so it was easy for her. Nightingale sensed Sophie's uneasiness when Ardent showed up.
That night Nightingale told them about Sophie, she has already concluded that Sophie was afraid of Ardent digging her plan up. And before they could even go to Robin, Sophie acted like she didn't sense the Elysian presence but the truth is she can't really sense it and showed a sign of surprise. It contradicted to the statement she told them about the acute sense. Sophie released some of her stink when she went to embrace Robin. She must've thought that the stink of Elysian is one and the same but the truth is there is a distinct odour from one Elysian to another especially to those of different levels. It's the same to the Ethereal too.
Nightingale was really worried about the boys since she teamed them up with Sophie so she asked the three of them to keep an eye on her. Cougar made sure that the transmitter cannot be easily destroyed like the normal technology would so the mist did not really affect the transmitter but heightened its radius. Through it, the other Paladins found out about Sophie's real intention and some has confirmed that she really is not one of the Ethereal.
Chapter 41
Start from the beginning
