This world belongs to Kendare Blake, but the characters are original.
18 days before the Quickening
Indrid Down
Ehaj was on the Black Council. As was Eve Arron, Blaze Westwood, Isla Westwood, Flora Milone, Melanna Sandrin, Elle Arron, Thalia Arron, and Emeyra Milone. Though she was the only priestess on the Black Council, Ehaj was generally liked, but she hated having to bring bad news. Bad news like the news about the Blue Queen. So, she told them quickly.
"What?" Elle Arron practically shouted. For once, the others seemed to agree with her. Blaze and Isla Westwood were muttering angrily, and Flora Milone looked furious.
"How could we not know about this?" Emeyra Milone asked. "Don't we have people who visit the Midwife to see if she's hiding something?"
As muttering grew into a roar of voices all clambering for attention, Ehaj called for silence in the room.
"We just found out about this when the Blue Queen seemed to escape from Reyena," Ehaj stated.
"What will happen to Reyena then?" Melanna Sandrin asked.
"I'll leave that up to Eve, Elle, and Thalia," Ehaj said, ignoring the protests from the Milones and Sandrins. It was for the best. Reyena couldn't be allowed to live after she kept such a big secret from the whole island, especially one that determined the fate of the other queens.
"How are we going to make a fair Ascension Year, then?" Isla Westwood questioned. "If there's four of them. And, from what we heard, all four of them are very powerful."
"We could just let them all compete as if it's a normal Ascension Year," Flora Milone suggested.
"We could ask the Queens what they want to do," Melanna Sandrin interjected, her dove fluttering madly around her head.
"SHUT IT!" Ehaj roared, and an eerie silence descended over the chamber. Breathing heavily, Ehaj decided. "They'll all meet with each other and decide what they want to do."
"'They' meaning the matriarchs?" Blaze asked. Thalia snorted and replied.
"No, you idiot. The Queens."