The Isle (Chronicles of the Irish Princess Book 1)

After a few minutes you could see the herbs start to work on those less affected by the smoke. I kept making bundles and placing them around the tented area. I took one over to the children who were beginning to wake with the morning light. The little girl who had been with Sarah was reunited with her mother shortly after she woke up. The woman was still recovering, but knowing her daughter was probably helping that progress faster.

We waited another hour after the sun rose to consider moving anyone from the tents. We needed the hospital to have time to prepare for those who were severely wounded and those in need of short-term care while the herbs took full effect. We had already dispatched to she-wolves to the hospital for them to create an environment for those affected by the ash’s toxic smoke. I had personally sent Danica, Jelena and Zora there to make sure there was enough supplies and that the doctors and nurses understood what was needed. I kept up with the bundling and burning of the herb mixture, somewhat impressed with myself for coming up with it.

“Leah, did you know that would work,” my aunt questioned.

“Aunt Em, I can’t tell you how I knew that would work, if that’s what you’re asking. Maybe it is a part of being a firstborn descendant of Meara. I don’t know, but I am glad it worked.”

“It was White Ash, right?”

I nodded, “Before the village expanded and more buildings were built on Lambay, this place was covered in it. I remembered seeing a few on our way to the Manor for the first time. My brain recognized them immediately. Although, I had no idea how bad the side effects could be for some creatures.”

“I guess we need to spend some time on toxic plants and trees then don’t we?”

I nodded again and did one last round on the tent before returning to the children. Unfortunately, there were more than a few children who had lost one or both their parents in the blaze. The guilt from that knowledge was overwhelming and I was struggling to stay composed. I hugged each one of the children as they were sent to Emilia for a health checkup. Those who still had family, were released into the care of a parent or guardian. The ones who were orphaned were temporarily placed in the care of Mara, Brayden and Alex. They had all just bought a home near the palace that had been missed in the blaze and was fairly large. Once Emilia had cleared all of the children in good health, guards and a few wolves escorted Mara and the others home, with promises to call if anything was needed. Those who were still healing from major wounds were being transferred to the hospital that was also not burned to a crisp. The she-wolves and healers agreed to help the nurses and doctors there with what was needed for the few patients that were injured.

That left the rest of us to go back to the castle and discuss the attack. I was drained, my power was weaker from the lack of sleep and excessive use during the recovery. Many of the male wolves were already in the village clearing debris and preparing to rebuild. They were working on a shift system that make sure all the men were not tired. When they realized the mass destruction that was occurring, they sent half the men back to rest and had been working in 7 hour shifts. It was working and effective, when it all started we put Chief, Oran and Jakob in charge of the orders. We figured they were the ones with the most experience.

"Luca, do we really need to talk about this now? Its almost eight am but none of us have slept."

"Kai and I can discuss this alone," he replied.

"Over my dead body Luca Scott."

My eyes widened as my aunt spoke.

"The last time you jumped the gun your poor sister was left hanging by the Great Mother. SO, I may not be a Queen, but I'm pulling age and wisdom rank here and demanding that we all get some rest and meet up after lunch. No Luca, it's not up for debate. The people will still be there in the afternoon and I can guarantee that they would understand."

Before we laid down, the baby decided that we needed to deal with the morning sickness before getting any rest. Thankfully it was only once, then I was able to brush my teeth and get some sleep.

I wasn't at all happy when the alarm went off, but Kai had set one so we wouldn't over sleep. We both let out groans as the off button was slammed. I went to get up, but Kai pinned me down. His arm came around me and he tucked me into his side. I felt safe like this and I could tell our child did too. I also knew that I really had to use the bathroom. That was the one side of being pregnant. Lucky for me it was still only while I was awake. I gently pushed his arm off me and headed to the bathroom. Once I felt normal I went to the closet and put on a midnight blue dress and a silver jacket. Yule and Christmas were just around the corner. Days away and our people had to have so much loss thrust upon them. This is what Aideen had wanted; to crush our spirit and get us low. The realization had hit me like sobriety hit a drunk person.

"Kai hurry up, I just realized something."

He looked at me slightly confused but hurriedly put on pants and shoes. I pulled him from the room just as he finished zipping his pants up. He tripped some over his untied shoes. I decided just to leave him there knowing he would catch up. When I bust into the meeting room in Luca's office everyone looked up at me. All the Alpha's and Oran were there. So was Emilia, and I saw Sarah in a corner hiding her bump under a flowy dress and sipping some tea. All of the wolves bowed to me and there was a chorus of greetings from them.

"Your Majesty, you look beautiful as always," Alpha Gregory tried to be sweet. He paled as i heard Kai step into the room. "Sir."

I heard Kai smile to himself and quietly elbowed him in the ribs. He let out a small breath of air that had been forced out by my hit.

"My lords, and alphas, I've made a breakthrough. This fire was only the beginning. I believe it as a means to infiltrate the Palace. One that failed because my mother is still locked away and all of the enchantments are still on her. After investigation, Princess Emilia determined that none of them had been tampered with or replaced but someone else's magic. However, that is not the light bulb the Great Mother granted me this morning.

"Have you had another vision, my Queen?"

"No, at this time our Great Mother is being quiet with her guidance. I did however, discover some of the plan Aideen's followers have for us. This fire, it was just the beginning. Gentlemen, what event is coming up here in about a week's time?"

"Yule," Chief answered.

I nodded. "As tradition shows, Yule is the most celebrated holiday on the island. Even those who grew up celebrating transition to Yule eventually while living on the island. I believe that the followers have a plan to set a large scale attack on our home here and at the Manor. It is my belief that her followers are gathering and their numbers are much larger than we expected. The fire was just a means to get more people to see the error of the Crown. But they failed, because we were prepared and we had a plan of action."

Luca looked up at me as he began to piece together the plan on his own.

"Your Majesty, what are you suggesting."

"We make a plan to attack them before they attack us."

The room looked at me shocked.

"Leah! You can't be serious."

"I am. But not a full scale attack. I suggest we send a small tactical team into the city on Yule. I know this pulls away from packs and the traditions they like to uphold, but I see it as our chance to stop it before it becomes too much. Also, to throw off suspicion, I think that the castle's Yule party needs to be turned into an all day affair, sort of like Blessings Day. And we are not canceling the ball."

"How are we supposed to plan a small attack team and security for all this sister?" Luca sounded a bit concerned. "Leah, you do realize what you are asking?"

I looked around the room and looked deep into all of the wolves and Lords before me. Not one of them hated any part of my plan. More than a few of the Alphas were already thinking of who to pull for the tactical team. I smiled to myself before straightening my gaze on my brother.

"You were the one who wanted war Luca. I'll get with the Alphas and security team in order to plan the party portion of all this. I think you can handle the rest? We both know you've been planning and planning for this. Somewhere along that line you must have come up with something," I grinned.

Before he could stop me I turned on my heels and walked out of the meeting. Sarah, who was doing her best not to laugh at her husband, followed me and off we went to find Liz and the kids so that we could start panning the extravaganza that this Christmas was about to be.