When Sienna headed back to the house, not one person said a single thing to her. But Soren followed, curiosity in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, his sister was always literal. When it came to serious matters, she did not say things she didn’t mean, not even to save their mother’s feelings or his.

He grabbed the back of her shirt and held on tightly just before she went upstairs. "Sis, were you really going to cut his tail?"

They heard a loud cry come from a distance. Mr. Sykes tail had been broken, as Sienna had ordered. It would heal, but he would always remember the lesson.

Sienna nodded. "Yes. It is a lesson that he needed to learn. One that most beast men like him should learn. If your husband or wife can abandon you just because a part of you is damaged, then why fall in love? Why marry? This kind of betrayal breeds mistrust on a large scale."

From the window Lady Cadelaria’s voice penetrated into the house. "You will be the death of me, Sienna. One day, your antics will bring the entire fox court crashing down. You can’t break the tail of a beast man on a whim."

Sienna shouted back. "Then let it crush. Perhaps we need new rules."

She continued upstairs, ignoring the opinions her mother-in-law was screaming. Sienna was already plotting how to use the council of ladies to change some of the tribal laws that allowed incidents like these ones to happen and protect the beast men such accidents happened to.

Her skin crawled when she imagined Ali or Eli in such a position, with a partner talking to them the way Mr. Stykes had talked to his wife. She couldn’t help wondering if things would have been better if her children had been born human.

In the king’s palace, one of the royal relatives said, "You know she is going to be sued by hum, right?"

The queen snorted. "I think he has other things to worry about. Elias will ruin him before he can touch a hair on Sienna’s head."

"I thought Elias didn’t like his fat wife." Another said.

King Leon laughed. "He didn’t like her because he was led to believe she was a schemer and liar. When that cleared up, he decided to treat her fairly. I think he is growing fond of her. Even if he doesn’t have romantic feelings for her, he will protect her because she is an extension of his authority."

The queen cleared her throat. "Let’s continue with our business. It has been confirmed from the letters Edris turned over that Paris Rocland did have something on the leaders of the rebel movement. What it is, we are not aware right now. As for where he hid it...that is something we can only imagine."

"His human lover has to know." Someone said.

"Or his runaway wife." Another commented. "She left her own children and went into hiding. As far as the Rocland’s know, she remarried but we have searched and found no proof of that."

Queen Serenya tapped her fingers on the table. "I will handle things on Sienna and her family. If they know anything, I will find out. We should find out if Paris had any storage lockers or safety deposit boxes in Lost born city. The humans have many of those everywhere."

The meeting continued, on the discussion of a past that would never be laid to rest until every weed was pulled out and every rotten branch cut off.

***

It was 1:00 a.m in the night. Sienna was three hours into her sleep when her system chimed, forcing her awake. The notification glowed before her eyes a little too brightly.

[Alert: Your pet Elias Veythar is experiencing a strong mental break. Host, your immediate intervention is required.]

Sienna’s heart clenched. She sat upright in bed, her children curled beside her. "What happened?" She muttered. "I told him to take tomatoes, fresh and dried. He also took medicines to soothe the mind. Why is he having another break?" She called Liman and Linera, sharing her urgency. Sienna dressed quickly and dressed the children too, wrapping cloaks around their small shoulders.

"Mama, where are we going?" Ali asked in a soft, scared and tired voice.

"We are going to the capital," she whispered, her voice firm.

The Linus 300 flying ship which had been borrowed from Mija was delivered within minutes. Its silent engines barely hummed as it lifted into the star streaked sky. Sienna held her children close, her mind racing.

An hour passed quickly, but somehow, it was slow at the same time. Cykress gleamed below, its towers piercing the night. They landed on the ship off loading bay of the hotel where Elias was residing. Liman and Linera carried the children, while Sienna raced ahead of them. But the sight that greeted her was staggering: Hundreds of guards lined the hall of the sixty second floor where Elias’s room was. Their weapons glinting and ready.

From the room that was at the end of the hall, aura surged, pulsing like a storm, shaking the paintings on the wall. It made the guards nervous.

They allowed her through after she identified herself. Sienna deposited the children in another room. She kissed their foreheads quickly. "Stay here," she said softly. "No matter what you hear outside, stay with aunt Liman and Linera."

Linera grabbed her hand, shaking her head.

Sienna pulled away and left the room. When she entered Elias’s room, another sight shocked her. Chains bound her husband to the bed, his body thrashing. His eyes were wild with madness. If she didn’t share his mental strength, she would not have been capable of blocking off the waves of aura he was releasing.

But, she was not sure how long her own mind could hold up because she could feel the beginning of a headache.

The system chimed again:

[Ding! Host, use hugging therapy to stabilize your pet. Failure will result in punishment like a withdrawal of your mental blocking abilities.]