Noble couldn't believe her ears. Even as she led the Awakened to meet his family and the first responders, she wasn't sure how to make sense of what she had just seen and heard.
"The place is clear now." She told the firefighter whom she had spoken to before. "You should not encounter anyone in the residence."
"Thank you." She motioned for her crew to take action.
Noble let them pass, focusing on the reunited family rather than the flames.
The woman fell into Triteon's arms with a gentle sob. "I told you that none of the retainers showing up this morning was too much of a coincidence. They must have been warned to stay away."
"I know, my dear. I should have listened. I didn't want to believe it. I'm sorry." Triteon held his wife and children close while two elderly mundanes were being checked by physicians.
Noble coughed awkwardly. "Forgive me, but you should also get checked out. Smoke inhalation is a serious problem."
Triteon nodded. "Take the kids; I will be there in a moment."
He looked at Noble and dipped his head. "Thank you for your help..."
"Noble."
Triteon waited for some title or clan to attach to her name, but when she provided none, he continued. "Thank you, Noble. I am not sure what I would have done if you hadn't come when you did."
"Don't mention it. I am only sorry I couldn't do more."
The Awakened turned and glanced at the flames. He sighed.
"Those are only things. They are the real treasure. As long as my family is safe, that is what is important."
Noble could feel the cloud of emotions hanging around the Legacy of the House of Night. His family had been attacked in their own home. Just because they were out of the flames did not mean they were out of danger. Triteon would need to prevent it from happening again.
What exactly had happened? Unlike Clan Valor and Clan Song, the House of Night had always been peaceful and unified by a common cause to help navigate the seas of the waking world.
"About what you said back there. You mentioned that you had no idea why they attacked, but that isn't entirely true, is it?"
Noble could tell by the man's emotions that he had suspicions about why his house was now on fire, and his family was in danger. At the very least, she didn't think he was showing the surprise and fear that she would have expected from someone who had been completely blindsided.
Triteon hesitated, glancing around to see who else might hear whatever he would say. Deciding they were past the point of no return, he shook his head.
"I know from their own words that their father sent them. There has been something strange going on in the House of Night for some time now, and their father has been at the head of the changes."
This was not the first time Noble had heard unsettling news about the House of Night. Aether had also voiced concerns. They were the reason he had chosen to enter the Nightmare with Legacies of the Sword Domain instead of his own clan.
Based on what Noble had just witnessed, Aether's worries were founded.
"What kind of changes have you been seeing?" Noble waited as the man collected his thoughts.
"Our Clan has been far more aggressive in our conquests, even when it means losing good men and women is inevitable. At first, we were told it was so we would be in a good position to remain neutral in the coming conflict, but then many of our Elders started pressuring us to form alliances. Seren's father, Saint Knossos, was the one pushing the hardest."
'I wonder if he orchestrated the engagement between Morgan and Aether.' Noble wasn't sure how that process had gone, but someone other than the polite young Saint had had a hand in that development.
Or perhaps Knossos had been the one who had sent the emissaries that were killed by the Skinwalker before it crossed paths with Rain and Sunny. There was no way of knowing.
Triteon continued in a lower tone. "When I voiced my concerns that we would be putting ourselves in the middle of someone else's argument, I was shouted down and told to remember my place. I haven't brought it up publicly again. However, my concerns must have put a target on my back because I felt like I have been being watched ever since."
"Watched? By your clansmen?" Noble had also been on the receiving end of being monitored. It wasn't fun.
"In a way. Actually, I'm pretty sure the one responsible is..."
A flash from one of the nearby windows caught the man's attention. He covered his eyes and frowned.
"It's better that you don't know, Noble. I will be on my way. Thank you again. Take care of yourself!" Triteon bowed and turned on his heel before his companion could say goodbye.
'Wait! Do they have somewhere safe to stay?' Noble couldn't help but worry about those three little children.
Even if they didn't, she had nowhere to offer them. If someone was still after them, then she couldn't put the Academy at risk, and the government would be in touch with them shortly either way.
So Noble wished them well silently and began to leave. She paused.
'That flash. Was it a coincidence or a warning?'
The reflection of sunlight off the window could have redirected the man's thoughts. That was the most likely explanation.
Yet Noble couldn't fight the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong—well, another something—and it didn't seem to have a clear solution in sight.
'The government can give this family asylum. Perhaps I should have held on to the perpetrators for the police…'
In the moment, Noble had acted on her gut. She had assumed the skirmish was between Valor and Song, which would have meant there was little the police could do that she hadn't already done.
Did anything change now that the source of the problem was Awakened from the House of Night?
Not really.
The mundane officers would be reluctant to track down the culprits, and the government officials that would normally be tasked with Awakened affairs already had their hands full.
It was a brash action, but except for the fire, the attack wasn't a danger to the general populace.
So unless something changed to make the situation more dire…
Abandoning the scene, Noble shook her head. She took to the air and pulled out her communicator. Soon her head of security was seen on her small screen.
"Mori, you can lift the lockdown."
"Yes, ma'am. Were you able to discover what happened?"
Noble rubbed her forehead. "Yes, but it is better explained in person. I am heading your way right now, and I'll be there in…"
Noble spotted another column of smoke on the horizon.
'That isn't in the industrial district…'
"Slight change of plans…I will fill you in when I get back."
Noble turned her flight towards the pillar of smoke.
That's when she realized there was more than one column.