Chapter 33
Darrow
Iwanted to call another meeting about as much as I wished to cut my arm off, but the new information we’d gleaned from Aella’s cousin and my cousin required discussion and planning. Those two words typically made me want to run toward the nearest ledge and jump off. I preferred action.
Unfortunately, even I recognized that the stakes were too high this time to do anything without involving others.
I used to have to run plans by only one person, such as the king, my mother, or my father.
This war—and becoming married—changed that.
I wasn’t a fool and understood the necessity, but that didn’t make the transition any easier after more than two decades of doing things another way.
My father couldn’t come home this time. He remained at Siggaya as our forces struggled against the growing dark elf threat, but the prince had taken over as our top leader anyway. When he strode into the office, I stood and gave him a brief bow. He nodded at me.
Everyone else followed my example, which included Aella, Loden, Princess Lillian, and her husband, Lord Jacthor.
Jax hated meetings even more than I did, so he didn’t mind being left out.
All our military commanders had their hands full defending various positions across Veronna, and my older brother remained in Juvarn, helping his wife’s family.
At least I wouldn’t have to confer with too many people this time.
“Tell me what you learned,” Prince Armin said, taking a seat.
I remained standing while the others settled into their chairs. “First, we discovered that Lord Ulmar married a dark elf. She’s my cousin, Evrenn, whom we spoke about before.”
“Other than the obvious, what repercussions could this have?” he asked.
The obvious being what we’d only assumed before without confirmation. All of Therress—except the Andalagar territory—was now under the control of Karganoth. While that was bad, other forces were at play.
I took a deep breath. “This could be a power move on Evrenn’s part.
Females are rarely considered for the position of heir, but it has happened.
I can think of one instance, eight hundred years ago, when one ruled for several decades.
Another that was several centuries before, though it didn’t last nearly as long.
My cousin is very ambitious and ruthless, so marrying someone with powers such as Ulmar’s is a smart move on her part. ”
He could make his targets feel immense pain and discern whether anyone lied in his presence.
Those abilities could be advantageous if she used the light elf in the right way.
I’d admire her if I didn’t hate her so much.
She’d blamed Bogdan all those years ago for a situation he hardly controlled, and she became something dark and monstrous as a result.
The prince rubbed his chin. “That is concerning, but I don’t believe she is an immediate threat. If she were, we would have noticed the problem before now. We should keep an eye on her activities, though.”
“Agreed,” I said, finally taking a seat.
I needed to check in with Camden soon. He was out there somewhere with the Therressian Army, but I had to figure out exactly where.
I wanted whatever information he had, and then I’d pull him.
Because he was my wife’s former lover, he knew far too much about her to continue acting as my spy and risk getting caught.
Not to mention, I didn’t want to keep him as a source when it would mean having to see him regularly and resisting the urge to kill him every time. It would only take one bad day for me to break, despite his having no idea Aella would become my mate when they were together.
“What else did you learn?” Armin asked.
The odd chicken came to mind, but it wasn’t crucial to the war effort, so I decided I’d leave it for now.
My wife had told me about her meeting with the nameless god this afternoon and his warning.
As far as I was concerned, we should just avoid the superpowered hen if at all possible.
As for targeting the Karganoth king, that had to wait for a while anyway, since I needed to get other things done first.
I took a deep breath. “It appears that the dark elves may have conquered the territory where Damwith Royal Prison is located and freed a key prisoner, possibly your lost uncle.”
Lillian swore. “I should have considered that after you mentioned killing Lord Morgunn. I’ve been so focused on the war and my son being taken that it slipped my mind. Not to mention, he was still securely confined there, as far as I knew.”
I’d informed her and her husband about Zelthor and what we’d learned about him when I called the meeting, thinking they would prefer to discuss it privately.
It was both good and bad news, so they’d needed a few moments to pull themselves together afterward.
I’d heard that they spent every evening in the temple praying to the nameless gods for help.
The only time they missed was during active battle.
Though they usually hid it well and tried to focus on their duties, I knew their son’s situation weighed heavily on them.
The prince frowned. “What do you mean? I know our father put Kaius there and wanted it kept quiet, but I don’t understand how Aella’s uncle's death has anything to do with it.”
“You were still young at the time all that happened. Father didn’t feel you were ready to be burdened with the full story, so he told me instead.
To keep Lord Morgunn in line, he forced him to put a curse on Kaius that if he ever left the prison grounds, he would instantly die.
Then, he made us all swear a blood oath that we would never speak of the curse for as long as it was still active.
That way, no one would try to kill Morgunn to free our uncle,” she explained.
Princess Lillian turned to give her husband an apologetic look.
“I’ve had to be silent about it for thirty years, and honestly, I forgot after so much time passed.
Many of his supporters died or gave up trying to get him free long ago.
I didn’t consider the dark elves would want anything to do with him. ”
“He was also in a secluded part of the prison behind numerous layers of powerful wards and enchantment spells,” I added, putting my feet on the table. “It would have taken them some time to even find him in there, as well as break through all that.”
The prince eyed my boots on the table, bits of dirt flaking off of them for added effect, and sighed. I was beginning to think he tolerated it because I’d saved his life, but how long would his goodwill last before he broke? I’d keep testing him to find out.
He turned his gaze away. “Kaius has also worn iron shackles for all this time, so it could take him a while to regenerate his powers. He must still be rather weak right now.”
That was a positive point.
Aella leaned forward in her seat, casting my boots a resigned look. “How do we find him?”
“First, we need to verify that they really freed him and see if anyone else of note has been let loose,” I said, enjoying that she was getting involved in this. I didn’t want my wife to feel like an outsider when she should be as active as the rest of us. She’d been a pawn for far too long.
She nodded. “That makes sense, but we have no idea what security measures the dark elves may have put in place, and the fact that your uncle told Bogdan implies it could be a trap.”
Everyone froze, realizing she had a point. It was one I should have considered.
Prince Armin rubbed the back of his neck. “I agree with Aella, but it doesn’t negate the fact that we need eyes on the place to find out the status. Does anyone have a source in the area?”
Lillian shook her head. “None of mine live or work near the prison. I haven’t had a reason to visit the place in a long time, so I don’t know anyone there anymore.”
“I heard from one of my officers in the prison while we were at the Andalagar tribal lands, and they reported that everything was fine. A few days after we arrived here, I sent a sebeska out again, but it returned with the note intact,” Lord Jacthor said, sighing.
The recipient had to be dead or detained somewhere the birds couldn’t reach.
As the lord ruling over that region, he would have had to maintain a relationship with at least one person inside since his forces would be the nearest to react to any serious situation.
In this case, though, Karganoth took over too fast, and he had already lost many of his soldiers.
Most of those who survived took their families and fled to this side of the mountains to join our military and help fight from a stronger position.
I sighed. “One of my contacts is inside the prison, but I’ve been unable to reach him. It’s possible he didn’t come outside when my sebeska arrived there, though.”
“Someone needs to go and get an up-close look at the place,” the prince said, running his gaze across us. “It doesn’t have to be anyone in this room, but it should be someone we trust implicitly.”
“They must have the power and skills for the job as well,” Loden added.
I dropped my feet to the floor, leaving the dirt bits on the table. “It should be me, but my only concern is if the dark elves have added any new wards.”
“There is a way to fix that problem,” Aella said, hesitating before elaborating. “But it would mean you’d have to go alone and wouldn’t be able to use Jax for invisibility.”
“What do you mean?”
She glanced between the prince and me. “My grandmother in Alavaar has a stone that can allow the person carrying it to move through any ward, no matter how powerful. It doesn’t dismantle the magic. Rather, it acts as if the spell doesn’t exist for the bearer.”