CHAPTER 32 #3
He sends a young page with a letter, extending an invitation to the palace and explaining my desire to visit with my uncle. I have no doubt he will come. A summons by the king’s general is something I know the man won’t take lightly.
Felias arrives by mid-morning. And as if his insistence that I remain within the palace grounds isn’t excessive enough, Xeyvian directs Riah to lead a small party of soldiers to greet him.
When I insist on showing my uncle the gardens the general joins us, directing the soldiers to give us a wide berth.
We exchange casual conversation until the general, sensing my need for a private moment with my uncle, excuses himself and falls back to speak with Riah.
There is no time to skirt my reason for summoning him. No time to dance around my meaning. So, I take a deep breath and let the words tumble out of my mouth.
“I saw the shipment from La’tari,” I say.
Felias nods, humming under his breath before replying, “So I was told, when the sisters introduced me to Eon’s mate.”
I don’t startle at the statement. I assumed as much.
“Why was that ship full of fea cargo?” My stomach twists even as I ask.
“You asked what the Vatruke draw power from. Now you know,” he says, as if that single sentence answers every burning question the man knows I have.
“What do the Vatruke do to the fea?” I ask.
“You saw the state of Eon’s mate,” he says simply. “He is far from the first to arrive in such a condition.”
It doesn’t answer my question, but I hardly expect more from the man. The more I learn, the more I find that he’s never been truly forthcoming with me. I puff out an exasperated sigh, shaking my head. He offers me a consoling smile as he says, “If I knew, I would tell you more.”
“You’ve never asked?” I balk. Surely the sisters would tell him, even if Eon’s mate remains withdrawn.
“The fea that make it to the shores of A’kori are the fea that manage to escape before breaking.” A flicker of regret flashes in his eyes. “What happens to the ones who cannot remain strong? I truly wish I knew.”
Larger cracks begin to spread across the panes of my world. I don’t want to hear him. I don’t want to believe it’s true. What kind of monsters would draw the lifeforce of another being to satisfy their thirst for power?
And isn’t that exactly what I am here to do for my king? I didn’t know it when I came, but if I have begun to believe what I’ve learned in my time here, I have to ask myself if I am any better than the Vatruke for what I plan.
“Does the king know?” The question reeks of my shame.
“Both kings are well aware of the atrocity,” he says, knowing full well it is my own king I am asking about.
“But the feyn king offers them sanctuary,” I say, “Why doesn’t he do more?”
Even after the stories Faidra wove in front of the fire I find it hard to let myself believe that the feyn are without options. So why don’t they do more to help the fea they claim to protect?
“He went to war, Shivaria. What more could he do?”
“But he signed the treaty. Why?” I ask.
Surely, even if he had gone to war to protect the lives of the fea as well as the humans, he’d betrayed any good intentions when he signed that paper, giving them all over to the Vatruke.
He shrugs. “Perhaps he did what he thought was best to preserve the lives of his people.”
“The feyn?” I ask.
“All of the fea,” he says, intently holding my gaze as my heart thunders in my chest.
Hadn’t Felias told me that he is on the side of the fea?
“You are working with the feyn,” I say, a chill creeping up my spine. I curse myself for not finding a way to bring my daggers. “Why haven’t you told them about me?”
Or has he?
“Because, Tha’haynah, as I’ve said, I side with the fea. And whether you’ve realized it or not, you are here for them.”
Even if I don’t want to end him for the risk he poses to my life, I certainly want to do so for the riddle he dangles like a fat bunch of carrots before a gluttonous pony.
Tell her. Tell her or send her away. Awri’s voice crashes into the sudden tempest of my mind. Whatever the man is hiding from me, they all already know.
The general jogs up beside me and I flinch when he reaches for my arm, my mind caught up in the fearful vortex of all that my future might hold. His brow draws down, and I force an apologetic smile at him and squeeze his hand.
“Would you mind giving us just a few more minutes?” I ask.
He nods, falling back with Riah without another word. I shake my head and smile a small smile, pondering how the general would have responded to the same request last week.
I frown at Felias when he chuckles. “Couldn’t keep yourself away from him, could you?
I must say, when the fates aren’t busy muddling my own life, I find that they have quite the sense of humor.
” He sighs exasperatedly. “Your attachment to the male is of no consequence now. I have a feeling we are all set on a course we have little control over.”
I ignore his rambling, sure that what little time I have with the man is soon to end and ask, “Why do you say that I am here to help the fea?”
“Because you are,” he says simply, and I have to resist the urge to strangle him.
“You know what I am,” I say, a thinly veiled threat.
Drakai. The word goes unspoken, but I can tell by the disbelieving smile on the man’s face he knows exactly what I mean.
“Or are you something else entirely?” He poses the question with a smirk.
“Tell me what you think you know,” I demand.
He shrugs but then his smile fades and he cringes under my glower.
“I only know what the sisters told me the night you arrived. They expected you, Tha’haynah, they accepted you without hesitation or introduction, and now, even the fea in the northern woods have begun to whisper about your arrival.”
“I need to see the sisters.” If he can’t—or won’t—answer my questions, I am sure they will be somewhat more forthcoming.
He nods. “I’ll tell them.”
“Thank you.”
I glance back at the general. His eyes bore into me and my stomach pitches. He knows something. He doesn’t trust me, he told me as much, but he’s been keeping things from me as well.
Felias leaves without another productive word. We exchange a departing embrace and reassurances that we will see each other soon, though I’m not sure either of us really believe that. Everything is about to change. Not a single word he had spoken was necessary for me to know that simple truth.