Chapter 10 Isahn looks at a map. #2
Maybe, if he’d met Wynnie in Selwas during a night out on the town, he’d have humored her attention.
But she wasn’t really his type—and he apparently had a type.
This had been news to Isahn when he closed his eyes the night before, fisted his cock, and attempted to pull up images of women he’d been with in the past.
None came.
He did. But only after allowing his mind to wander for long enough that it settled on the image of a flustered princess with wild black curls, bronze skin, and the softest, most captivating curves he’d ever seen.
Ignoring the naked mirage writhing on the dining table, Isahn focused on Georgie’s bejeweled fingers.
She wore three rings that evening, a turquoise that matched the hue of her belt, an engraved silver band, and a sparkling aquamarine stone.
He couldn’t take her hand in front of everyone, though he nearly did, just to see if the pale stone on her third finger matched his belt—and his eyes.
Burke returned with two rolled-up scrolls and presented them for George’s approval.
“Start with the known map,” she commanded as she worried her silver ring, spinning it around her index finger.
Isahn pinched his brows.
“Ooh, this is so exciting!” Wynnie tittered as she finally stopped bombarding him with the ostentatious mirage.
Dunstan and Hildy cleared a spot on the table so Burke could unroll a map of Domos. They used a honey pot and a few small saucers to hold down its corners.
“This is the Domos you know.” George leaned forward as she spoke, and Isahn readjusted so he could sit on his sofa rather than reclining on his side, the way Domossans dined.
“Yes, I know this map.” He nodded before looking around the room.
Everyone stared. Hildy, George, and Dunstan looked serious.
Burke’s eyes held a glimmer of excitement, but that wasn’t unusual.
Isahn didn’t chance a glance at Wynnie; it wasn’t worth the risk, she was too insane.
He could feel her eyes boring into him anyway, no matter where he looked.
“This story starts long ago. Bear with us,” George offered apologetically. “Do you know of the Dreugenmaht War?”
“Yes.” Isahn continued studying the map, trying to identify the path they’d taken him on. When no one spoke, he realized they wanted him to explain just what he knew.
“Approximately a thousand years ago, Gramenia wanted the faeries off their land. Most had been pushed into the Dhegur Peaks by then, or into Domos. The fae, with Domossan support, fought for their own small kingdom, separate from the four large ones. They lost. In retaliation, the fae decimated Gramenia’s princes and princesses at a single meeting.
Then Gramenia wiped out the faerie population, making them extinct.
” Isahn looked around, seeking approval.
Selwas hadn’t been part of the war aside from sending monetary support.
Being such a newly formed kingdom at that time, they had their own internal struggles with a revolving set of rulers to deal with.
“Pretty close,” Hildy finally said. “It’s what you should know. That’s good.”
“You’re saying that’s not what happened?”
George hummed before she announced, “There are two types of fae: pixies and elves.”
Isahn’s eyes grew wide. Two types of fae? Kas is going to have a field day with this one.
“About a thousand years ago, as you said, Gramenia wanted the pixies off their land. Elves were already living in the peaks and a few scattered towns on the borderlands between Domos and the mountains. The elves were pushed there four thousand years ago, or something, by the Gramenians—before they were called that.”
Isahn feared this was an elaborate jape, until Hildy caught his eye and nodded, her jaw tight.
“Domos aided the fae, the pixies and elves, in fighting for freedom. It’s true, we supported them in their attempts to form a small country bordering part of the Dhegurs. It would have been in the Lake District, where we crossed from Gramenia into Domos,” George explained.
She paused to sip her dessert wine and let Hildy continue the tale. “The fae failed. They were powerful, but too fucking small to accomplish much of anything. After they killed all the Gramenian royals, of course Gramenia fought back, and they were nearly successful.”
“Nearly?” Isahn asked.
Hildy shot him a look that said “I’m getting there.”
But it was George who continued the story, “Legend says our queen stepped in and herded all of the fae into Hepikoru—”
“That’s the old capital, right?” Isahn couldn’t help but interrupt. “The one from before Nowosmont? Destroyed by the wrath of the gods when the mountain was raised from the earth?”
“Kind of.” George shrugged. “Burke?”
He unrolled a second map and pinned it down over the first.
Isahn studied it for a moment.
“Do you see it?” George’s voice was soft.
“It looks like an older map with Hepikoru where the New Mountains should be.” Isahn leaned forward, tracing the tip of his finger over that region.
His finger continued south of Hepikoru, across Lake Loukeo to a star marking the city of Nowosmont.
“I thought Nowosmont didn’t exist until after the mountain erupted from the ground. They’re both here.”
“That natural disaster, the wrath of the gods, is not real. The mountain isn’t real.”
Isahn’s brows pulled together as he eyed George. “What do you mean?”
“Hepikoru is still the capital of Domos. But the world believes it’s Nowosmont.”
“How is that possible?”
“It’s a mirage, of sorts,” Wynnie spoke. “The king and queen did something miraculous, no one really knows how, though. They veiled the city, with the intent of keeping the fae safe within.”
“The fae are still alive?” Good gods, he’d never learned so much new information at once. It was damn near unbelievable.
George nodded solemnly.
“If you can call it a life,” Dunstan grumbled.
The aides, the enslaved people George told him about, were all trapped inside the true capital. It wasn’t just mages being held; every pixie and every elf that the world thought to be gone lived there—in Hepikoru.
Conversation continued, and Isahn learned Duhra believed the fortress in Nowosmont was Gasparo’s home, not the well-hidden palace in the true capital. When he expressed disbelief, George explained how Domossans were also led to believe Hepikoru had been destroyed.
“The viceroys, lords and ladies, and most of the legionaries know the truth. They keep homes in both cities, ready to be called in at the whims of the Crown.”
“Wow,” Isahn breathed. “That’s... a lot. How do you get into Hepikoru? Why haven’t people wandered in by now? Why hasn’t anyone told?”
“Fear and myth are powerful things. The mountains were raised by the gods in a single day. Would you want to venture up there?” Burke smirked, his usual jovial self.
Isahn aimed for a smile, saying, “Fair enough.”
“You get in through the lake,” Dunstan explained.
“Like, diving under it?”
“No.” Hildy shook her head. “We take boats. You’ll see.”
“I’ll see? Are you all taking me in?” Isahn couldn’t help the bubble of excitement rising in him despite the horrors Hepikoru was sure to hold. A secret bloody capital? Faeries?
“That’s the plan,” George rasped. “If you—” She cut herself off and swallowed.
“I’ll go with you,” he offered. “We’re allies now, right?”
Her responding smile was small, and her gaze remained fixed on the stacked maps.
“We’ve dumped a lot on you tonight. How about we answer questions tomorrow on our way into the city?” Hildy offered with a stretch that ended with her discreetly patting the princess on the back. The action seemed to draw Georgie from her hidden thoughts.
“You know, I’ve heard of this mountain thing before,” Isahn said lightly, hoping to lighten the mood.
“How?” Burke asked.
“My friend’s wife is a chaosweaver.”
“A what?”
“The ones who can ‘create’ from ‘nothing’?” He used air quotes to emphasize the words.
Burke nodded.
“Nesrina, the Lady of Stormhill, made a mountain for Kas.”
George snapped her head toward him so rapidly her curls swished around her face after she’d stopped moving. “Is it still there?”
“No, it was a temporary mirage. Really wound him up good though, impressed the pants off of him... literally.”
Everyone laughed, and he warmed as the kindling of new friendships burned bright in his chest.