Chapter 14
Elessan
“Aliya?”
Elessan pushed the door to her study open, doing his level best to ignore the two guards stationed on each side of the entry.
Their presence indicated she was here, and they knew better than to prohibit him access.
Nor would they attack him, as long as he didn’t threaten their queen.
But after two centuries at war with the humans, having two armed men at his back made his skin crawl.
His eyes met quicksilver ones where she bent over her desk, reading whatever latest missive required the queen’s personal attention.
His heart skipped a beat, chilling his blood. There was no warmth in her gaze, no welcome at all.
“What?”
The tone of her voice was correct, but the hardness was entirely new.
He cleared his throat. Did she already know about Tsara’s proposal? Had someone told her?
As far as he was aware, Aliya hadn’t had time to establish her own spy network, though there were no doubt several in the castle who would happily report his and Tsara’s… incident, to either hasten the elves’ departure, or to push Aliya into choosing a so-called acceptable husband.
Running his hand through his hair, he swallowed. He tilted his head, taking in the hardened muscles in her face. “Are we okay?”
Aliya sat the parchment she’d been perusing on her desk and interlaced her fingers on top of it. Meeting his gaze, she lifted her eyebrows. “Is there a reason we wouldn’t be?”
Of course there was, if he and Tsara had been reported on. It would be best if she heard it from him rather than someone else, assuming he wasn’t already too late. But when he opened his mouth, the words froze on his tongue.
Her eyes narrowed before flicking from him to the door as the silence stretched.
Eventually, she sighed. “If you have nothing to say, Elessan, then I really must get through this,” she gestured to the papers in front of her.
“I’m meeting with the sun elf king and princess this afternoon.
” Her eyes jumped to him, something flashing in their depths.
She’d called him Elessan, rather than El. She hadn’t done that in forever. She was putting distance between them. And since when did she not call Tsara by her given name?
“Perhaps you could do me a favor and delay our council by distracting your... princess?” The forced nonchalance in her tone was belied by the tension in her expression.
Acid curdled in Elessan’s gut. She knew.
He met her gaze. “Aliya, I…”
A tendon snapped in her jaw. She was so tense he worried she’d crack a molar. There was no hurt in her eyes—only rage and indignation.
Fair. He’d allow her the shield of anger. In not immediately rebuffing Tsara, he’d lost the right to Aliya’s trust, her willingness to be vulnerable with him. An immeasurable weight pressed on his shoulders. He only hoped he had the time to win it back.
“I should go,” he finished, turning away.
“Close the door behind you.”
He glanced back over his back, but her nose was already buried in the parchment again.
Someone rammed his shoulder hard enough to spin him in a full circle. Steadying himself with a hand against the door frame, Elessan stared into Walter Larimar’s frigid eyes.
The man’s gaze raked up and down Elessan. He sneered, giving Elessan the same expression one would give the bottom of their shoe after stepping in a pile of horse dung. “Mountain elf.”
“Baron.” Elessan schooled his features to keep them neutral as he fought the urge to follow the man into Aliya’s office. Despite his instinct to protect her, she clearly didn’t want him around and, with that in mind, he was only likely to make things worse.
“Father.” Papers fluttered as Aliya set them on the desk, her tone carrying the exact chill it had with him. “Do you have an update for me on the Brooks situation?”
Elessan paused between the two sentries as her words registered. He needed to know the most up-to-date info regarding the Whisperers and Brooks. If he had the intel, he could help chase the man down.
One of Aliya’s guards slammed the door in his face. “Move along, elf.”
Blinking like an idiot, he stared at the wood grain a few finger widths from his nose.
There were no other ways into her rooms, unless he climbed through a window from the outside.
By the time he accomplished that feat, her conversation with the baron would be long over.
He glanced at the soldiers, both of whom were eyeing him with increasing irritation.
They wouldn’t let him stand here and eavesdrop, either.
With a sigh, he spun on his heel and marched down the hall.
If he couldn’t help Aliya with the missing Whisperers, he could at least do what she requested and go distract Tsara.
The two of them were overdue for a talk about the princess’ ridiculous proposal, and if doing that now bought Aliya time she thought she needed before an important meeting, so be it.
“Elessan Svialto!”
He froze, fighting the urge to flinch as Roland Enorathil’s booming voice rang through the halls. Straightening his spine, he turned to face the sun elf monarch with a bow. “Your Majesty. How may I be of assistance?”
The king came up beside him, throwing an arm around his shoulders that landed with too much weight to be friendly. “My daughter tells me she’s proposed.”
“Oh?” This couldn’t be good. He couldn’t tell Roland he hadn’t accepted without risking offending the royal.
“I will admit I’m surprised at her choice, but you’ve certainly proven your worth to the realm.” Roland slapped him on the back again, hard enough to no doubt leave a mark. “Congratulations, my boy.”
Elessan squinted as he peered at the man from the corner of his eyes. The words said one thing, but the king’s actions revealed his anger. Roland wasn’t as happy with this situation as he would have any observers believe.
What had Tsara done to get her father to agree to a betrothal to him, a lowly mountain elf? Roland scorned anyone except full-blooded sun elves, including Zadé, his most brilliant general.
Pulling out of the other man’s grip, Elessan turned, facing the male head-on. “I don’t understand, Your Majesty. I didn’t think you would allow your daughter to tie herself to me.”
Roland’s eyelid twitched. “You underestimate my fondness for Tsara, and my desire for her happiness.”
Rubbish. That was a lie if Elessan had ever heard one. Roland cared about his power and reputation first and foremost. Which meant Tsara had likely figured out a way to blackmail him into giving her what she wanted.
He may need to put his sleuthing skills to work figuring out what leverage she’d used, so he could turn it around on them both.
He hadn’t missed court politics one bit.
And Aliya was facing a lifetime of these maneuvers all on her own.
He turned his focus to Roland. “I would like to speak with your daughter. Do you know where she is?”
Roland shrugged. “You could try her suite, or the training grounds. She’s taken an unseemly interest in the sparring rings of late.”
That sounded like the Tsara he knew, alright.
“Your Majesty.” With a curt bow at the waist, Elessan took his leave, headed for the central courtyard.