Chapter 18 #2
Zadé glared up at him through glazed eyes.
“Princess had plenty o’ protection.” She shifted Dalyor’s body to free one hand, which she used to point to herself.
“Me.” Laying the corpse gently on the floor, Zadé shoved to her feet.
Taking a deep breath and steeling her spine, she stepped toward Elessan.
Jabbing a finger into his chest, she continued, “Yer just mad she won’t stay locked in her tower like a good girl while the men surrounding her concoct schemes as to how they can best use her to their benefit! ”
Aliya blinked, frozen. She hadn’t realized Zadé had zeroed in so precisely on her own feelings.
But she should’ve. As one of the elves’ top generals, Zadé had been around scheming noblemen for far longer than Aliya could imagine.
Being half-human, she’d been viewed the same way Malkov’s aristocracy had seen Aliya—someone beneath them, but with enough positive attributes to make them a useful tool.
Elessan’s eyes flashed as he slapped Zadé’s hand away. “I do not expect Aliya to—”
Zadé raised her hand and cut him off with the stern authority of the general she was. “Shove it, Elsan. Keeping Princess locked away and sheltered will only make her appear weak in the eyes of her nobles, and a weak queen won’t last long.”
Aliya swallowed, shaking the final magical tingles from her fingers.
Should she intervene? There was more truth to what Zadé claimed than she wanted to admit.
Her inexperience and lack of connections and influence were already enough of a handicap.
But this sepulcher was not the place to be shouting this out.
“And not only that,” Zadé continued, hardly bothering to draw a breath, “you made a cuckold out o’ her by gettin’ with Princess Tsara!”
Elessan froze.
Aliya’s knees locked as the pain of the memory washed over her, tightening her throat and making her eyes burn.
She clenched her fists. He must’ve had a solid reason, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
He deserved her trust, at least until they could sit down calmly and discuss it like rational adults.
“I did no such thing!” Elessan shouted. “I would never!”
“You did.” Aliya’s voice was so quiet compared to theirs, but it brought both elves to a standstill.
She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she stared at his boots.
“In the hallway. I was looking for you. I rounded the corner, and there you were—” The words stuck in her throat.
Licking her lips, she tried again. “There you were, with Princess Tsara, and…” She swallowed. “I know what I saw.”
His expression crumbled as he stumbled toward her.
Aliya took a few rapid steps back. “I know you must’ve had your reasons, and I’m willing to hear them out, but not right now.”
He froze. “Aliya.” His voice was pained. “Let me explain.”
She shook her head. “When we get somewhere quiet where we can talk, I’ll listen. In the meantime…”
“Please,” he said. “Tsara caught me by surprise. I didn’t realize what she was doing and by the time I did… Well, she’s has never taken well to being told no, and the results can be… explosive.” He swallowed.
Aliya crossed her arms over her chest. Her heart twisted. She wanted his words to be true. For all the blame for their kiss to be laid at Tsara’s feet.
He took a step forward. “So, you saw Tsara shove her tongue down my throat then turned around and walked away without confronting me about it?”
She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “I’m not in the habit of making a scene, and I needed time to calm down.” And time to chat with Zadé, even if she hadn’t realized it then. “Otherwise, I’d have done something we’d both regret.”
Elessan dropped to his knees, claiming her hands and gently tugging them away from where they were wrapped around her ribs.
His gaze bored into hers until her eyes burned and her vision turned watery.
“Aliya, it’s always been you. Ever since the first day I saw you in front of that inn…
It will always be you. Regardless of whether you opt to fight for me or not, I will always choose you.
” He paused, a flicker of uncertainty flashing across his face. “As long as you’ll have me.”
“You didn’t willingly kiss Tsara?” Her voice was a whisper. By the mages, she wanted that to be the truth.
He shook his head. “She’s been pushing for more, wants me to marry her for some bizarre reason I can’t ascertain.
Please, trust me. I have my reasons, and you’re right, now is not the time to go into them.
But believe me when I say I would never, ever intentionally hurt you.
You should know Tsara has a temper, and she will lash out if I anger her.
I—” He licked his lips. “I just need a little bit more time to figure out her angle, and how to turn her down without destroying this fragile alliance you’ve built over the last week. ”
Aliya’s gaze flicked to Zadé who, through her own tears, flashed Aliya a classic I told you so smile accompanied by a wink.
Aliya took a deep breath, trying to study the situation from a neutral, unattached perspective, like the mature, responsible queen she wanted to be.
Zadé had been right. Kissing Tsara wasn’t something Elessan would do unless it was some sort of scheme.
Maybe he was using a supposed affair between himself and Tsara to distract someone—say her father or King Roland—from something else.
Like the lost Whisperers. Or her forced search for a husband? Something she hadn’t considered yet?
One thing she should have known—any scheming Elessan did would be to her benefit, even if she wasn’t smart enough to ascertain his intention.
Overwhelmed, she buried her face in her hands.
Elessan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. “Shhh.”
She shook her head. “There’s so much political maneuvering going on, I can’t keep up,” she whispered, pitching her voice so low only he would hear. “Ever since Malkov’s death, I feel like I’m lost in this huge maze, and each turn only makes it harder to find my way out.”
One palm cupped the back of her head, his fingers splaying through her hair. “I know. But you have me, and you have Zadé. We’re with you.”
For now. “I know.” Aliya sniffed and gestured to where the Whisperer had rolled when Zadé dropped it after discovering Dalyor. “Then something like this happens, and not only am I lost, but I’m drowning.”
Elessan stiffened as he realized what she pointed at. “Brooks?”
His deep voice vibrated through her torso, soothing her magic. She nodded, still not meeting his gaze.
He shifted, and Aliya had the distinct impression he was peering over his shoulder at Zadé. “How long ago?”
“One or two days,” Zadé’s muted words drifted to them, as though she had turned away, buried in her own grief. “They’s coming out o’ rigor.”
“Hmm.” Still holding Aliya, Elessan raised his head to take in the entirety of the room before he put his lips near her ear. “We will talk about this, including you leaving the castle without telling me. But right now, we need to evacuate, in case Brooks is still nearby.”
Aliya finally lifted her face to meet his, uncaring about the redness that no doubt rimmed her eyes. “We can’t. Not yet.” She tilted her head at the bodies. “They deserve a burial.” Nor did she want to leave any of the magic-sucking goo for someone else to use against them.
“Sweetheart, we don’t have time to dig two-hundred graves.”
She shook her head. “No, we don’t. But I can burn it all.”
He blinked at her, his eyes boring into hers as though trying to decide if she was serious.
Raising her chin in defiance, she met his gaze.
After several heartbeats, he nodded.
“We need to clear the rest of the prison, too,” she said. “There may be other rooms like this one, or guards.”
His voice dropped to a dangerous register. “If I had to bet, I’d say Brooks let any humans escape before murdering the inmates.”
She shrugged. “Even so.” They had to be certain. “Then we have to get back.”
He released her with one warning squeeze to her upper arms. “In case your aunt does something you’ll regret?”
Blinking at him, Aliya’s facial muscles went slack. “What?”
A muscle feathered in his clenched jaw. “Don’t bother denying it.”
“How did you know?”
“How do you think I found out where you were going?” he countered.
Aliya growled deep in her throat. Shadow had broken her word.