Chapter 28
Darrow
Ienvied Aella as she took a separate boat from us, so she could get a little more work done on her garden before dinner.
Loden rode with her, planning to drop her off before going to shower and change at the castle.
He desperately needed some time to restore his hygiene and eat more than whatever the druids kept in stock at the library—I suspected very little.
We’d managed to return home by mid-afternoon, so we had some time to accomplish tasks before my father arrived. Unfortunately, I found myself trapped on a boat with the most condescending man I’d ever met, which said something since I was the grandson of a king.
Idwal ran his gaze all around us as we headed toward the island with the barracks and dungeon.
Thankfully, the fog that had swept over the city this morning had mostly burned off after the sun reached high overhead.
There was a degree of wonder and excitement in the druid’s eyes, though he tried to hide it.
“In all my one hundred and sixty-two years, I never managed to get an invitation to this place. I suspect if not for this war and your desperation, I wouldn’t be here now. ”
“That’s true,” I agreed, guiding the small boat through the water. “Even Aella wasn’t allowed to enter the city until we’d been married for nearly five months.”
The balding man eyed the market island, bustling at this time of day, and didn’t bother looking at me when he spoke again. “That poor girl. She would have been so much better off with a nice druid, but fate had other plans for her, it seems.”
“You do realize I’m sitting right here, don’t you?” I asked, irritated. I wasn’t used to anyone beyond my immediate family speaking to me like that. It was all I could do to maintain a civil tone, but Aella had begged me to be polite before we parted ways.
“Yes, well, I’ve never been one for keeping my thoughts to myself. If you don’t like it, prove to me—and the world—that you’re the better choice for her,” Idwal said, gaze following a shadow in the water as it passed a handful of feet from our boat.
By the size, I would have guessed it was a mossgator.
They were large reptiles with gray scales and long tails found in most of the larger, deeper lakes in southern Zadrya.
Primarily, they preferred eating the abundant moss that would take over a body of water without their presence, but they required one decent-sized meat kill each month.
I wondered if this one had feasted on the prisoners we dumped earlier. It seemed docile now, which they tended to be as long as they weren’t hungry or threatened. With their large mouths and sharp teeth, they could easily consume a fae…or a druid.
Returning my attention to Idwal, I glared at him. “I don’t need to prove myself to anyone except Aella. If you don’t like it, I can always toss you into the water for the creatures to eat.”
“You wouldn’t,” he scoffed, though a hint of fear lurked in his eyes. Quite a few nasty stories circulated about me, after all. I’d spread a few false ones myself, but some were true as well.
“We fed two dark elves to them this morning, but I doubt that satisfied many of the lake’s inhabitants,” I threatened.
Idwal shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “I see your reputation isn’t merely gossip. May the nameless ones have mercy on your wife if she must put up with you for many years.”
How much trouble would I get into if he permanently disappeared? I wondered.
To him, I narrowed my eyes. “Let’s thank the nameless ones that you don’t have a wife who must put up with you.”
“Ha! I do have a wife,” he said, indignant. “We’ve been married for nearly a century.”
It was impossible to imagine any woman staying with him for that long.
“Did you tell her you were coming here?” I hadn’t seen Idwal leave the library, nor had I noticed any elder female druids who could have been his spouse around there.
“Oh, no.” He shook his head emphatically. “She would have insisted on coming with me, but I needed a break from her nagging and that sharp cane of hers. Would you believe she hits me with it every time I say something she doesn’t like?”
It was a wonder the druid wasn’t black and blue from head to toe. “Unfathomable.”
“Yes, precisely.”
“Why do you put up with it?” I asked, curious. Most likely, no other woman would have him.
“She’s like a fierce dragon in bed,” he said, sighing wistfully. “Even at her age, she still rides me like a filly once a week, and those breasts...”
I nearly rammed the boat into a jutting rock, veering from it with inches to spare. “Forget I asked.”
We spent the rest of the ride in silence as I tried to remove deranged mental images of Idwal and his wife.
Some things were simply unspeakable. Once we reached our destination, the druid nearly fell from the boat trying to get out.
Reluctantly, he accepted my help, but he only allowed me to hold his arm.
The thick robe he wore hid more muscles than expected for a man with such a frail face and stature.
Also, if I hadn’t seen him walk at an almost normal pace through the library earlier, barely using his cane, I would have had more patience with how slow he moved across the island now.
Nearly ten years had passed by the time we reached the central courtyard, and I’d aged a hundred from our glacial pace.
He kept casting me sly looks every time a sigh escaped me.
Idwal also asked many questions along the way, pausing often to point at the dull, brown barracks and random soldiers.
He was even curious about which type of stones we used to construct the buildings and courtyard, as well as where we acquired them.
Attempting to see the bright side—he no longer mentioned his wife, after all—I answered him.
I was also debating ways to use his visit to my advantage.
The druids had resources we didn’t, and if we wanted to win this war, we needed their help.
Idwal moved painfully slow down the stairs to the dungeon. I offered to assist him, but he threatened to cane me to death if I tried. What seemed like weeks later, we finally reached Gretel’s cell.
The dark elf had braided her brown curls so they weren’t in wild disarray anymore, likely after a shower, since she no longer had blood covering her.
Now, I could easily see her black, pointed ears, which usually had silver chain earrings looping along the sides.
The guards had removed them when they took her clothes.
She wore loose, black pants and a matching tunic that ended at the top of her thighs. The outfit didn’t do anything for her figure, but we chose standard garments for the dungeon that would work with any body type. Most prisoners who wore them didn’t stay here long, anyway.
She rose from her thin mattress on the floor, curiosity in her gaze at seeing the druid. “You brought me a visitor all the way from Alavaar. How very thoughtful of you, Dare. I’m sorry to see your wife didn’t come as well, but perhaps she’s too jealous to handle it.”
Gretel still had iron shackles on her wrists and ankles, but the chains between the cuffs allowed her some movement.
Because she couldn’t heal quickly, her face had bloomed with bruises from Aella punching her earlier in the day, and her lip was cut and swollen.
The dark elf didn’t seem bothered by it, but our training would have taught her how to endure far worse pain.
I had no idea what I’d do with her once we had everything we needed.
She’d served a purpose as a spy, but I didn’t know if it was worth keeping her alive after this.
“Answer his questions,” I ordered.
Along the way, I’d asked Idwal if he wanted the prince to verify her thoughts, but he declined. The druid had brought a truth stone that would serve the same purpose. I would have loved to obtain one of those, but they were rare and costly.
Gretel smiled and moved closer to the cell bars. “Of course.”
“Where are the stolen druids now?” Idwal asked.
“When I left, they were all at the king’s palace in Jayndarr.”
I worked my jaw. “That’s the most fortified and heavily guarded location in the realm.”
Karganoth excelled more at offense than defense, but they spared no expense on the protection of my grandfather’s primary home and the seat of his power. No one had ever successfully infiltrated the place, though many of the best had tried.
“I’m aware,” the druid said dryly, then narrowed his gaze on Gretel. “Are they allowed to move freely or restricted?”
“King Sagan likes to keep them happy and motivated, so they are allowed to roam the palace grounds during the day with extra security, but he keeps them inside at night,” Gretel replied, running her hand across the bars as she moved back and forth across her cell.
Idwal had his hand in his pocket, so I assumed he held the truth stone to verify her answers. If she lied, it would become ice cold. Of course, Gretel was no fool. She must know a druid would likely have such a tool while questioning her.
“Do you know if Karganoth intends to turn its sights on Alavaar next?” he asked.
She slowly shook her head. “They didn’t speak of it.
Their entire focus is on Zadrya, though I suspect it doesn’t only have to do with conquering light elf territory.
They emphasized using our magic whenever possible, rather than our swords or knives.
In the two and a half weeks I’ve been here, several new dead zones opened up that they warned us to avoid.
They seemed pleased by them instead of worried, aside from not wanting us to die by entering them. It’s…odd.”
“Yes,” Idwal said snidely. “Why would they want to make our world die faster?”
Her gaze dropped. “They haven’t given us a reason.”
She was careful with her words, which told me she suspected the same things as we did. The druid asked a few more questions before finishing with her. Gretel requested to speak with me alone, but I refused.
Under no circumstances would I meet with her unless someone else was present to avoid upsetting Aella.
The dark elf was a master manipulator and could use anything to her advantage when it suited her.
She was most definitely jealous of my wife, which left me with no doubt she’d try to drive a wedge between us.
Turning my back on her, I led Idwal from the dungeon.
“Did you get all the information you needed?” I asked.
His nose twitched. “I’m not certain I will ever know everything I’d like, but it is enough for now. Please keep Gretel alive in case we think of something else.”
“You do realize it would be next to impossible for the dragon slayers to infiltrate the palace in Jayndarr, don’t you? Even they aren’t that good,” I said.
He sighed. “Yes, I’m aware. It appears we will have to bide our time for now and have our seers look for an opening. There will be one eventually.”
It was disappointing news for me as well since I wanted the druids out of Karganoth’s hands, so they’d stop enchanting the gems. “Let me know if I can be of assistance.”
“Oh, I will,” he vowed.