I would not be intimidated.
“Your hatred of humans?—”
He stood, scowling. “Tell your king, if it’s war he wants, it’s war he shall have.”
“Father—”
“Do not,” he continued to escalate, “interfere in this.”
I didn’t dare look at Terran. Instead, I met the king’s gaze with a calm that seemed to anger Balthor even further, though it was difficult to forget… the king before me was the most powerful in Gyoria. If he wished me dead, my resistance would prove futile.
“King Galfrid wants to avoid war, not court it.”
“By sending his envoy here to convince me the diseased humans were innocent in coming through that interminably damned Gate?”
There will never be peace in Elydor with him as king.
Knowing it, as well as I knew my own name, meant little. As long as Galfrid was alive, he would remain the King of Gyoria.
“Get out of my hall. If you are not beyond our borders by tomorrow?—”
How I would secure the stone and fulfill that particular decree remained unsure. But one thing was certain: one of my goals here had been met. I turned, still giving the king the parting gesture he did not deserve, and left the hall with Terran.
He escorted me back the way we came. I said nothing, allowing him to replay the meeting in his mind.
Finally, just as we stepped into the corridor which led to my chamber, he stopped me.
“Lyra.”
Halting, I faced him, revealing nothing.
“Aye, Terran?”
“Gather your belongings. It isn’t safe for you here.”
It was his expression, not his words, that told me I’d been successful. There was more there as well. A softness in his eyes usually lacking from Gyorians. But something else too. Something very, very Gyorian… though typically only for their own.
Even the slightest bit of protectiveness for me was more than I could have hoped for.
“Very well,” I said in acquiescence.
“And wait for me in your chamber. Do not answer the door for any but me.”
At my quizzical look, he added, “We must talk.”
Indeed, we must. But that wasn’t all Terran and I needed to do this day.
9
TERRAN
My father was lying.
About what, precisely, I couldn’t be certain. But there was more to that meeting with Lyra than either of them outwardly admitted. Having just recounted the entire conversation to Dren, I waited for his assessment.
He knew every book in the Gyorian library from cover to cover. Was more intelligent than most, and I was wise enough to know my limitations. When it came to putting puzzle pieces together, none could do it as well as my right hand.
“I cannot think with you dizzying my mind. Stop pacing.”
