All three giants stiffened.
“That is correct,” Coorsel said after a moment. “We would be sent to the groka swamps to serve as forced labor.”
“You wouldn’t be allowed to simply leave and live in another country?”
Hammet’s teeth bared in a snarl. “Leave? Those areourlands. They have been ours for centuries. We will not just walk away.”
“I’m asking if you were given a choice between forced labor or leaving,” Mal said, “would you be allowed to leave?”
Ilee drummed her fingers. “What does it matter?”
“Might not, but if youweregiven a choice, then stopping the alliance and wedding won’t necessarily force you to work in the groka swamps, which would rule out one group as potential culprits,” Mal explained. “The groka farmers won’t be very motivated, right?”
“We had the choice of leaving but could never return to see our families or friends and could take only the clothes on our backs,” Coorsel said.
Mal nodded and looked at Nayena. “How about your side of things? Who wants to see this stopped?”
She shrugged. “Not so many among Moontree. A few who do not wish to mix blood. Some fear Moontree will be lost.”
“Sounds like that’s already happening,” Mal said. “You’re being killed off little by little.”
“Some killed. Some taken.”
“Same result. Your clan is diminishing and will disappear without new blood, so it’s not terribly likely a lot of your clan are against the alliance.”
She gave a nod. “Yes.”
“Anybody else against the alliance? Jealous lovers, maybe?”
She laughed out loud and shook her head. “That is not our way, but other clans do not wish to see the alliance as we will no longer be easy prey.”
“Are any attending?”
She shrugged. “Witnesses are invited, as is the law.”
Given the group of pixies who’d swarmed in after Nayena’s arrival, Mal decided that meant the place was swarming with potential pixie assassins.
What it boiled down to was as she’d expected: everybody was a potential suspect, and she couldn’t really rule anyone out. She eyed Hammet and Ilee. Even them? Just because Coorsel trusted them didn’t make them trustworthy.
“Anything else you want me to know?” Mal asked, draining her cup and glancing at her companions.
All this time, Coorsel and Nayena had barely exchanged a look, much less spoken to each other. Law had said they got along well enough, but if they did, they were doing a good job hiding it. Not that it mattered. They were both grown up and in possession of their faculties. If they wanted to do this, more power to them. No skin off her nose.
It sounded like Coorsel wasn’t expecting Nayena to commit to monogamy. Though Coorsel was handsome enough to possibly tempt her. Of course, a lot depended on whether he knew what to do in bed. Pretty could get you only so far. Then skills were required.
“We will be guarding the wedding party,” Ilee declared. “We will not permit any attacks.”
Her eyes flashed orange, and smoke escaped from her nose and mouth. Her dragon wasn’t far from the surface. Mal nodded acknowledgement. If even one little dragon turned out to be the Benedict Arnold, it would be tough to keep Coorsel and Nayena alive, especially if that traitor happened to be guarding the two. A fast shift, a dive, and a chomp, and it was all over. Or a shift and a blast of fire and instant barbecue. Ilee bore watching.
What if a big giant morphed into a dragon? What sort of damage could it do? Cook the entire venue?
“We’ll want to keep a buffer zone around the wedding ceremony itself, with spectators at a safe distance.” Mal didn’t tell Ilee and Hammet that they were most definitely going to be spectators and not members of the wedding party. Why spoil the surprise?
“Just out of curiosity, why split the wedding and investing Nayena as the virdana? Why not do it all at the same time? That way you give your enemies less time and opportunity to create problems.”
“It’s not possible,” Ilee said. “The rites must be performed properly.”
Clearly, she meant to shut down that line of questioning, but Mal was nothing if not born to be annoying.
