I sent a quick text to Izzy to let her know, in case Myel was tied up, then had to focus on the task ahead of me as Elnori and I entered my master’s office.
Svokol looked up, saw the two of us together and raised his dark brows.
Elnori closed and locked the door. She closed her eyes, murmuring something, then looked up. “The wood will not hear us,” she whispered.
Svokol did something similar, some spell, before replying with, “The stone has been silenced”
This must be some ritual between the two of them, some little spell they both cast to ensure no one would overhear what they said. Dryads were experts with wood and dwarves with stone and metal, so between the two of them — if they had the right abilities — they could ensure no one outside might listen in.
A common saying in Seial was:the trees have ears. Long ago the dryads had been the ultimate spies and gossips, since they could use trees to listen in on conversations miles away. The elves had not liked that power and had killed most the dryads who possessed such abilities, but it was rumored some still existed, serving the elves as spies. And Elnori might be one, though what she’d done just now had been to block such listening… so I honestly had no clue if she could do the opposite and listen in on others. Yet given the information she often provided to my master, I assumed she could.
“Why is he here?” Svokol said immediately, indicating me with a nod. “What’s happened?”
Elnori turned to me. “That is his story to tell.”
I grimaced at them both. I didn’t want to be mixed up in this.
Safir had said I needed to work with Elnori to find a way to tell Svokol about Izzy and sway him to her side. The hope being that if Svokol — an influential dwarf — joined Izzy, other dwarves might follow.
Yet despite concubi being a very persuasive race in nearly any circumstance, I had no clue what to say. Luckily, my master was a blunt man and liked things straight. So, I told him everything. He already knew I’d slept with Izzy and roomed next to her. I didn’t go into sordid details of our times together, but I explained Izzy’s hopes to change this world and the truth of who she was: a half-blood elven princess of the true royal line.
“Fuck me,” Svokol muttered, not looking happy. He put his elbows on his desk and his head in his hands, sighing. “If she’d been anyone else, anyone who’d been quietly flying under the radar, she might have had a chance… but…” He looked up at us. “You heard the announcement, Izzy’s doomed. I don’t know if there’s anything we can do to save her.” He sat back. “I certainly can’t get involved, that would jeopardize all the work I’ve done to get in good with the elves and elevate my position.”
Dwarves had once been elves, long ago, but they’d been considered “low” elves with no power over life and creation. They’d split off from the elves to live secluded lives underground. To elves they were considered lesser, like pretty much every other race, but still “acceptable company,” having elven blood in their veins.
He sighed. “What is it you hope to gain by coming to me?”
I didn’t really know.
Elnori piped up. “Nothing yet. But… ifyousupport Izzy… in secret and slowly get the word out to other dwarves that if she becomes queen, they might once again be equal to elves… it would help our cause immensely.”
The dwarf grumbled, “I still can’t believe you were withthemthe whole time.” It seemed he wasn’t a fan of Elnori’s extracurricular activities.
He shook his head. “I can’t help her win this dominion match, I certainly can’t participate, but if she manages to field a team and — by some miracle — win… I’ll start spreading the word about her.”
As far as I was concerned, that was the best possible outcome.
Elnori nodded. “I have others I need to inform.” Then she excused herself.
“And you,” Svokol asked me after the dryad had left, “you’re taken with the woman? That’s not like you.”
It wasn’t.
I didn’t really want to go into the complexities of my feelings. The feelings Ishouldn’thave for Izzy.
“She’s a good fuck,” I said with a shrug. It was a lie. She was far more than that. And my master was shrewd enough to see right through me.
“No… she’s more. What is she to you?” A faint smile caught his lips, a rare occurrence. “And why do I get the feeling she means more to you than I do?” His tone was light, but those words hit home hard.
Svokol had been good to me, taken me from a life of pain in the Urval military, elevating me to a position of relative privilege as one of his aids. He’d seen potential in me, as a warrior, as a spy, as a strong and capable man. And over the years I’d become something of his confidante. I could never repay him for the kindness and generosity he’d shown me. For him to think anyone in this world meant more to me than him… stung my soul.
Even if he was right.
Izzy meant so very much to me, even if I’d only known her a few days. I couldn’t explain it. I didn’twantto explain it, to admit how quickly she’d grown close, a friend and lover and… more.
“She’s…” Fuck! How could I say this. I didn’t want to admit anything. “She’s intriguing in a way I’ve never encountered before,” I said, and that was honest at least. “She’s… powerful. And powerful people draw others to them.”
Svokol grunted. “I’ve noticed that about her too.”
