Fanon shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “It was made for a worldwalker. I brought it with us to investigate the trigger that had alerted us of an unwelcome intruder.”
“You shouldn’t have used it on her.”
He opened his mouth but quickly snapped it shut. His butterfly was almost as deep-red as hers now. “As you say, regent.”
Ailan marched up to Cora and snatched the collar from her hands. “No one will use this on her, or any of my human allies. This was reserved for Darius, and for him alone it will remain.”
Disgruntled murmurs sounded throughout the room, but Ailan spoke over them.
“Don’t you see now? The human queen has demonstrated trust in the only way she can. She offered to let us collar her, and we will let that be enough. She returned a priceless, irreplaceable item to where it belongs. It is perhaps the only thing that will give us a chance to defeat Darius.”
Another ripple of surprise moved through her. Cora had assumed the collar was a common piece of Elvyn technology, not a one-of-a-kind artifact.
“It didn’t work before,” one of the Elvyn said. Her expression was neutral beneath the glow of her yellow-green butterfly.
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t an advantage,” Ailan said. “Now, enough with this back and forth about Queen Aveline. She is my ally, and she has demonstrated trust like you demanded.”
When no one stated a word of reproach, Ailan returned to her chair. Cora did the same and was relieved to feel somewhat lighter. She hadn’t realized how much she’d dreaded wearing the collar again until it was taken from her hands. Ailan now held it in her lap, gingerly, as if it were precious.
Cora couldn’t help but wonder about it. Why was it so irreplaceable? What had the Elvyn female meant when she’d said it hadn’t worked before? Had they tried to use it on Darius? Had it been part of Satsara’s attempted wardweaving?
There was a story there, and Cora needed to know more.
“Now,” Etrix said, drawing her attention away from the collar, “let us discuss the alliance.”
38
The meeting was tedious. Mareleau was willing to bet the tribunal spoke less about the alliance itself and more about placing restrictions on Cora. She could leave El’Ara via worldwalking, but only with express permission, and in the presence of at least two witnesses from the tribunal. She could not use her connection to Valorre to cross the Veil ever again. She could enter through the tear to report back about her side of the alliance, but there were layers of protocol she’d have to endure.
Mareleau would have felt more indignation on her friend’s behalf if her mind weren’t swarming with a thousand unanswered questions. They burned her tongue as she and Cora followed Ailan and Fanon out of the meeting room and into another one of Garot’s swirling tunnels. Now that the meeting was over, Cora was eager to return to Ridine Castle. Their party was on their way to reconvene with Valorre in preparation for Cora to worldwalk home.
Home. Such a lovely word.
So badly Mareleau wished she and Noah were going home too.
Mareleau hurried to Ailan’s side, unable to hold her questions back any longer. “What about my husband?”
Ailan met her gaze with a furrowed brow. Fanon’s expression flashed with annoyance before he marched on ahead. Ailan fell back to keep pace at Mareleau’s side. “Your husband?”
Mareleau did everything she could to keep her voice steady despite the suppressed rage that tightened her lungs. “You’ve already made plans for me and Noah under the assumption that we’ll be citizens here. That I’ll relinquish my kingdom and my role as queen in the human realm and live in El’Ara instead. Need I remind you I’ve agreed to nothing of the sort?”
Ailan gave her a tired smile. “I know, blood of my blood. I spoke as I did for the tribunal’s sake, for I needed to secure their binding vow. But I haven’t forgotten what I said to you before. I meant it when I told you we’d figure out the future together. Defeating Darius takes precedence before all else, as does protecting you and Noah.”
The swirling colors of the tunnel shifted from the pale hues of the palace to the greens and browns of the outdoors.
“What about my husband?” she said again, her tone edged with impatience. “I want the same protection for him. The same guarantee that he’ll be granted respect and citizenship should we decide…”
She couldn’t bring herself to finish. She wasn’t ready to imagine a future in El’Ara. Noah was a prince of Vera, and she was its queen. Yet Noah’s connection to El’Ara transcended bloodline politics and involved an entire world, not just a kingdom. It was a matter of magic and fate. Something she wasn’t sure she could fight.
“She’s right to ask,” Cora said.
Ailan stopped in place just as the blues and greens went still and spread outward to form a moonlit forest. Garot lowered his hands, his pathweaving complete. Fanon leaned lazily against a nearby tree trunk. Mareleau glanced overhead where dark trees stretched toward an inky starlit sky. Were Mareleau in a better mood, she may have found the quiet woods charming, but now they felt sinister.
Cora spoke again. “I want to know the answer too. Not just about Larylis, but all the citizens of Lela. You may not want to discuss the future with your tribunal just yet, but we deserve to know what’s in store for us. I’ve agreed to forge an alliance between our people so we can fight Darius together, but what exactly are my people fighting for? What future awaits when Darius is gone and all that remains is sealing the tear? What happens to the people of Lela when you reclaim El’Ara’s heart?”
“I already told you. I don’t know the answer yet.”
“Give us something,” Mareleau said, voice quavering. “Give us some idea of what our futures could look like. Give me a reason to believe your protection is worth a damn.”
