Is that so?Cora stifled a laugh and wondered if all unicorns were as arrogant as Valorre.
What the fornication is he even eating? His prey was almost as large as me.
What I’d like to know, Cora said,is where you got these strange expletives from.
Strange? How are they strange? The sentinels at the castle walls use them all the time in conversation.
Is that what you do when I’m not around? Wander the perimeter and listen in on the sentinels’ private gossip?Cora chuckled.Regardless, I think you’ve misunderstood. The words you use aren’t quite the same as theirs.
Yes, well, I could hardly comprehend what the sentinels’ words meant at first. Once I gleaned their meaning, I decided to use far more concise variations. I’ll have you know that makes me more refined and more creative. I can use better words than shit, crap, devils, and fu?—
I get it. You’re oh so clever and refined with your foul language.
Thank you. I knew you’d agree.
Cora rolled her eyes.
I’m nothing like these fatherless sons, he said with a huff at the two horses pulling the wagon, Ailan at the reins.They haven’t a thought in their heads. Look how much taller I am! Look how much faster I can trot!
“No you don’t,” Cora said out loud, tone sharp. “I know you’re faster, larger, and smarter, but you don’t need to show off.”
Valorre mentally scoffed but resisted his urge to race ahead.
Ailan released a soft chuckle from the box seat. “You have a strong relationship with him, don’t you? He’s your familiar.”
“Yes, he is.” Some of her mirth died down. Even after traveling with Ailan for three days, she still hadn’t fully warmed to her. The same went for Mareleau, who often treated the woman with downright coldness. She couldn’t blame her.
Cora cast a glance down the length of the wagon, finding all the shutters closed with no sign of light behind them. Mareleau and Noah must be asleep.
Ailan spoke again. “I imagine it is like my bond with Uziel. The Elvyn don’t call them familiars, as that term belongs to witches, but the connection is the same.”
Cora was caught between curiosity and her steady apprehension of Ailan. She fought past the latter and gave in to the former. “Do Elvyn bond with other creatures besides dragons?”
“No, only dragons, and only the Morkara and their descendants can bond with them. Even so, the dragons can refuse to bond with certain people, regardless of bloodline. That was what happened with Darius. It very well might be what set everything into motion.”
Cora nudged Valorre’s side to bring him closer to the wagon. The road was plenty wide, but Cora’s curiosity made her want to draw nearer. “What do you mean?”
She opened her mouth but didn’t utter a word. Maybe she didn’t know where to start. When she did manage to speak, her eyes were distant, her gaze hovering over the star-dappled sea that stretched beyond the cliffside. “My brother’s jealousy knew no bounds. He hated me from the moment I was born. You know about my brother’s father? The prince who worldwalked into El’Ara and stole my mother’s heart?”
“Tristaine,” Cora said. “I learned about him in El’Ara. How Satsara was sent to weave a ward around him that would banish him from the fae realm, but she fell in love with him instead.”
Ailan nodded. “Shortly after Darius was born, she relayed the truth of his parentage to her consort and tribunal.”
“Her consort…” Cora was reminded of something she’d yet to mention. “Etrix. He was Satsara’s consort and…and your father, right?”
Ailan’s gaze sharpened as she whipped her face toward Cora. “Yes. How did you?—”
“I met him. He, Fanon, and an Elvyn named Garot were the ones who found me.”
“You met my father.”
“He and Garot were…relatively kind to me.”
Ailan’s lips turned down. “I’m sorry Fanon was unkind. I…I can’t imagine how the years have felt for him. I’ve had over five hundred years away from him, but it hasn’t been nearly so long for him. More like seventy-five years, based on the discrepancy in the passage of time between here and El’Ara. He must still cling to hope that I’ll return, yet at the same time, the truthweavers must have heard the same whispers that have spoken to me. He will know I’ve furthered my bloodline in the human world. Essentially moving on from him.”
“Were the two of you in love?” Maybe it was a silly question. In the human world, political alliances were often loveless, and Satsara’s affair with Tristaine suggested her relationship with Etrix may have been the same. But just like Cora had been blessed with a marriage to a man she loved, maybe the same happened in El’Ara.
“We were,” Ailan said, her expression turning distant once more. “I didn’t expect to love him, but I did, and he loved me fiercely in return. It surprised us both. The Morkara and their heirs are paired strategically with their consorts to grant honors to great Elvyn families, much like human royal marriages. Neither of us expected love.”
