He gave Hayle a friendly nod. “Good to see you, Taeme.”
Thrusting his hand out to shake, Hayle grinned back. “You too, Marlee. This is my wife, Avalon, and her boyfriend, Lierick.”
Will Marlee mightn’t have let his shock show with quite as much exaggeration as the guard at the front, but he still choked a little. “Not to be rude, Hayle, but I thought your Line was, well, territorial?” He ushered us into the room.
“Love changes even the most steadfast of minds, Marlee,” Hayle teased. “There is no obstacle so large that I wouldn’t conquer it for her happiness, let alone a fickle thing like jealousy.”
I stepped out from behind Hayle, and suddenly, it was my turn to gape. I’d been expecting a pokey little office, not whatever this was. The office had been built directly into the mountain; that much was obvious. The walls were solid rock, some parts rubbed smooth by thousands of hands and arms brushing across it, and some still as craggy as the day they’d probably carved it from the stone. But that wasn’t what made me blink rapidly.
No, held protectively in the loving chest of the mountain side, was a library that would’ve put the one in Boellium to shame. The cavern, as well as the bookshelves, went on for as far as I could see, disappearing into darkness, though I somehow knew that it kept going. There must have been thousands of leatherbound spines on those shelves. I’d neverseenso many books.
I was so fascinated by the books, I nearly missed the Baron sitting behind the oversized desk, my eyes only catching himwhen he gave me a knowing smile. “This is the pride of Doend. The journals of every Marlee who has ever lived, as well as other important Sixth Line citizens. The Sixth Line never forgets.”
Will Marlee nodded solemnly. “It also contains a seed bank, in case of crop disease or another natural disaster that would threaten not just the Sixth Line, but the whole of Ebrus. We take our role as the memory-keepers of Ebrus seriously. A role we’ve held for centuries.” He waved at several chairs opposite them. “Please, have a seat. We were surprised to hear that you were here, in the Sixth Line. To say we’re interested in the reason for your visit would be an understatement. We don’t often get visits from the Third Line, let alone an Heir to the First Line dressed like a farm boy.”
I tensed, as did Hayle. But it was Lierick who answered. “I believe I can answer this for you. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m Lierick Hanovan, Heir to the Second Line.”
Will gasped, and his father looked as if he’d been sucker-punched. “The Second Line is gone,” he choked out.
Honestly, I was beginning to enjoy everyone’s reactions to the Big Reveal.
“Merely in hiding, avoiding persecution. The Second Line lives and flourishes. We’d like to return to Ebrus, to the lands that were our ancestral home and birthright. We’d like to reestablish our place at the table of the Conclave and even out the balance of power.”
Will narrowed his eyes. “You want to overthrow the First Line.” It clearly wasn’t a question.
Lierick shook his head. “The First Line is as important to Ebrus as the Second. As important as the Sixth and the Twelfth. But too many years of unchecked power have made them rotten at their core, and that needs to be carved out before Ebrus can flourish again.”
“Yet you travel with the Heir? Has he turned against his father?” Baron Marlee couldn’t keep the suspicion from his tone.
I tensed, hating that Vox had been dragged into this. “Vox Vylan has his own reasons to be with us, but to me, he is proof that there is still hope for the First Line.” The two Sixth Line men looked at me appraisingly, as if they were trying to discover my role in this. I didn’t offer them anything.
Will shook his head. “So to be clear, you want to overthrow the First Line, install Vox Vylan as Baron, and then return to, what, North’s Edge?”
Lierick shrugged. “I mean, in a nutshell, yeah?”
Baron Marlee ran his hands down his face. “That is lunacy.” He hesitated. “While I agree with you that the First Line has become glutted with power and has turned on the people of Ebrus, you can’t possibly build an army large enough to take on the First Line guards and the Dawn Army. This is a fool’s errand, and the Sixth Line can’t join you. We are struggling down here to survive now—sending our men to fight in a war that can only end in death would eradicate our Line completely.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
Cowards.I clenched my jaw to prevent the word escaping my lips, because while I hated their cowardice, I also understood. It was the nature of Ebrus now: us versus them.
Hayle looked equally as disappointed in them, and Will straightened his shoulders. Whether he disagreed with his father or not was redundant. The Baron of the Sixth Line had made his stance clear.
Lierick inclined his head. “As is your right as Baron. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to blur the details of today’s meeting from your minds for our safety. My apologies. Hayle came here today to talk about breeding more hounds in your woods, and running training programs. That’s all.” Lierick’s voice had taken on that smooth tone he had when he wasusing his abilities, molding thoughts and memories to suit our purposes.
The Marlees blinked rapidly, but eventually, the Baron grinned. “Of course. Your hounds are famous, one of the greatest exports to come from the Darkwoods. We look forward to a partnership in their breeding.”
Hayle gave them a tight smile and stood, leaning over to shake the Baron’s hand, and then Will’s. “Indeed. Thanks for meeting with me today, Baron. We’ll see ourselves out.”
“Give my best to your father,” the Baron called, and Hayle nodded.
When we made it to the hall, his smile fell, and he cursed beneath his breath. “That could have gone better.”
Lierick frowned. We were basically zero for two in garnering the support of Barons against the First Line, and at this rate, he was going to have to return to Ozryn a failure. I still didn’t understand why I was here, what I contributed other than moral support, but maybe uniting the Lines with the power of my vagina was my role. The irony would be sweet.
I squeezed both of their hands. “It isn’t over yet.” I lowered my voice, raising an eyebrow at Hayle. “And excuse me…wife?”
“Boyfriend?” Lierick chuckled.
“It sounded right,” he whispered back, a real smile curling his lips once more.
