King Leif linked his fingers together, a small smile playing on his lips. “You are correct. I do have a contact. Two, in fact. One of them is imprisoned with Rawn. They were captured together in Dwarf Shoe. A red elf named Elon.”
Von’s mouth parted, shock settling on his face.
It surprised Dyna to hear that, too. Elon wasn’t the type to be subdued.
“We were separated during the skirmish.” Zev’s low, rumbling voice pulled her from her thoughts. He peered at Von. “I assumed he had escaped.”
“I am not leaving him to rot,”the Commander said under his breath.
“As for my second question.” Dyna met King Leif’s gaze. “This extraction for Lord Norrlen, is it out of care, or because you want the information he may hold on the missing key?” The question drew tension back into the room. “I know him well, and how much he loves his family. I am curious as to what you expect Lord Norrlen’s reaction will be once he learns you have relinquished his son to Red Highland for his sake.”
The rest of them stayed silent, because they agreed. Rawn would never abide by this.
“In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons.” Leif looked out the window. “It’s unfortunate, but Raiden will buy Greenwood a modicum of peace for a time. I am no fool. Altham will find another way to instigate conflict. My hope is to have the Dragon Blades before he does.”
“So you send your nephew to become a political hostage knowing it may be for nothing?”
“The most difficult part of being a king is sacrificing the few to save the most. Even if the few include those most precious to us.” He looked at Cassiel. “You understand, don’t you?”
Cassiel leaned back in his chair. He raked his long black hair back, his cool gray eyes sharpening. “The one thing I have come to understand is that it’s kings who plan the fighting and the soldiers who do the dying. You were clear that outsiders would not be included in the delegation, yet you invited us to this meeting. So let us discuss what you have truly planned.”
A cunning smile edged Leif’s mouth. Camsen reached into his cloak and brought out a scroll with the Greenwood seal. Yelrakel stepped forward to take it and brought it to Cassiel.
They fell quiet as he opened it and read the page. A muscle jumped in his jaw, and Dyna knew it wasn’t good. He placed the scroll flat on the table for her to read the elegant script.
“It says here, Greenwood will reaffirm the Accords with Hilos under the condition that we form an official alliance between our nations,” Cassiel said. “Except I find an issue with that, seeing as the Vale is constantly at war.”
“Red Highland will always seek ways to gain more power against Greenwood, and we must do the same. With his half of the key, Altham is one step closer to collecting the Dragon Blades. I need a weapon of my own.”
Like Seraph fire.
Dyna ground her teeth. Eldred had borne witness to Cassiel’s power when the Shades came for her and informed Leif of how powerful a weapon he could be.
“You cannot involve yourself in this matter any further without instigating Hilos into our age-old strife, Cassiel. However, if you wish me to sign the Accords, that is exactly what you will do.”
Dyna clenched her fists under the table. Leif brought them here to use them.
“Does that not negate your oath?” Keena asked.
“No, for you are not part of the seventy.”
Therefore, him mentioning outsiders were not to be involved was intentional. He expected them to disobey.
“You want to assure that Rawn is released, and I need to assure my people that their king will return alive.” Leif held Cassiel’s glowing gaze. “I may call upon your Valkyrie to aid us in the future, but we will assure that the secrecy of the Realms—like Nazar—are protected.”
Cassiel let the silence linger a moment as he rolled up the scroll. His expression was unreadable, but she could feel the heat of his anger in the bond. “Thank you, Leif, for taking the time to consider the Accords. Five hundred years ago, your grandfather proposed the same when Hilos was ruled by my grandfather before me. I will give you the same answer Rael did.” Lifting the scroll in his fist, Seraph fire flared out, and it instantly dissolved away, ash falling to the table. “Celestials will never again spill Celestial blood for the gain of others, but we will gladly spill yours to protect ours.”
A shiver rolled down Dyna’s spine. Yet in that moment, she felt proud.
The aghast expressions on Camsen, Eldred, and Leif’s faces were almost comical.
“Would you end decades of peace with Greenwood?” Leif demanded.
She narrowed her eyes. “We came here in good faith. It’s you who has broken it.”
“If you have forgotten,” Cassiel added. “The Accords protect our secrecy, and no monarchy who has signed it, past or present, can act against it with impunity. I assure you, should any threat be brought against Hilos and the Realms, we will respond—as we have done so before.”
The reminder of Gamor’s destruction and the occurrence in the Port of Azure were still fresh in Dyna’s mind.
