Taeven smiled wistfully. “Tell me more.”
“There are all sorts of unusual animals that you don't find here,” I gladly went on. “Horses with black and white stripes and some with necks so long that they can eat the leaves off the trees.”
“You're having me on.” He shook his head.
“No, I swear!” I leaned forward in my excitement. “There are lions there, just like the Lion Faeries but smaller.”
“Now, lions, I've seen before. They have them in the Feline Kingdoms,” he said.
“Oh,” I murmured, then brightened. “Have you seen elephants?”
“Elephants? No.”
“They are giant beasts, the size of Trolls. They're covered in thick, gray skin and they have long noses like big hoses that they use to pick up things. They sniff up water, then bend their long noses to shoot it into their mouths.”
“From their noses?” Taeven made a disgusted face.
I laughed. “It isn't as gross as it sounds. They have these big, floppy ears, tiny little tails, and the males have enormous tusks that curve down from their mouths. They're really slow and generally tame. The males will defend their families if necessary, but otherwise, people can walk right up to them. Some people even ride them like horses. Oh, and they bury their dead.”
“You had me going until that bit.” He shook his head at me chidingly.
“No, I'm telling the truth!” I protested. “They bury their dead under branches and will stay beside the body to mourn. I swear.”
“I suppose that isn't so startling,” he mused. “We faeries have an obvious connection to animals, and we know for a fact that they feel emotions as we do. I just didn't think an animal would have the dexterity required to bury a body, but if they're simply covering it with branches, that's more believable.”
“Sometimes I think that animals must feel emotions more purely than we do. They don't have all the issues that complicate things.”
“That's very perceptive of you,” he murmured. Then he declared, “I think I shall visit Lek someday. It sounds nearly as magical as Varalorre.”
I grinned. Most of the people I'd told about Lek were shocked but in a fearful way. None of them ever expressed a desire to visit the continent. It made me feel closer to Taeven that he found my descriptions fascinating enough to want to see it all for himself. In a way, Lek was a second home to me, and although I'd been raised on Stalana, I felt deeply connected to the continent of my ancestors.
“The people there are as warm as the weather,” I went on. “They're so welcoming, and they don't judge you on things that don't matter.”
“Things like sexuality?”
“Exactly. They care more about the kind of person you are; the way you treat others. I like that.”
“But you'd have to leave your family behind,” he said softly.
“My brother got married and started a family of his own.” I shrugged. “My grandparents are dead, and my parents visit Lek often. I wouldn't be entirely cut off. Plus, I have distant relatives there.” Then I narrowed my eyes at him. “But you've distracted me. It's your turn to tell me your secret.”
Taeven sighed deeply. “I'm afraid I've built it up to sound more interesting than it is. It's actually kind of common and boring. I joined the Royal Army to make my father proud. He was a general for many years before he decided to retire. I'm an only child—we fae aren't as fertile as you humans—and my father hoped that I would follow in his footsteps.”
“That's kind of nice,” I offered.
“Yes, it would be, if this is what I wanted to do, and I had come here with those honorable intentions you mentioned.”
“Your intentions aren't honorable?” I lifted a brow.
“No, that's not what I mean.” He looked uncomfortable again. “Of course, I want to win the war and protect our homelands. But I didn't take the position for those reasons; I took it purely to impress my father.” His jaw clenched. “And I've missed my home every day since. To tell the absolute truth, I want nothing more than to return. So, you see, I'm not that honorable. I just want to live through this so I can go home.”
“Just like me,” I whispered.
Taeven blinked in surprise. “Yes, I suppose so.”
“So, you understand why I don't want to be a valorian.”
“No, I'm afraid I don't, Shane,” Taeven said gently. “I want to win this war so I can leave without looking back. To do that, I need to find my valorian. You want to survive and move somewhere that you'll be accepted for all that you are. The best way for you to do that is to become immortal. As a valorian, you can end this war with me, then, instead of moving to Lek, you could come with me to Varalorre. In my kingdom, you will be more than accepted, you will be respected. And you'll be close enough to your family that you could visit them often. You could fly back anytime you wished.”
