"Not here, Eveera," Felix interjects.
"Fine. We'll go back to the fucking council room — gods know we don't spend enough time in there." She wastes no time shoving past our group and stomping her way through the castle. We follow on her heels, the injury in my shoulder twinging with each hard step I take.
Her Wield flings open the doors, and our group files in while she pulls off the large map hanging on the wall, throwing it down onto the table.
Scraping her hair together, she piles it on top of her head and pierces through it with a sharp metal rod. A few rogue curls struggle to be contained, falling in front of her face, and she huffs at them in frustration. Her eyes lift, her hand jerking down at the chart, “well?”
Armond dips his chin and moves to stand next to her. "Here." He taps, "and here." His fingers thumped on top of two border points between Evendell and Sorrel.
"They're pushing on the border?" I ask, and he nods grimly.
"They cannot possibly be thinking of absorbing another kingdom?" Will asks in disbelief.
Felix folds his arms over his chest, looking at Will and Bennett with the same hesitation he held for us when we first arrived. His demeanor has softened with me due to our roles, but I do not doubt that if the opportunity arose, he would counsel his queen to abandon us — abandonme."They already are.” He adds, frowning downward, “the only thing saving them now is that Sorrel is no stranger to having to defend her borders. And she's not taking kindly to Evendell breaking their treaty, under Baelor's decree or otherwise."
"I just don't understand." Will states.
"Well, there's a shock." Eveera bites.
He glares over the table at her, "we've been at war for months now. I don't understand what more they could want."
"We haven't been at war — we've been playing a bad game of chess, and all that's happened so far is the eradication of each other's pawns."
Will's mouth drops, "thosepawnsare people! For someone who claims to care so much about hers you sure speak little of them."
She raises her head sharply, "I do care for my people. But the ones that you are referring to specifically aresoldiers. They stopped being ‘only people’ the minute they put on the uniform. We all did." Silence descends over the group for a beat before she opens her mouth again, "you saw what happened on your borders in Vellar — you lost men, you wasted resources, you burdened the cities that hosted you. The same will happen to Sorrel as long as they try pushing back."
"Their Wielders are strong, but the majority of them now defend their capital and courts. They've not needed a strong presence at their northern border in years." Max's voice startles us all, Eveera's gaze snapping over to the entrance where he stands, tossing an apple up and down. "Which means they might be open to us offering a contracted alliance." He gives me a pointed look, "then again, based on our recent activity over there… maybe not."
Eveera narrows her eyes, "what do you mean by your recent activity?"
He smirks and takes a bite out of the fruit, "princeling here went on a bit of a rampage looking for you. Questioned everyone who may have come into contact with you and Ezra." My blood freezes at the sound of the man's name, and from my peripheral vision I see her face go stony. "For someone who doesn't like to use his Wield, he used it plenty the past few months, leaving bodies left and right anywhere we went. It's a mystery Eiser and Baelor, or his daughter, didn't track us down faster."
"Bodies?"She asks, her voice accusatory towards me.
"Max." I snap, and he takes another loud bite.
He wags the apple between us, "he hasn’t told you?” Eveera’s head shakes. “Fuucckk." He draws out, whistling dramatically.
Her fingers come up and pinch her brow. "Armond. Felix."
"I'll arrange the negotiation meetings with the head of the Vast clans," Armond answers, seeing himself out of the room.
Felix looks over towards her, "I think it would be in our best interests to seek out an assembly with Sorrel's King and the Consular General of Suram. Try and rally what's… left of this Realm." The weight of that statement hangs over all of us like a noose.
The remainder of our group stands there staring each other down, listening to Max chew his apple. "Leave us." She commands, and they scatter like rats. The minute the doors are pulled shut, she whirls on me, golden irises edging with black. "What the fuck did Max mean?"
Eveera
He stares at me, mouth gaping, while I do very little to keep control over my emotions mingling with my Wield.
"What the fuck, did Max mean?" I ask again, my serpents slithering until they’re coiled around my neck, their stares zeroed in on Rorin.
His nostrils flare, and I can see the muscle in his jaw flex as he clenches his teeth."He didn't have the right to say anything." Rorin growls.
I can't help but scoff at him, my arms folding across my chest, "that doesn't answer my question.Whywould Sorrel take issue with us?"
"I did what I had to do." He mutters.
