“I was raised to hate elves… all titans are, and yet… my parents made a deal with Valnea. They’ve gone against everything we titans stand for, and what’s worse… many titans agree with what they’ve done.”
Okay that was weird.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because Valnea promised them the chance to destroy the elves.”
Holy shitballs! That was one hell of a bombshell.
“You’re going to have to explain that,” I said, struggling to speak over my shock.
“Valnea hates her own kind,” Bayn said. “She trusts no one, no elf. She’s a backstabbing bitch and fears all elves are the same, so she sees enemies everywhere. She fears some elf will depose her — which is now happening, thanks to you — and wants to destroy her own kind, whittle down the numbers to something she can manage.”
Fuck me.
I had so many questions, but I didn’t know which to ask first. Bayn went on before I could settle on one.
“As a show of good faith, Valnea let titan assassins into the palace a hundred years ago to kill the royals. My parents were skeptical at first, but after that, they believed Valnea’s claims.”
Hadn’t Lhorine mentioned we now had proof that Valnea was behind the death of the royals? It was Bayn, he was our proof.
“Valnea’s plan is to slowly integrate titans back into society, starting with myself and my friends here on campus. It’s meant to look like a show of peace. Then, once titans are more freely accepted and allowed nearly everywhere, she’ll set them loose to attack from within and kill as many elves as they can.”
“Holy fucking shit-balls!” I gasped.
Bayn’s lip-twitch this time lasted a fraction of a second longer. Yeah, it was definitely a smile. I got the feeling smiling was not something the massive man did a lot.
“We need to tell everyone!” I said.
“They wouldn’t believe you,” Koar whispered. “Well, those following you would believe you, but everyone else would think you’re spreading lies about your opponent. No matter how plausible it sounds, if you think this will turn other elves against Valnea, it won’t. They have too much to lose if you come to power, while Valnea represents the status quo. Telling them Valnea wants to kill them all will sound too preposterous to believe, especially coming from someone trying to depose them.”
Koar was right.
“Damned, fucking stupid elves!” I hissed.
This time Bayn did smile, a full-on grin, even if it didn’t last long.
“See, you’re not like them,” he said.
“You got that right!” I barked.
But that’s when the full implications of what Bayn had said hit me.
“Wait… you said most of the titans agree with your parents, and are following Valnea? Does that mean you can’t give us an army?”
The large man’s face twisted into a scowl.
“My hope is to sway them to my side. They’d still get to fight elves, just out in the open, which was always how we preferred things. But… I am only a prince and I fear my kind will not follow me… without a significant show of strength on my part.”
And I had a feeling he had some idea what that would be.
“Which is?”
Bayn drew himself up. Yeah, whatever he’d been working toward, this was it, the main reason he’d pulled measide. I didn’t know what any of this had to do with me, but I had a feeling I was some integral part of his plan.
“Marry me,” he said, stoic. “Make me your king, an equal sovereign. And everyone will see we titans taking our rightful place as rulers of this realm!”
What the fuck?
