BAYN
Izzy seemedshocked at my proposal. This was to be expected. As much as Izzy was a royal, she’d not been raised as one, having lived in the human realm. I didn’t know if marriages of convenience or arranged marriages were a thing there, but here, especially among the elves, both were common practice.
“If you’ll let me explain, I believe you’ll see this is the right choice,” I said.
“Yes, please explain, a lot… You want to marry me?” Her rather stunning sea-green eyes were a bit wild. “Where did this come from? I don’t even know you!”
“You need not know me for this to work,” I responded. “This would be a po?—”
“Stop right there, Colossus. I think I do need to know you. Call me old-fashioned… well actually, old-fashioned people used to do this all the time, so I guess call me new-fashioned.”
Ah, it seemed shewasfamiliar with the idea of an arranged marriage. Good. This would require less of an explanation.
I spoke over her continued rant, raising my voice. “It would be a political marriage.”
That silenced her.
“Political? How?” she asked, looking skeptical.
“You want to defeat Valnea?”
“Of course.”
“Which means you need the titans, correct?” I waited for her agreement. She nodded slowly. “This is how you get them. If I can return home as king, ruler of elves, that will sway many of my people. Having power over the elves has been the driving force behind everything we titans have done for generations.”
She regarded the dragon with a questioning look. He didn’t seem happy about my proposal either, lending credence to my notion that he had feelings for her. Still, his answer was moderated.
“He’s not wrong. From what I understand, that’s exactly what drives the titans.”
“Okay…” Izzy drew out the word, clearly still not convinced.
“And we have no time for a courtship, no time to get to know each other. This marriage need not be anything more than a political union, if that is what you wish.” Though a part of me hoped for more. I found Izzy rather… fascinating.
She was strong and determined, a fierce warrior. I’d seen how she’d fought Saldrea every step of the way, even when imprisoned and with a binding collar on, she’d never relented, never given Saldrea the satisfaction of a scream while being tortured. She had grit and fire, and I admired that. She was also moderately attractive, if smaller than I usually liked my women.
“What I wish… is to marry for love… eventually… a long time from now,” she replied. “Is there no other way to bring the titans around?”
I sighed.
“How much do you know about titans?” I asked.
“Next to nothing, other than you’re big and you’ve been fighting the elves ever since some guy was chained to a tree for asking for equal rights.”
A vast oversimplification.
“Let me give you some context.”
She rolled her eyes and leaned heavily against a nearby wall, arms crossed over her chest.
“Mansplain away,” she griped, not receptive.
I spoke slowly, picking the right words. “Titans… respect power and strength above all else. It’s why we became titans. We pushed our physical magic to its limits, making ourselves stronger, larger, more powerful.”
“This is not his normal form,” the dragon interrupted. “Titans are normally thirty to forty feet tall. They can, however, reduce themselves to a more… palatable size.”
That wasn’t how I’d say it, but, “Yes.”
“Forty feet tall?” Izzy gasped. She gave me a once over, mouth slightly gaping. “Jesus, you’d be huge!”
