Many more,mi vida?1. Though, they don’t look as friendly as those who live with us now,Estela whispers.
The Enduar who brought us here from the ocean emerges from the sidelines, his presence commanding attention.
"Tir’Suel lies dead by your hand," he declares in a voice that resonates with authority, casting a regretful gaze at the crimson pool seeping from the fallen general.
Without hesitation, I raise my sword defiantly. "So he is! He chose death over freedom from this underwater prison.”
I look around at the Enduares who have started to congregate. Without their crystal suits, all that is left is haggard clothing.
“Will any of you challenge me for the ability to lead you?" Anticipating a clash of steel and wills, I brace myself for opposition, but to my surprise, no one steps forward. Instead, the leader of our escort drops to one knee before me, offering up his sword in a symbolic gesture of allegiance.
“You plan to take us to the surface?” one says.
Something stirs in my gut as I think of Tir’Suel’s hateful words. Any of these men could believe just as he did, and there isn’t much time to craft an answer. “Tell me, if returning to the surface is what you long for, why have you not left yet?”
“What the fuck is going on?” a voice growls. A tall Enduar emerges from one of the huts, leaning heavily on a gnarled cane. He is the same age as me, but his scarred face tells tales of battle, and his limp speaks volumes of sacrifices made in service to his cause.
He isn’t familiar to me, but the power pulsing in his exposedFuegorra tells me all I need to know. Not quite what a wise woman is, but a… stone bender of significant power. Moreso even than Ra’Salore. I watch the stones shift beneath him to make his way more manageable.
As soon as he looks at me, he stills. “You’ve got to be shitting me. Gods, you look so much like him.”
“My name is Ma’Teo, King of the Trolls. I have just bested your leader in a fight to the death, and now I would claim control of this battalion.”
The man stands there, eyes flicking between our motley group and the bloody body on the ground.
My whole body tenses when he doesn’t respond. I feel Estela return my side. “I have just asked your people why you don’t return to the surface.”
He grimaces and jerks his head to Tir’Suel’s lifeless form. “We all swore a blood oath to Teo’Likh that we would guard his secrets to the death. Some of us have tried to leave.” He waves a scarred hand. “If Suel caught someone trying to leave, he’d feed them to the sharks. If they tried to leave by themselves... Well, long story short—they’re all dead.”
He takes two more steps forward. “How did you get here?”
I swallow. “We live in old Enduvida. It is not far from here—there is a channel in the ground that put us directly over the ruins.”
The crippled Enduar’s mouth falls open. “That close?”
I nod. “What is your name, Soldier?”
He chews on his cheek. “I am called Si’Kirin, the animator of stone.”
The men around the enclosure are quiet, hanging on every word.
“Si’Kirin, would you accept my leadership?” I press.
“You intend to relieve us of our blood oath to your father and let us return to the surface?”
“I do,” I start. “But it comes at a price.”
Angry words break out all around us.
“What kind of price?” the Enduar who brought us in out of the water demands.
“Same question as Ner’Feon,” Si’Kirin calls.
Ner’Feon steps forward.
I draw in a deep breath. “There are less than three hundred Enduares left. We are at the beginning of a new war. We have come to retrieve an artifact my father stole from the elves to secure their allyship. If we were to bring you to the surface, you would be expected to fight.”
The men look around, murmuring. Another stands next to Si’Kirin and Ner’Feon.
