“My name is Ka’Prinn. As you may have guessed, no women live with us. Tell me of your strange consort.”
I grit my teeth, and a surge of protectiveness bubbles inside me. “This woman is my wife and your queen—she is not strange.”
“How did you come to mate with a human?” someone calls.
“We are dying out.”
“Would we be able to mate with humans as well?” Ka’Prinn asks.
“It is no different than before. Yes, but there must be a mating song.”
Ner’Feon strides forward, stopping a few paces before Estela and me. Vann also draws near, the blade glinting in hand, but the Enduar pays him no heed.
I stare at the Ner’Feon with an icy look, waiting for him to speak.
“You have bested our leader,” he says. “You are the rightful heir to the throne, and you have offered us a way out if we help you retrieve some treasure from the ruins and fight in a battle we knownothing about.”
“That is correct,” I say with a nod.
“It is a hefty fee.”
“You don’t seem to have much choice,” Vann chimes in.
Ner’Feon doesn’t even bother to look at him. “Will you swear a new blood oath to us, promising all that?”
I search his deep blue eyes and take a moment to ponder his question. The gravity of the situation weighs heavily on my shoulders.
I think it is a good choice,mi amor.?2
What if they hurt the humans?
A phantom hand brushes over my mind.We can keep them separate for a time—you yourself have asked them to fight for us. You aren’t the kind of man to leave your people down here to rot.
She’s right, for better or worse. It isn’t like they would immediately integrate into our people. They would need to survive yet another battle to kill the giant king.
With the decision made, another spark of warmth lights up in my chest. Our city will grow yet again. A part of me hopes it will continue to multiply until we fill the city once meant for a hundred thousand people.
“I will swear the oath,” I say at last.
Ner'Feon looks pleased and bends his knee, placing his hand over his heart in sign of fealty. "Then I accept you as our king."
All the others follow suit, some with more reservation than others. Si’Kirin eases himself down with the power of his stone bending and gives me an approving nod.
Vann appears at my side, pressing a knife into my hand. I look up at him, and he gives me a nod.
“I support your choice,” he murmurs as I hold the blade in my handle. He knows better than most the value of good soldiers.
I drag the sharp edge over my hand with every eye on me. I ignore the sting and let the blood pool before the Fuegorra canheal the wound. Then I hold my hand out, drawing on my powers.
The ground rumbles, and a column of stone appears before me. I let the drops of blood spill atop it.
“With Grutabela and Endu as my witnesses, I swear that I will bring you all out of the water and return you to our people's caves. In return, you will all be loyal to me and your queen. You will take us to find the artifact and fight alongside my army.”
Ner’Feon watches the blood seal our contract with a strange ferocity, then hits his chest once and starts to chant in the old language. The Fuegorra on their chests light up as the others join in, hitting their chests and bowing their heads in time with the beat.
The sound grows louder and louder. Estela slips her hand into mine, gazing upon the men as they swear their fealty. When the volume reaches its highest point, the chanting cuts off.
An eerie silence follows.
