Another flash lights up the crystal near my bed that my councilors use to communicate with me, and I extricate my arm from under her head as gently as I can. Though she stirs again, she never fully comes awake, not even as I wash away grime and sweat, change my clothes, and fix my hair. It has been long since my own fingers wove my braid. I wish to stay in this room, to tell her of what I have seen, but instead, I open the door.
As I quietly close the door behind me and hurry out, I find Lothar waiting for me with a grim expression.
“Lord Lothar,” I say, almost surprised to see him after so long healing.
He dips into a bow. “My King, I hope you are well. There has been a problem with two of the new Enduares.”
I groan, memories of yesterday rushing back.
They led us to the chasm where we found the artifact. Endu must’ve sent them back with us. “What now?”
Lothar shifts his weight to his good leg. “They awoke an hour ago, and they have already scared the children and some of the humans by running naked through the tunnel to… hunt.”
“Gods-damn them all. Where are they?” I demand.
He nods and leads me through the halls toward the throne room.
I sweep in, tail swishing, and my eyes narrow as I look at them, seated on stone chairs, wearing nothing. They seem unaffected even though seven hunters point their weapons at their throats.
Vann is there, bearing his familiar cleaver and scowling.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I shout at them.
Ka’Prin looks up at me. “You knew that our clothes were mostly destroyed underwater. You saw our stained camps…”
“There are plenty of clothes in Enduvida; you could’ve asked someone.”
Ner’Feon frowns. “We tried to ask the human women you told us of, but they did not understand our words even though we spoke in the common tongue.”
I press my palm to my forehead. We had no time to discuss the same measures I’ve been careful to implement with the others in my court, but I can already imagine what a woman would think with a tall blue creature skulking around with glinting knives and ball sacks hanging low.
“I am sure there were clothes in the house you were taken to,” I insist.
The two of them glance at each other.
“We wanted to catch a kill for our first meal—to show our usefulness to the court. Perhaps to catch the eye of one of these women you say we can mate with. They are… small. Like your bride,” Ka’Prinn says.
I groan, but he isn’t finished.
The Enduar curls his lip. “Humans are ugly in many ways. Strange.”
“Not strange,” I growl.
Ka’Prinn continues, “Then soft.They will bear us small younglings, and their… overabundance will soon dilute our race. It is disappointing to spend my life serving your father’s orders only to be rewarded with a half-meal.”
They want strength and power. Dominance.
I walk forward, slam my fist into his face, and use the same aching fist to grab his braid and yank it back.
Hiseyes flash.
“First. Keep your poison inside your body where it can only hurt you. You don’t speak to the humans, nor will you ever breathe those words in any inch of Enduvida. Those humans have been treated poorly by the hands of men—giants and humans alike. They have become our people, and I’ll die before we add Enduares to that list.”
Then I switch back and forth between Ka’Prin and Ner’Feon.
“Second, you will be clothed at all times that you are in a shared public space. Third, no hunting unless you coordinate with Lord Lothar.” I jerk my head to the man at the side.
Lothar steps forward. “I lead the hunters.”
