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“Hers or mine?” I asked, unsure. His questions were vague, and the way he looked at my mother, I saw the disgust under it. I wanted to step in front of her and kick him square in the chest for the audacity.

“Yours, of course. No need to know the Elguto’s name… not yet, anyway, hmm?” He huffed, pushing Martha’s face gently aside as he stared through me.

“Alexander,” I said, uncertain.

“And who are your parents?” he asked, one brow arched.

“That’s my mom, right there,” I said, pointing.

“LIES,” he bellowed, suddenly directly in front of me. He sniffed the air around me like a hound. “You are not of her blood. If you were, your scents would match.”

My heart kicked at the bluntness. I knew she wasn’t my mother biologically, but no one had ever stripped the word from her like that. My eyes narrowed, then dropped to Martha as my hand pressed to her back. Words tangled in my throat.

“I’ll give you one more chance. Lie again…and you’re no friend of mine. Now… WHAT is your name?” he demanded, impatient.

TAINTED| CHAPTER 20

Friend or Foe

He made my skin crawl with the way his voice rang through my ears. His questions about my lineage were reason enough to want to run back the way I came. I feared this type of speculation would surface, just not this soon. I couldn’t let the fear grip me. Relaxing the anxiety from my features, I replaced it with a cunning smile. My fangs caught the low light of the city, gleaming with warmth.

Bending down, I met his gaze, making sure his alien features took my face to memory. He was strange to look at. Not in a harsh way, but foreign. His face was all sharp cheekbones with a pixie-tilted nose. His mouth was hidden beneath a thick, silver-braided beard that left him more hair than face. “I’d like to be your friend. But friendship with me requires discretion,” I whispered, glancing at the silent ring of elves.

They had finally risen from their bows and stared at us with unblinking focus. The room felt compressed as my knees perched on the cobblestone. As if sensing the unnatural balance between the Orprus and me, my mother and Valentina flanked me. Each one of them laid a hand on my shoulder. Valentina’s touch sent that familiar calm through my muscles. My mother’s grip stayed firm, grounding. Each one of them provided me with something I needed in that moment. Stability.

Onlookers watched with curiosity as the silence stretched. But I didn’t miss the anger that lingered in some of their features or the cool indifference. I knew they were all waiting to see which judgment would fall. No one spoke. Only breath and the lull of heartbeats filled the air.

The Delatrus cocked his head, fleshy pink ears contracting. “Since when did the damned require discretion? How did you find us?” His voice was calm, with more youth than his companion’s.

I slid my hands over Valentina and my mother’s hand as I spoke, “We mean no harm. We only stumbled into your domain by accident.” It felt like a cliché to tell him we came in peace. It was all I had to offer. I kept my tone easy, trying to persuade him with the soft edge of charm.

The Orprus studied me, his strange eyes narrowing into slits. His left ear twitched against the side of his skull as he stole a glance at the Delatrus. Both of their ears were moving rapidly. It felt like some kind of silent communication because in the next moment, the Orprus tipped his staff toward the far entrance. “Rise, child.”

Rising to my feet, I gestured for Valentina and my mother to follow. The crowd remained still, sharp gazes tracking us as we walked. The courtyard felt heavy beneath my feet. The new mark branded across my skin warmed, tingling at the challenge. It was a strange warmth that lit up every sense in my body.

From ceiling to floor, their kingdom was carved from stone paths, packed earth, and roots. Massive walls were woven with thick tendrils from the trees above. Arches crossed the walkways, and at their peaks, oil lamps glowed gold. Vines and moss draped the city in lush green. Along the perimeter ran a sapphire trench. Its bed was lined with bioluminescent moss, so the water glowed, clearly highlighting the pebbles.

We kept the leaders’ pace. Their strides were short, given their size. I had to keep my own steps measured not to pass them. Once at the stairs, four guards stood at post. Two were at the base, and the others at the landing. Bronze armor adorned their bodies, etched with a tree. They had one wooden stave in hand, and each was the palest rose. The Orprus ascended first, the Delatrus behind him. The two at the top swung the doors wide for them to enter.

I followed after them without missing a beat. But when Valentina and my mother reached the landing, the guards crossed their staves over their chests, barring the way. My cloak snapped as I turned at the thud of wood. “They’re with me,” I snapped. The reckless part of me pictured kicking them off their post; the wiser part stayed my foot

Martha was the first to protest, reaching her hand through the parted staves. Before a finger could get through, that snapped them closed hard. “We should go with him,” my mother pleaded from behind the barrier, panic bright in her eyes.

Valentina squeezed her arm. “It’s quite all right. It must be a mistake,” she said, looking between the guards. Even in that moment, her soft voice hooked me. Her gaze flicked past me, up the stairs. Those small gestures told me everything and more. She wanted me to behave, and she had put her trust in me.

I followed it up the path to the elf looking down at us. The Delatrus watched with indifference I couldn’t match. His large ears twitched as he stroked his beard. “The women will stay. You sought an audience with our Orprus. Your companions will be seen to by our court.” He gestured to the waiting attendants. The way his eyes lingered on Valentina stoked heat up my spine; the mistrust in them was plain.

Taking another glance back at my party, I couldn’t help the unease that threatened my expression. The only thing that kept it from peaking was the calm pressed over the panic on my mother’s face. Val gave me a tight, serene smile. With a nod that said, “I’ll be fine,” she slipped her fingers through my mother’s. Martha’s brow stitched together, but she nodded, offering a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“We’ll be right here,” Val encouraged. Hesitating, I inclined my head and turned.

Up close, the Delatrus’s youth sharpened his features: high cheekbones, a small nose, eyes like pale lavender moons set in salmon-pink skin. Climbing the stairs slowly, I met him and let them lead me inside. The gates were solid gold and thick, not letting any onlookers view inside. Once in the massive court, the doors shut with a loud clank behind us.

Beyond the metal, the city gave way to a garden. All the life missing above seemed stolen and rooted here. Color burst from beds of flowers in tiers of red, orange, and yellow. Hedges, cut in crisp lines, framed a central dais where two thrones of white oak sat on a low platform of gold.

Robes whispering, the two followed the path to the dais. The Orprus took his seat; the Delatrus remained standing, leaving the second throne empty.

It wasn’t the throne room I’d imagined. There was no marble, no velvet, no dead kings on the walls. This was older. Wilder. A soft green moss carpeted the floor to the dais, and behind it rose a tree at least six meters high, branches vanishing into shadow overhead. How did they get a tree underground? Twin fountains flanked the thrones. In one, a stone king stood tall; in the other, a female elf was cast in flowing marble.