Chapter8
Wulfenite
TEO
Mother Liana and the six council members that lead Enduvida stand around my throne. Dozens of scrolls have been brought from the royal library, detailing the end of war agreement that ended the war and the laws we established while settling in Enduvida. Each Enduar wears varying degrees of anger on their faces.
“The laws stating that we would not house humans in the mountains were made nearly thirty years ago, following the Great War. Surely you can understand why we would want to revise them given the situation,” I say, my head pounding. I’ve hardly slept in the last two days.
Estela must be watched and refuses to let me anywhere near her. It is nonsense—she nearly died after the abomination started biting her. It was hours of work to ensure that all of the black liquid was out of her system.
It has put me in a foul mood.
Lord Lothar, the one in charge of the hunters, studies the scroll in his hands. “The ceasefire issued at the war’s end clearly laid out the terms for our continued peace. Humans were enslaved to the giants long before we ever started fighting, and they were able to retain them to ensure a successful rebuild of their society after a significant population decrease. Both you and the elf king agreed not to join the slave trade to prevent further destruction. We have been walking a line by pretending to kill them when they visit our mountain—taking a human to become our queen would be a violation according to our current agreement since it could be interpreted you entered the slave trade by winning her in a drinking game.”
Liana lifts her eyebrows. “Come now, that’s hardly entering a slave trade. That was a friendly bet the tree vermin lost.”
I shift on the broken throne, avoiding the jagged bits of the stone. “I am inclined to agree. She has been freed.”
Svanna snorts. “Free? Can she leave the mountain?”
I scowl at her. “In time. When she realizes that we are mates.”
The tall woman shifts her braid to display her mating mark. “Do you think that it is what works in a partnership? I heard your father was possessive of his queen, but I thought you wished to rule with a more steady hand.”
“Does your mating to Iryth not bind you two together?” I ask, straightening my back.
She shrugs. “Who knows what matehood really is? Is it attraction? Compatibility? All I know is that Iryth has loved and protected my heart from the moment we recognized each other. Does this human woman feel safe and loved, locked in the queen’s suite?”
My mouth falls open. “It is only until she heals.”
Vann, who usually follows my lead in all, is the angriest of all. “Respectfully, sire, you allow yourself to be ruled by the deadliest of all emotions—hope and guilt. They all need to leave before the giants return.”
I shake my head. “The human woman is my mate, and we did not steal the others. The giants left them behind. Is that not a gray area?”
Lothar nods. “I would say so.”
Everyone falls quiet once more until Svanna steps forward. “But how do you expect to care for them? Our skin doesn’t require sunlight. We are stronger than they are. Their eyesight isn’t suited to our dim caverns long term.”
Liana shakes her head. “While we are bigger, one of our greatest is the Fuegorra crystals. We have already successfully implanted one in the small human, and I have seen drastic improvements. We can offer the ceremony to all the others. I think the question that this all comes down to is: are we willing to turn away a potential group of mates for our people when our numbers are dwindling? Ulla, how many births have we had in the twenty years.”
Ulla, in charge of healers, singers, and cooks, purses her lips. “Twenty three.”
Vann shakes his head. “You put too much faith in the stones. If we deplete our bloodline, who’s to say that we could survive under the mountain.”
“You speak like a troll, not an Enduar,” I say.
His eyes narrow, and I see him rub the stubs of his missing fingers.
There’s a tightness in my stomach. “Our population is indeed collapsing. We are going quiet into the dark night of death while we grow older, knowing the enormous burden we are placing on our children. This is a chance to fight for our future. Are we really such awful, selfish creatures as to reject that possibility because of bigotry?”
Vann’s face turns purple. “Are you accusing me of bigotry because I don’t want humans to die under this mountain? Or because I don’t want to violate a treaty that has ensured the meager peace we’ve clung to? This city is already a tomb.”
Lady Fira, the oldest of the advisors, speaks up. “The earth is a tomb to our ancestors, Vann. You say the king speaks of guilt, but you are as dead as your betrothed. You wish us all the same fate.” There’s a deadly silence, but she looks at me. “I stand with you, my king. While some might reject the words of a lowly weaver, I also speak as an Elder in your court. I would rage against the darkness before I let it take me to Vidalena.”
“And if we die before we get enough humans to fill our cities?” Vann says.
I growl. “Lord Vann, see reason. Ulla, may I see the census record?”