Their memories lend me strength to cheat, steal, and borrow until we reach that great, illusive tomorrow. When we get there, my people’s hands will be clean. If I were asked if I regretted what happened to me, I would say no.
Let history judge me, as long as there are people to look back on this moment.
As my pen finishes, I begin to read aloud. It isn't until the end that Rholker reanimates his body.
Lothar looks over my words, and then passes them to the prince. "Once again, we would like to reiterate that if the peace between our peoples is broken at any time, then King Teo of the Enduares reserves the right to invoke the mountain to do his bidding."
He looks exhausted when he starts to read. “I see that the diamond trade will still continue strong. My father will be pleased.”
I wonder if this peace treaty really will have a good reception—his father must have put great trust in him to send in place of his brother. Unfortunately for King Erdaraj, Prince Rholker had underestimated me, thinking that I was like some giant in his court who would fall for his belligerence.
All this… for diamonds. It makes me wonder if there is something of greater value we are missing. The more that I think about the discussion, it wasn’t easy, but it was easier than I had anticipated.
My mind races with the next steps as Rholker signs the document. Vann will need to start sending information teams out to learn more. I’ll send Lothar to the elves to tell them of our treaty.
“My father thanks you for his new wall decoration,” Rholker says, gesturing to the basket with Tirin’s head.
I push back my seat hard enough for it to fall on the icy ground. “Tell the king to send his thanks in a letter. This meeting is over." I need to get out of here before I do something idiotic. There’s a funeral to prepare.
Chapter15
Emerald
ESTELA
Ishould not have followed Teo. While I creep around the tunnels leading out of Enduvida, I find myself standing in front of the exit in my betrothal dress.
The air has already gone icy, but I’ve come too far to turn away. My thoughts usually tell him where I am without wanting. It seems like he hears most of my louder thoughts, not general chatter. There has to be a way to stop that.
Before I take another step, I imagine closing the windows in my brain and focusing on keeping them shut while I walk toward the people talking. It hurts my head, but if it works, I am happy to suffer. Not far outside of the entrance, positioned atop the snowy ground is a tent. It is deep brown, the color of forest deer, and I freeze in my tracks. That belongs to a giant. I hurry over, kneeling at the side of the thick tent’s flap. The breeze pushes the leather open, providing a generous gap for me to peer through.
"Use my sword," the slimy, deep voice of the Second Prince says. I freeze. The king had told me that they would come with a decision.
My grip on the windows of my mind loosens. The ice beneath my feet disappears, replaced with flashes of a large, wooden bedroom. Rholker’s large bed. I’d known that it was time for him to pick a comfort woman as his wedding gift, but I also had known his father denied his request to choose me.
He couldn’t stand being told no. I’d tried to hide in the lumber fields, but he came anyway. We didn’t make it far in his room before they came for me.
And now I am here. Wearing a pretty dress and sleeping alone.
As quietly as possible, I move closer to the door and look inside. Several giant warriors are watching the prince and the king who stand near where I sit.
"He will die by my own weapon,” Teo says before having his hunter kneel. Enduares don’t age the same as humans, but this one looks young.
The king raises his arms. I can’t believe he would do something like this as he’s been kind to his people. Just an hour ago, he was laughing and hugging them.
Then his glinting golden sword comes down in a smooth arc. I can’t see the body anymore, but the sound of the head falling and the smell of blood are confirmation enough.
Murderer. He told me he was gentle, that he cared for his people and protected them. How can I trust a word out of his mouth when he would kill in secret? I turn in the snow and start running back to the cave’s entrance. My feet get tangled up in my dress and I stumble into one of the walls.
It seems you have gotten better at hiding your thoughts,King Teo says, and I hold tighter onto my mind while I untangle myself and start running again.
At the base of the tunnel, an Enduar calls out to me. “My lady!”
I don’t answer, just keep running. Past the vestiges of the feast, over the bridge with the eternal flames at the bottom, back up the endless steps to the palace.
As I shut the door to my room, I sink to the ground. He told me he wouldn’t come into my room again. But he lied. Will he go back on his word and use me like he used that man?
“Please, please don't let them come for me," I whisper to myself, the words barely audible amidst my sobs. I don't trust myself to think in this moment.