Chapter17
Onyx
TEO
It was impossible to sleep last night, so I went to visit Liana.
Your mate is still learning our ways. Give her time,she had said. As if I hadn’t been spending every waking hour since she’d arrived trying to ensure her people were well cared for.
I stare at my mate through the window in the hallway between our rooms. I stand frozen as I watch her cry on her bed. It makes me nauseous to see her tears.
The betrayal stings. It’s like I can feel the pull of our destiny and the anger warring within me. It is a mess in the queen's suite.
I should have known better than to leave her without supervision.
Endu curse me for thinking that she was resting after what she saw in that meeting room. Why wouldn’t she want to kill me? I beheaded one of my own men and she had no idea why.
The evidence of her poison crafting is everywhere, on the table, the ground, the wall. She was trying to kill me so that she could be free. Some part of me is impressed at her strength and ruthlessness—both good qualities for a queen.
If my nose couldn't detect the sour smell in the air, as potent as her anxiousness, I would be dead right now. And yet, all I can think is that it must be a gaping wound for her to be forced to be here with me.
It seems that the only solution to her pain is retrieving her brother as soon as possible, a complicated task because it is tied up in the tentative peace I have with the giants.
It is time to reach out to the elves. I turn on my heel and leave her to her tears.
Walking to my study, I think of what she said in the Parting Cave.Take this stone out of me.I glimpsed her pain through our bond—and it was awful. She is a wounded animal acting out of instinct.
As I cross the threshold, I find Vann studying a scroll. He looks up at me. "You left the feast quickly with the human. Everything all right?"
“The human’s name is Estela," I say gruffly. “And she will be your queen in a week.”
Vann nods, understanding in his eyes. "Estela," he repeats. "I heard the word mate on your lips as you left. Does she know?"
"Know what?" I ask, just to be petulant.
"That your destinies are tied together from now until eternity," he clarifies, not without a heavy dose of sarcasm. I know his wounds run deep after his betrothed died with the rest of our people, but it is hard to speak to him about my heart when he’s like this.
I take a deep breath. “It’s complicated.”
"Complicated?" he echoes.
“If I tell you the truth, you must swear to never tell another and accept my choice,” I say.
His eyebrows shoot up. “Now you must tell me.”
I shake my head. “Swear it.”
He holds up his left hand. “I swear on my parents’ watery graves.”
"She tried to poison me," I say, my tone clipped.
Vann's mouth falls open in surprise. "What?" he exclaims. "Why would she do such a thing?"
"She saw me behead Tirin," I explain.
"Hmm," he huffs. "What choice did you have? These humans are infuriating. Irresponsible, ungrateful."
I narrow my eyes at him, studying his neck which is covered by his tunic. “You promised to accept my choice. I told Liana about it, and she helped me see clearly. If you had recognized a mate, you would feel differently.”