The woman snorts. "Is that what you think? I know that you aren’t delighted with being mated, but you are to him what he is to you. You think that he cannot forgive attempted murder by his mate? Ma’Teo could forgive much worse if you gave him a reason to.”
I roll my eyes, but the truth is, her words give me pause. I do not hate him as I should. As I have tried to. It seems that he is also my weakness.
“Ma’Teo?” I ask. “Is that his full name?”
She purses her lips. “It is an old way we trolls used to refer to each other.”
Interesting, but she doesn’t expand so I turn to her and meet her gaze. "What is it you want from me?"
"For you to see reason and forgive Ma’Teo for the things he cannot control. You act as if he did this to you," she replies, without missing a beat. "Do you know that his father trained him from the time he was old enough to walk to kill one person—the Giant Queen Lijasa. He became the Butcher, as you so awfully call him, after that.”
I stare at her for a moment, trying to comprehend her words. “What do you mean?”
“He won’t tell you. He would prefer to forget that entire part of his life. The Giant King killed Teo’s mother in battle, and he was sent to deal with Lijasa. She had taken an interest in the Enduares, and she bedded him for a year before he could kill her.”
I stumble back, shocked. I had told him that he could never change, that he was stuck as the evil sovereign I believed him to but… but Teo has as much reason to hate the giant royals as me.
Liana steps forward and grabs my shoulder. “Ma’Teo was punished for the Enduares losing the capital Iravida, for reasons only the king knows, and she was his punishment. Now he is given something real? And you can’t even stand to look at him?” Her words are firm, if not a little unkind.
The woman's eyes are soft when I look up at her. "You are still new to this world, so I will speak plainly. Some might say that the king deserves nothing from you, but I understand the complexities of life much better. You were also taken from your family. This change is not something I expect from you this exact moment—nor do I think it will be easy to attain. But I believe if you take the time to understand and heal what is between you and the king, it will be… rewarding. For both of our peoples."
I am still stunned, working through everything I know about the man. Every interaction is stretched out before me for me to examine with this new lens. He was afraid. Hoping for family.
Frustrated, I pick up a tunic and start to fold.
“In my culture, I am something of a—” she takes a moment to find the right words, “prophetess. I see things with my magic. We need a queen, and your people need liberation.”
She smirks when I stop folding a fur tunic and turn to look at her.
“Yes, you haven’t thought of that, have you? Gods,that man tells you too little.Peace is why Ma’ Teo had to kill Tirin. With a peace treaty, we can allow your people to live under our mountain. Think of the ballads which will be written about you. Once slaves, until a human became queen of a well-feared race? We would have half-human heirs.”
Anger raises up inside of me. I don’t want more children right now, I already have Mikal. “A human queen of a pitiful, hated race?”
Her silver eyes flash toward me, full of irritation. “I have seen the future, Estela, and I have seen glimpses of the present. You can’t tell me you still believe those lies.”
I place the tunic on the table and step toward her, still feeling queasy. “Your people devastated the elves, giants, humans, and Enduares in the last war.”
She crosses her arms again, effectively making dozens of crystals hanging off of her body create a musical tinkle. “King Teo’s father did.”
I keep going. “He nearly wiped out his own people. Look at how many of you there are!”
It’s almost possible to hear her grind her teeth. “You believe you are making a profound point, but you do not know us. Would you judge an entire people for the actions of one very dead madman? This is why Teo changed our court’s name.”
I freeze. My mouth hangs open with a rebuttal on my tongue.
Satisfied with her effect on me, she continues. “Do you understand that the bond between a mated pair is not something to be taken lightly? It is rare and precious, and when it's between a human and an otherworldly being like the king, it is even more significant. If the king can be mated to you, others can be mated as well. In fact, they are finding mates. Our people will be saved."
I raise an eyebrow, skeptical. “This only seems beneficial for you.” Humans are little more than chattel. We are worthless. Our masters don’t even care if we live or die. Even saying the phrase makes me sound more regal than I am.
“You are a short-sighted thing. With that crystal in your chest, you will live longer. It will heal you when you are sick, and with time, you will grow strong,” she says.
I look down at my arms, my feet. All of my wounds are healed. Sure, there are scars, but physically speaking, I have never felt better.
Before I have a chance to respond, she continues, “I will teach you how to be a queen, and you can lead our people to fighting for a better world.” She’s clearly spent a lot of time thinking about what she wanted to say, because she removes a scroll from her robes and hands it to me.
“What is this?” I ask tentatively as I reach out and take it.
She quirks an eyebrow. “I have written down my thoughts on the matter. A gift, if you will. Don’t worry, it is written in the common tongue.”