I grit my teeth at the word, and Mrath looks at Teo.
“What say you, Enduar King?”
Teo meets her eye. “We will support you in this, Mrath. We are grateful for all you have done for us in the past.”
The corner of her mouth curls up. “Excellent. I will also expect soldiers in case we need to fight, and at least one other person to accompany my closest assassins. If we are allies, I expect you to be fully integrated into this plan.”
Teo takes a deep breath and nods again. “Very well. I will need to speak with my council about who might be a good fit to attend.”
“I will go,” Liana says suddenly.
Everyone turns to look at her, the confusion clear.
She shrugs. “It has been a long time since I’ve left the caves. Vann and I are old friends. There won’t be a problem keeping tabs on each other.”
Mrath smiles again. “Excellent. Then I shall have one of my mages prepare the magical seed for Arlet. It will be ready latertonight. We shall meet tomorrow to finalize the details of the squadron. Lord Vann—” She turns to me. “I wish you luck in finding your mate, but your priority must be the seed. Elder Trees do not part with fruit easily.”
I blink rapidly, still silent. I look around the room, suddenly exhausted and feeling as though the weight of responsibility has washed over me in strong waves.
Once Mrath is gone, I am vaguely aware of Teo asking for a moment alone, which is granted instantly. Queen Estela squeezes my arm before leaving, offering a warm smile and a gentle, “We are so glad you are all right.”
Then it is just the two of us, standing in the council room.
“What happened to you?” he asks. I hear the exhaustion in his voice, too, and feel bad.
“I am sorry I didn’t tell you before I left. I just…I needed to make sure she was safe,” I say.
“I’m surprised you stopped here instead of heading straight to the elven capital.”
I purse my lips. “I almost didn’t.”
Teo nods. “That sounds like you—loyal to a fault.”
He gazes past me, and I feel him draw distant. “Arlet is your mate. I swear, I always wondered. How did it finally surface?”
I take a deep breath. “There are things I haven’t been honest about with you.”
The crystals glitter and sparkle around us, providing a nice distraction as Teo’s eyes cut through me.
“What does that mean?”
“It means…that long ago I made a bargain with the human witch who used to perform services outside of Iravida. It was before I intended to pledge my life to Adra.”
Teo leans against the table, finally relieving me of that piercing stare.
“What did you bargain?”
I stare at him. A lifetime of friendship and trust. This is the one thing that I have kept to myself—the one thing I never really allowed him to know.
“I gave away my heart so I would be unburdened by the fear of finding a mate in the future. I wanted to give my life, whatever was left of it and whatever form it took, to Adra.”
Teo doesn’t say anything for a moment. He doesn’t turn to look at me.
“For half your life, you have lived like this? Heartless? How? Has it not…hurt you?”
I soften at the concern in his voice. “I…was not hurt. Numb, perhaps. But not hurt. The magic was strong.”
He shakes his head. “That is the scar on your chest. Good hell, it looks as though you were run through with a stake.”