Minor, Cursed One scoffs.
“And you are lying, untrustworthy scum,” I shoot back. I had meant to keep my cool, but the first time being alone with him since arriving is making the ugly emotions I’ve been storing inside me bubble up again.
He freezes. “This again?”
“We welcomed you into our home. You took advantage of the kindness offered freely, from the king and queen, from the Enduares and humans as a whole, from Ulla,” I spit out.
He narrows his eyes at me. “A place to stay and food to eat is quite literally the least that could’ve been done. Do not pretend that the Enduares do not have their own prejudices. They view humans as a gift, but elves have a long history with them. It is not a gift to be met with mistrust as a whole.”
I bite my lips shut, remembering that I had read just that in several scrolls. In my time going through the royal library, I can’t pretend that there weren’t several xenophobic statements and ideas, either hidden in metaphor or declared plainly.
It wasn’t right; it is something we fight with as we integrate older members of the race back into our people.
Damnit. I am feeling something for Thorne’s position.
But…
“Unkindness and a lack of welcome or proper manners don’t justify the idea that you would wipe out an entire people.”
“The Enduares and Enduvida were never in any real danger. Think of it, there are now around eight thousand souls living in acity that once housed well over a hundred thousand. Think of all the elves you’ve met so far. The Sisterhood. Shvathemar. That charming city in the mountains that tries to hide from Arion’s eye. There are millions of us, like the stars in the sky and the leaves in the forest. I knew the king only wanted you, as the great experiment to see how quickly an heir could be produced. I knew that if we threatened you with war, you would eventually come, with the help of the curse, and bring the tracker. You have too much of a heart to say no.”
So it was all…for nothing? I stand there, a little dumbfounded. I had known I was a pawn.
But this goes beyond that. I feel stupid. I feel manipulated. There was a long period of my life when I believed that the best part of me was my heart. It is my strength. The thing that keeps me sane even through the worst of times.
Now, I feel the pull of cynicism. I feel those bits of myself slipping away, and if my goodness is not a foundation upon which to build a life, then who am I?
I curse the week spent alone on the boat ride over here. I curse the time that has slowly but surely shifted my mind. Once I saw certain things, certain ideas in a new light, I couldn’t seem to go back.
“So you have used my conscience against me.”
He smiles. “Now you see why it is much better to do without one. As far as the elves knew, the Enduares would die out in a hundred years more, and then we would be free to claim the remnants of ruined cities. The gems, the machines, the weapons, they would all be for us.”
My head spins. “When Teo reached out to make an alliance, he spoke about how elves had long favored relationships with the Enduares over giants. I thought that meant that your people, particularly because of the long-held belief of your species being kin somewhere in the distant past, would soften their demeanor toward us.”
“I highly suggest you eliminate the words ‘our,’ ‘we,’ and ‘my’ when you refer to the Enduares, for the longevity of your time here.” When I don’t respond to his attempt to deflect, onevery clearly veiled in a threat, Thorne shrugs and sits down on the upholstered bench at the foot of my massive bed.
“And to answer your question, that was when the Enduares posed a real threat. There is power in numbers, and the giants had the one thing that the Enduares could never really offer: humans.” Thorne smooths the fabric of his pant leg. “What did King Teo really promise? A handful of humans for matehood?
“Elves do not care about matehood anymore. We haven’t in centuries. Even before the eruption wiped out entire cities where women and children were being safe-housed during the war, matings became rare. And now? There are too few women left. Who cares about love or divine blessings? We need children—a new generation.”
I blink. “So you wish to enslave us, too?”
“No, not at all. Arion worked with Rholker, as I’m sure you remember with stark clarity. We saw how you were treated like animals raised for their meat. The living conditions sound dreadful, in particular. Along with the punishments.” He grimaces. “Some of you may become trades workers, but most of your women will have a good life. We wish to marry you off to the most affluent families, and then you will be given titles, places, homes to run, and families to care for. Men and women alike.”
My head swims with facts about women in Shvathemar. Perhaps the titled men would find it easier to navigate this world, but women were not allowed to be seen without their husbands’ permission. They were rarely allowed to pursue careers, and when they were, the choices were seldom their own. Just like my ladies-in-waiting.
Among these women, some might find bliss in such a life. I knew that to be the case even in my own life.
But…with the Enduares, men and women alike had control over their homes, their partnerships, their lives, and their bodies.
In marrying Arion, it is already very clear to me that my body belongs to him, and not in some way that might be considered a romantic gesture of submission. He will not belong to me at all, but I will be his.
“You promise there are no humans enslaved here?”
He doesn’t pause. “None.”
I bite my lip. “If you think that marriage is a step up from the cruelty of living through slavery, then you would be correct. However, it is only marginally better, and for some women, maybe even some men, it may be just as bad.”