by Eric Vall
“That is not all,” Pyrs cut in, but Aeris interrupted him as he raised his voice.
“Not only did Mason Flynt break this contract by failing to deliver what he promised,” Aeris continued, “but he stole countless artifacts from House Aelin while I offered him my greatest hospitality. Half of the jewels of Hilel are missing, along with several volumes of sacred runic texts. I have it on good authority he violated three of my servants, and he stole every piece of metal from my reserves, along with nearly a dozen Halcyan blades before he suddenly disappeared with Miss Deya.”
I managed to rein in my scoff, but I narrowed my eyes at the pretentious leader as he lifted his chin indignantly.
“He deceived me into believing he would assist my House while I entertained Miss Deya,” Aeris told Luir, “but he clearly devised the entire arrangement in order to infiltrate House Aelin and rob me of our most sacred possessions while gaining forbidden knowledge from my personal library.”
Pyrs nodded his hearty agreement. “I received him at House Pree as well,” he said hastily. “The mage flew into a fit of rage and turned his powers against me. He destroyed half of my palace and countless works of art. My sons attempted to fend him off, but even they were not strong enough to counter the mage. I believe he would have killed us all had it not been for my own guards. They arrived just in time and dragged him away, but--”
“How?” Luir interrupted, and I couldn’t help but smirk. “His powers … were hindered?”
This time I nearly laughed out loud at the expression on Aeris’ face, and he looked ready to slap his counterpart as he sighed and looked toward the wall.
“They were,” Pyrs lied. “We were able to shackle him, but four of my guards were slain in the effort.”
I raised my brows and glanced at the head of House Orrel to see how much of this he was buying, but his hollow stare was as blank as ever.
The Baroness however had a subtle smirk on her face.
“How fortunate for you,” she said to Pyrs. “I hope they were not metal shackles?”
Pyrs blanched. “R-rope,” he managed. “His hands were tied with rope once we realized we could not contain him.”
“Was the damage reparable?” the Baroness continued, and she almost sounded bored.
“Completely irreparable,” the leader assured her with a deep frown. “He’s left some sort of enchantment on the rubble. After much deliberation, my guards and I have concluded he must have coerced an elf into imparting further secrets of rune magic on him and has used this power against us as we feared he would.”
Luir drew a long breath. “Who?” he wheezed.
“Dragir,” Aeris cut in without pause. “The mage has made an arrangement with the boy in exchange for his assistance against House Syru’s army, but I do not doubt he will kill Dragir when he’s gotten all that he needs. We cannot take this lightly any longer. Mason Flynt has become a threat to our very way of life.”
Luir was silent for a long moment, and we all waited as his lungs gurgled with every slow breath.
“Is that … all you wish … to say?” he finally asked.
The two Elite leaders looked taken aback, and I couldn’t decide who they wanted to kill more at the moment, me or the head of House Orrel.
Aeris recovered quickly, though, and he made his way forward to mount the few steps leading to the stone table.
“I wish it were,” he said solemnly, “but there is more at stake. Mason Flynt has been casting himself as the personal guard to Miss Deya, but my own scouts witnessed a skirmish between him and the father, wherein the mage was banned from House Quyn entirely. My dear friend, Miss Deya is in grave danger, and I fear Mason Flynt and his women have arranged to abduct her when he is finished wreaking havoc on our nation.”
My pulse quickened, and I watched Luir’s expression for any hint of a reaction, but the sallow cheeks and withering lips remained unreadable as Aeris continued.
“I observed him closely while he was with us at House Aelin,” he told Luir in a low voice. “On countless occasions, the mage exhibited unrestrained lust for Miss Deya, and two of my servants reported spotting them together in the middle of the night. They were walking hand in hand without supervision, and he was later seen leaving her room in the early morning. Miss Deya was incapacitated for the rest of the day, and she was forced to remain with the armed women at every moment following this circumstance.”
Luir nodded slowly but didn’t respond, and Aeris pressed further.
“Mason Flynt’s insatiability will mar our nation if we do not protect Miss Deya at all costs,” he assured the leader. “She is but three short years from fulfilling her duty to Nalnora, and unfortunately, Qiran’s foolishness has endangered the poor girl. He has been deceived, as have we all. Deya is not safe in the mage’s presence, and unless you are willing to risk the unspeakable, we must act without delay. We can only hope it is not too late.”
The Baroness narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied Aeris’ face, and Pyrs began fidgeting with his rings as he waited for any sign of life from the head of House Orrel.
My palms began to sweat, and I wondered if anyone had actually caught sight of me and Deya, or if Aeris had blindly stumbled into the truth. No one had been in the halls that night when Deya and I discussed her necklace and the great wars. The beautiful elf would have easily heard them since we were speaking quietly the whole way to her room.
But I did trip right over Aeris’ sons after ravaging Deya for half the night.
I took a few steps closer while Luir wheezed on, and my tension only mounted while he stared silently at the tabletop.
Finally, he drew a long breath.
“When?” he asked, and my gut dropped.
Aeris looked sickeningly pleased, however, and a greedy grin came to his face.
“At your discretion of course, my dear friend,” he sneered. “Pyrs and I trust you entirely to deliver justice as it is due.”
Luir gave a shaky nod, and Aeris bowed so low his hooked nose grazed the stone table.
I remained exactly where I stood while the two Elite leaders kissed ass a bit longer before departing, and once the room was cleared of everyone but the Baroness and the head of House Orrel, the leader spoke.
“Where did Deya sleep?” he asked the Tenebrae Mage.
Nulena stroked her long black hair absentmindedly.
“I do not know,” she said in a low voice. “The two women were not in the room when I entered.”
My fury ignited as I eyed the careless woman, and I fought the urge to strangle her right there.
I took a steadying breath and slowly made my way to the door instead, and I listened to Luir’s rattling breath at my back while I feared his next response.
His voice was a gravely growl when he spoke again.
“Bring me Mason Flynt,” he ordered.
The Baroness nodded and rose from her place at his side, and I waited beside the doors while she practically strolled across the chamber.
Her two-toned eyes were cryptically blank, and her hips swayed methodically without concern. As she parted the doors, I fell in step behind her, and I silently followed the obscure woman through the halls of students and out to the domed entrance of House Orrel.
Then the Baroness closed the entrance doors at her back, and I caught her by the throat to pin her against the stonework before she could take another step.
Her eyes flared with panic, and as she grappled and found my arm, I slid the pendant from my neck.
Nulena stared in disbelief for only a split second before she let out a seductive chuckle, and her two-toned eyes looked up at me hungrily.
“I missed you, too,” she purred.
“How long have you been spying on us?” I demanded.
The Baroness curled her lips into a coy smile. “You’re pretty when you sleep.”
I tightened my hold on the woman, but it was clear she was only enjoying the punishment, so I roughly released her and pulled my gun instead.<
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With the barrel leveled against her temple, the Baroness finally cooled off, and she scanned the copper dome above us as she spoke in a low voice.
“I would be careful, Mason Flynt,” she warned. “You never know who might be watching.”
“No shit,” I growled. “How long have you been following us?”
The Baroness smirked again and pushed herself from the wall at her back, and she seemed unconcerned with the fact that my finger was taut on the trigger.
“How about you follow me?” she said.
I narrowed my eyes.
“One wrong move,” I warned, and I lowered my arm to my side. I kept the revolver trained on the Baroness’ back as she led me off toward the dock, and I noticed a spark in the air around us as we neared the lagoon.
When we came closer to the elf who sat on the rotted wood beside the water, an invisible veil sifted across my skin much like Deya’s. This time, no runes were whispering in my ear though, and I recognized the sensation of the Tenebrae Mage’s powers engulfing me.
We passed the dock undetected and followed along the bank of the lagoon into the jungles west of House Orrel, and the Baroness walked as if she were only taking a leisurely stroll through the woods.
I kept my aim at her back while she trailed her inky fingers along the trunks we passed, and after a while, I heard the voices of my women ahead. They were waiting for me right where they said they would, and it shouldn’t have surprised me that the Baroness knew where to find them.
Nulena came to a stop only feet away from the four women, and none of them heard us arrive as they continued to tell Deya about the Naga we’d fought in the north.
The beautiful elf cringed as they detailed the rotting stench of their milky white flesh, and I prodded the Baroness with the barrel.
She sent a little smirk over her shoulder before the veil around us lifted, and the four women screeched when we appeared out of nowhere.
Cayla had the rifle cocked and aimed before I could blink, but when she saw me with my revolver in hand, she lowered the gun only an inch.
“What is she doing here?” the princess demanded as she looked down her barrel at the Baroness.
“Mason Flynt is upset with me,” Nulena said in a sultry voice.
“What did she do?” Aurora asked, and she raised her flaming fingers at the ready.
“She’s been spying on us for Luir,” I informed them and came to their sides while I kept my aim. “She just gave us up.”
The Baroness raised her brows. “Did I?” she asked coolly. “I thought that was Aeris’ doing.”
“She came to your room last night,” I told Deya, “and she told the head of House Orrel neither of you were there. Aeris came to convince Luir to kill me for the sake of protecting you, and he agreed.”
Deya’s face paled with fear as her limbs began to tremble. “But … we weren’t with you,” she breathed. “We weren’t. We were at the library, I can … I can tell him, I don’t care if he knows about the books, I’ll--”
“It won’t matter,” I assured her as the Baroness dragged her eyes along the beautiful elf’s heaving breasts. “Aeris told him I was seen leaving your room at House Aelin. Apparently, my women are keeping you in line, and I’m a thieving maniac with a bad temper. Oh, and I have a shitty appetite for his servants as well.”
“He … believed that?” Deya asked incredulously.
I nodded.
“Bitch,” Aurora hissed, and the inky woman looked as if her feelings were actually hurt.
“Why do you blame me?” she asked the half-elf innocently. “I was not at House Aelin. I did not say any of these things. I did not even acknowledge that I knew you when you arrived.”
“No,” I agreed. “You just stalked us all over Nalnora and reported Deya’s whereabouts to ensure my throat gets slit.”
The Baroness dropped her innocent façade, and she crossed her arms as she appraised me with her two-toned eyes.
“I was asked a question by a man who values my word,” she said, and her voice was icy. “Yes, I answered the question, but you and I both know Luir needs you more than he wants to kill you … for now. He will summon you and perhaps he will threaten your life. Perhaps he will not. What you do after that is not my concern, but I assure you I have not worked to bring harm to you. You are my friend.”
I scowled at the endearment. “Like hell I am,” I growled. “Onym’s allies think I murdered him because of you. Luir thinks Deya spent the night with me because of you. For all I know, you’re working with every House in Nalnora right now, but you’ve damn sure been sitting in the shadows as often as possible listening in on what we say and do.”
The Baroness grinned. “I have heard many things since I came to Nalnora,” she said smoothly. “Some of them have been rather profitable, some have cost men their lives. There are plenty of secrets in this land, Mason Flynt. I am simply the one who decides which ones are kept.” Nulena’s two-toned eyes took on a deathly cast. “Dragir’s rune, for example. Depending on how much longer you point that weapon at me, I might be inclined to keep this particular secret to myself. Along with your little thief’s kinky appetite.”
The Baroness glanced at Deya, and she lightly clicked her stark white teeth together with a seductive grin.
Deya blushed as her violet eyes widened, and Aurora stepped forward.
“Or I could kill you now,” she decided, but the Baroness swiftly raised her inky palm.
Aurora stumbled to a stop and clutched at her eyes.
Then she staggered back and reached out blindly. “I … I can’t hear,” she gasped. “I can’t see.”
I quickly pulled the half-elf against me, and she grabbed ahold of me as her breath began to quicken.
“Undo it,” I ordered of the Tenebrae Mage.
“If she’ll play nice with me,” Nulena purred.
Shoshanne quickly raised her palm before I could respond, and the Baroness eyed the Aer Mage for only a split second before Aurora was promptly released.
“What the fuck,” the half-elf hissed as she recovered and unsheathed her sword, but I locked her in my arm.
“Enough,” I told the Baroness. “Who are you working for?”
“A friend,” she said, and her tone made the hair on my neck stand on end. “But this conversation is no longer a private one.”
The Baroness took a few steps back as she flicked her two-toned eyes to the trees above.
“It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mason Flynt,” she said with a sultry smile. “Luir will meet with you now.”
Chapter 12
I told the women to wait for me while I went to meet with the head of House Orrel, but aside from Deya, they were having none of it.
“I don’t want to see him,” the beautiful elf insisted.
Aurora hooked her arm in Deya’s and spoke barely louder than a whisper. “It will look worse if you don’t go,” she told her.
Deya gave a worried nod, and I slipped her pendant into her hand before we all proceeded to follow the Baroness back toward the lagoon.
The elf on the dock paid no attention to us as we passed, and we wove along the mossy path that led to the domed entrance of the house.
I could hear Aurora muttering quietly to Deya along the way, and when I glanced back, the beautiful elf had a calmer countenance at last. I only hoped it would hold out under the scrutiny of the head of House Orrel.
There was a single white-robed elf waiting for us at the doors, and he didn’t question the Baroness when we approached. He opened the hefty wooden doors without a word, and within two minutes, we were mounting the steps that led to the towering chamber.
When we entered, the younger Luir was standing at the long stone table with three students, and the elves were all considering an open book and slip of parchment laid out on the table. The leader seemed to be instructing them in their studies, and when he looked up, he sent us all a charming grin.
“Mason Flynt!” he called
by way of greeting, and he beckoned for us to join him while he quickly finished his lecturing with the students.
We came to the stone table with the Baroness trailing behind now, and as the leader dismissed the three white-robed elves, I noticed four different degree maps sketched on the parchment.
The leader slowly folded the parchment to hand it back as he chided one of the students in Elvish, and when they headed for the doors, he turned to extend a hand across the table to me.
“Looks like you’re healing up,” he pointed out as he shook my hand heartily.
“Shoshanne works wonders,” I replied.
The leader greeted the women next, even Aurora, and then he came around the table to hold his hands out to Deya.
To my relief, the beautiful elf behaved as naturally as ever as she slid her slender hands into his, and he placed a light kiss on her forehead.
“I trust you slept well, my little sprite?”
Deya sent him an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid not,” she admitted. “I couldn’t fall asleep, so Defender Solana escorted me around the grounds for a while. I did not realize there was a pond in the valley. Is that an everly tree you have back there?”
Luir was caught off guard by her statement for a split second, before he chuckled.
“You would know an everly tree, wouldn’t you?” he said admiringly. “It is, in fact. Did you get to see the blooming take place?”
“It was beautiful,” Deya sighed. “The moonlight almost sparkles on the little bits of pollen.”
The leader looked well pleased with the elf all of a sudden.
“That’s my favorite part,” he told her before he glanced over to me. “And did you and your lovely ladies sleep well?”
“Like a rock,” I told him with an easy grin.
“Excellent!”
The Baroness was leaning against the table a little ways behind us, and the leader spoke to her in Elvish for a brief moment before she sauntered from the hall without a word.
Then he looped Deya on his arm and headed for the doors as well.
