“Perhaps I owe you a few favors, Pretender. It is possible that I would have never discovered this bounty without you.” She made a small smile, closed the chest, and then turned slightly to the empress. “Begin now.”
Telaxthe exhaled and then faced me.
“Nyarathe’s journals are the main source of this information since Iolarathe left no written record.” She addressed Turnia, “The O’Baarni were never interested in documenting any of their past, so most of what happened following our war was lost.”
“Our sklads tell the tales of the Betrayer, and they are common knowledge now.” I was surprised Turnia even bothered to defend herself against Telaxthe.
“Five thousand years can corrupt stories, but that is another argument.” The empress turned her eyes back to me. I was surprised at the control she had over her emotions, but Telaxthe had not risen to lead the Elven people by displaying her feelings openly. Still, death loomed over her shoulder, and I was sure she felt great despair in spite of her apparent composure.
“In these journals, Nyarathe documented most of the war efforts and the various strategies her sister employed.” The empress paused for a moment and then glanced back to Dissonti before continuing.
“Nyarathe escaped after the Destroyer’s armies defeated the dragons. She led a few hundred refugees away from the battle and to the deserts of Green Solo. Eventually she settled there and occupied herself with saving our race from the humans. Iolarathe also survived and found her sister ten or twelve years after the war.”
“You don’t know the exact date?” I asked. The detail probably didn’t matter in the long run but I thought it odd that Telaxthe’s records were not dated correctly.
“No. I don’t have all of her journals, unfortunately. Many have been lost throughout the years or been rewritten by our elders.”
“Sounds like your written history is not much better than our spoken word,” Turnia mocked.
“Our kind has endured thousands of years of oppression from your people. You’ve hunted our skulls, denied us freedoms, and burned thousands of our temples. We would still have the documents if not for your kind,” the empress said the words softly and Turnia’s mocking smile faded.
“Hunted skulls?” The term sounded odd to me. I could understand killing Elvens, but why make sport of their bones?
The group of Elvens and O’Baarni turned to me with a combined look of puzzlement. Even the Elven servants gazed upon me as if I was asking them what color the blue sky was. The empress tilted her head and her bronze hair fell down to one side of her neck like a waterfall.
“The O’Baarni use our skulls to make Ovules,” she stated, as if explaining a basic fact of life to a child.
“Why?” Her explanation didn’t make sense to me.
“That is how they are created.” Dissonti’s emerald eyes bored into mine with a strange intensity.
“That is the only way?” I recalled a memory of molten heat covering my head and endless screams. It made my skin crawl and my heart began to race.
“Yes. It is the only way. And Ovules are the only objects that power the Radicles,” Dissonti said. “You did not know this?”
“No.” I sighed and shook my head. “Why did you ever think that your people could be free?” I asked Telaxthe. “The O’Baarni live too long. They need access to other worlds or they will destroy each other with overpopulation.”
“Is it so foolish to want freedom for your people? Even if the odds against you are unmeasurable?” Her amber eyes narrowed. “You know the answer.”
“It is not our purpose to destroy the Elvens, Pretender. My brother and I were the loudest voices that demanded they be allowed to have this world. They earned it from victory at the Games,” Turnia said. “That is why I am so outraged by Telaxthe’s betrayal!” the O’Baarni leader seethed and the tension in the already electric air seemed to come close to a boil.
“I can understand your anger.” I had to calm down the situation. At least until the empress told me what I needed to know. “My father and brother were murdered while I watched.”
“Then you are a coward. You should have defended them.” Her blue eyes cracked for a second, maybe only a part of a second, and I could see the terrible pain behind them.
“I was only a human. I wanted to die with them but their murderer thought torture was a better punishment. I finally escaped and then set out on the path of revenge.” Turnia recovered from her emotions by the time I finished speaking and she turned her attention back to the empress. Then the sharp-featured woman motioned with a twisting finger that she wished the Elven to continue.
“Accompanying Iolarathe was a child. The writings describe her as fiercely intelligent and curious. The girl was a half-breed,” Telaxthe said.
“Human and Elven?” Turnia asked. The anger was gone from her voice and she seemed genuinely curious.
“So the journals say.”
“Then your writings are wrong,” the tall O’Baarni woman said. “I’ve been alive for seventy-two years and never heard of such a thing. Our kind cannot make children with yours.”
“Nyarathe’s writings indicate that she believed as you did. Her sister claimed that the child was Kaiyer’s. The girl confirmed the story.”
“The Betrayer was captured after the war. Even if he had a child, it wouldn’t have been with one of your whores. The man was only interested in taking Shlara from Malek,” Turnia stated factually. I wanted to scream at her to shut her fucking mouth but held back my rage. There was nothing good that could come from me telling the woman any sort of truth.
“Is there more?” I asked. I kept my voice at a whisper.
“Nyarathe wrote that they only stayed with her for a single night. Iolarathe believed that she was being followed by warriors from Shlara or Alexia’s army. The child asked her mother to sketch her father’s face. The writing in the journals confirmed that there were apparent similarities between the human man’s face and the child that Iolarathe claimed was her daughter.”
“Was the child named in the writings?” My heart leaped into my chest and the edges of my vision began to cloud.
“No.” She shook her head and the breath left my body with a cold rush of defeat. I didn’t know what I expected, but I wished there had been at least a name. Maybe even a better description of the girl. Something, anything that could have given me hope that I would know her better.
But even this small scrap was worth my trouble. I remembered being in Nyarathe’s home and the canvas that her daughters had knocked over when they fled. I wish I would have known that my lover created the drawing for our daughter to view.
Why had the girl not taken it with her?
“Is there anything else?” My voice cracked and I blinked away tears. Fuck. I didn’t want any weakness to show in front of these women, but my emotions were a flooding river in my chest.
“They left the next morning. Iolarathe refused to tell her sister their destination. She was convinced that it would put them all at risk.”
I recalled my earlier memory. Iolarathe had told me that our daughter went through the Radicle and was waiting for her mother on the other side. This information from Telaxthe did not give any hints I could use to help confirm her location or even if the girl was still alive.
“There is one more part you might find interesting. A few days after Iolarathe left, her spies reported that a single traveler had entered the tavern in the settlement.”
“Deadflats,” I said. Telaxthe nodded at the name I gave for the small salt city, not revealing any surprise that I remembered it. She knew who I was.
“There were O’Baarni stationed in this town. Nyarathe always thought their presence strange and she documented the dates she saw them replaced with fresh troops. They were posted at the city for some reason, but didn’t seem to be investigating any Elven presence there. In fact, Nyarathe suspected that the O’Baarni actually knew she was operating in Deadflats, but didn’t care. They made a point to spe
ak to every stranger that ever entered the city. On this particular night, a few days after her sister visited, Nyarathe had the epiphany that Kaiyer was still alive and was being hunted by his army. Sure enough, this new arrival was the Destroyer and the O’Baarni in the city attempted to capture him.”
“Lies. He was caught immediately after he killed Shlara. The man was dead.” One of Turnia’s women spoke suddenly and her leader silenced her with a cutting glare.
“Nyarathe saved Kaiyer from being captured and then brought him back to her home. She wrote that she couldn’t kill the father of the child she had met, though the man deserved to die a hundred thousand torturous deaths.” Telaxthe’s eyes narrowed at me and I knew that she agreed with her ancestor.
I nodded and tried to fight against the agony in my stomach. I asked myself why Nyarathe hadn’t told me of my daughter but the answer was obvious. The woman hated me. I recalled the time I spent in her home and the feeling of my hand around her throat. I had almost killed my lover’s sister. It was odd to think that if I had squeezed just a little harder for a few more seconds then Telaxthe would not be sitting here right now.
But if there was no Telaxthe, there would have been no Nadea. The duchess would not have awoken me. I would not be sitting here right now hearing the story of how close I came to finding the woman that I loved and the child she had created with me. In some ways their invasion of this world was my fault. Then I recalled that Nyarathe already had two girl children. I didn’t know if the empress and Fehalda were descended from them or another child of Iolarathe’s sister.
“It sounds like your tale has come to an end, Telaxthe,” Turnia said. She turned her head to me and spoke with her usual calmness. “I can’t imagine you are satisfied with this information.”
“Any knowledge can be priceless when the topic is most important,” I said. “She led me to believe that there was more, but perhaps I was a fool to think so.”
“You are most certainly a fool. No one claims to be the Betrayer unless they wish to die.”
“Is there anything more you can tell me?” I asked Telaxthe again. My friends believed that Spirits of their dead family and lovers protected them, so I said a silent prayer to them.
“No,” Telaxthe said flatly and I knew she spoke the truth. “Will you release my people now?” she asked Turnia. The two women stared at each other for a silent half-minute before the O’Baarni clan leader answered.
“How will I ensure that you cooperate as the Pretender’s concubine?”
Telaxthe’s jaw clenched and she inhaled slowly. I could hear her heart pounding in her chest, but for a quarter of a minute she didn’t say anything. Finally, she smiled slightly and spoke.
“You have not heard this man’s conviction of me yet. You told me that you would let Dissonti leave. Please show mercy on my people and I will gladly fulfill whatever you ask of me.”
“You are right, Telaxthe. I have not heard the Pretender’s story.” She turned to me. “What do you think? Should I let Dissonti leave or should we keep her around so that the empress bitch has incentive to wet your dick enthusiastically?”
Perhaps Turnia suspected that I requested the Elven woman’s presence for something other than sexual needs. Maybe she thought that I had a desire to escape or prevent the empress from being put to death.
“I do not care.” I shrugged my shoulders and let out an easy breath. “I am also at your mercy. As I only have a few more weeks of life before I am delivered to your Council, if she doesn’t satisfy me, I’ll just tell you I am done and you can begin the torture. She is proud and said earlier that she would prefer death over my bed, but I am a good lover. Once she feels my member between her legs, she will prefer me fucking her to torture.” Turnia nodded at my words but the empress, Vernine, and even the aloof Dissonti glared at me.
“Fine. I will make a decision after you speak of my brother, Pretender.”
“Perhaps it is best to start at the beginning.” I had already planned what I would say to the group, so the words came easily.
“A group of humans awoke me from a long slumber. I was in a Radicle. My memory was lost and I did not recall my name.” I had debated telling Turnia of the writing Malek left for me on the stone bed, but I decided it would just anger her.
“These humans knew nothing of the sklad legends. Their world was being invaded by monsters that called themselves Ancients, and they had writings of someone named the O’Baarni that had once defeated them.”
“Idiots.” One of Turnia’s women shook her head.
“Telaxthe used the name to inspire fear in the native people of this world. She hoped that this would cause less conflict, but the humans resisted her conquests, so a short war broke out. The people that woke me thought I could save them from the Elvens and they took me back to their castle. One of the men in the group was named Iarin.”
“Yes,” Turnia said. I expected her to say more, but when she didn’t I reasoned that she knew the tall man’s side of my story and I would have to adjust what I was going to say slightly.
“Some of my memories were beginning to return and I recalled my past. I knew my name was Kaiyer and I had memories of leading an army against the Elvens. While I was in the castle, a group of them attacked, kidnapped the king’s daughter, and I followed them. While I was away from the city, one of Telaxthe’s generals conquered it. When I returned, I attempted to rescue my human friends, but I was also captured by Alatorict and ended up meeting the empress as a prisoner.
“Telaxthe, like you, assumed I was a Pretender and just wanted me to leave this world, since it was illegal for her to kill me.” Turnia nodded. Her eyes were set upon me with a ferocity that made me wonder if she believed me.
“Then Kannath came.” I took a breath and shrugged my shoulders with a smile. “My goal was to escape my imprisonment so I could save the humans of this world from the rule of the invading Elvens. When Kannath came he also accused me of being a Pretender and insisted on taking me back with him to face trial and execution. I promised to give Telaxthe some information if she helped me escape Kannath.”
“What was this information?” Turnia interrupted me.
“The empress wanted to know the location of the Radicle I came through.” Turnia stared at me intently and I knew she didn’t believe me.
“She wants to destroy them,” I explained before Turnia could question me. The O’Baarni woman turned her bright blue eyes to Telaxthe.
“You fucking bitch. Destroy the Radicles? Are you insane? Did you think that would actually work?” I turned my head to look at the empress, but her face might as well have been carved out of marble. Her expression didn’t change and her eyes stared into the empty space between Turnia and me. Vernine’s red eyes blazed with intensity. I wondered if the woman would be willing to leave her empress’s side.
“Kannath was just performing his duty and I told Telaxthe that she had to kill him. She resisted, but I didn’t see any other way I could free myself since I knew I could never beat him in combat. We agreed that once I returned I would tell her of the Radicle and she would tell me of my daughter.” I knew Turnia would believe this; it was easier to buy an impossible lie that protected your beliefs than a disillusioning truth.
“So who killed my brother and his warriors?” Turnia asked.
“Fehalda and her troops. They followed Kannath and me to a campsite. You saw what happened.” Silence hung in the air. Turnia nodded and her head bowed for a few seconds.
“Did you have any part in this?” The O’Baarni woman raised her head and looked at Vernine.
“No. She was not one of Fehalda’s assassins,” I said, perhaps a bit too quickly.
“No, Turnia. I was at the castle by my empress’s side,” Vernine said. Her voice was monotonous and I realized that the pewter-haired woman had already accepted that she would die today.
“Did you know of this plan?”
“No, Turnia,” Vernine said after a slight hesitation.
&n
bsp; “How about you?” Turnia looked to Dissonti.
“I know of things past, present, and future.” Dissonti’s eyes seemed to dance like green waves.
“Don’t speak in riddles, bitch. I am deciding your fate,” Turnia growled. I saw Vernine’s grip on her sword tighten.
“When the Destroyer spoke the words I saw the conversation unfold in my memory. At the time I was sitting on a bench many hundreds of yards away speaking to your brother about Kaiyer’s combat abilities.”
Turnia looked puzzled for a few seconds before she spoke. “This doesn’t explain how I came across you, Fehalda, and Vernine walking back to the human’s castle.” Her eyes focused on me again.
“After Kannath was killed, Fehalda and I had an argument. We fought and she beat me into unconsciousness. When I awoke she had left.”
“What did you argue about?”
“She asked what her sister and I spoke of. I told her to go fuck herself with the sharp end of her sword.” I shrugged. “Then I woke up next to the dead bodies of Kannath and his warriors. I ran back to the castle and assumed that the empress had betrayed me. My human friends were prisoners now since Telaxthe controlled the castle. I freed them but we were separated. Our plan was to meet at the Eastern Mountains, but when I reached the destination Vernine and Fehalda were already there. Fehalda said that the empress would keep her word and tell me of my daughter and she would kill my friends if I did not return. So I returned.”
Turnia nodded and sat back on the pillow. She didn’t say anything for almost a minute and the tension in the air was electric. I had only included the most believable parts of the truth, she would have accused me of lying if I had been honest about the last few years. Had it really been that long? Time was difficult to gauge after all I had remembered. I had lived hundreds of lifetimes and slept through hundreds more. I counted the seasons carefully and realized that it had been close to two years since Nadea had called me forth in the Radicle. It was autumn now, the second one since I had awoken on this world.
“Telaxthe, you have committed multiple crimes against the clans.” Turnia suddenly spoke and the tension increased with her words.
The Destroyer Book 4 Page 39
