Death Wind (Elven Alliance #3) - Tara Grayce Page 0,15
as stoic as the stone walls around them. “His brother believes we have him captured. He will come regardless of whether we keep Laesornysh alive or kill him now.”
“Actually, we must keep him alive, since you let his human wife escape. They share one of those elven elishinas, and she would feel it if Laesornysh were killed.” King Charvod sent a sharp look at his brother before turning to Melantha. “Isn’t that right, elf princess?”
That was one of the tidbits of information she had shared with the trolls through Thanfardil. Still, Melantha stared back and said nothing. She had no wish to continue helping this troll king who had lied to her so grievously.
“I see you aren’t talking.” King Charvod shook his head. “Too late for guilt now. Your brother already knows you are a traitor. He won’t come for you.”
Melantha pressed her mouth into a tight line. Would Weylind come for her, if he realized she had been taken by the trolls as well?
After what she had done, he might decide to let the trolls have her, and good riddance.
King Charvod gestured down at Farrendel. “Look at him. He is fully in our control. I am counting on your magic to keep him contained. Unless you believe your magic isn’t strong enough for one elfling?”
Prince Rharreth bowed his head. “My magic is strong enough, especially here.”
“Exactly.” King Charvod pointed at Farrendel. “Take him to the dungeon and see that he is properly secured. Then meet me in my quarters. I have some questions for our elven princess.”
Melantha swallowed as Prince Rharreth released her. Several troll soldiers surrounded her, cutting off any hope of escape.
Even if she ran, where would she go? She was now hundreds of miles into Kostaria. She had no food. No water. Nothing but the thin dress she wore.
While Prince Rharreth dragged Farrendel to his feet, the troll soldiers shoved Melantha forward, following as King Charvod led the way toward a pair of double doors set into the main tower of Gror Grar, which looked more like a mountain peak than a tower.
As she stepped inside, the cold and the stone shivered into her bones, sharp with the tang of troll magic. Her headache pounded harder behind her eyes. Easing a hint of her magic into her fingertips, she rubbed at her temples and soothed the headache away as subtly as she could.
For some reason, it seemed important to keep the trolls from knowing that she was not as susceptible to the stone as Farrendel was. Since she retained more of the use of her magic, she could heal herself from the minor physical discomfort caused by proximity to stone.
The soldiers escorted her up a set of stairs, through winding passageways lit with flickering torches, and finally pushed her through a door embossed with a likeness of the carved, antler crown of the troll king.
Inside, a few frayed rugs covered the floor while a few worn cushions covered the stone chairs in what looked like a sitting room. A fireplace to her left held a crackling fire while a door to her right probably led to the bedroom. Slim windows filled the far wall, providing glimpses of the vast mountains stretching in all directions. It would have been breathtaking, if she had not been marched there as a prisoner.
King Charvod halted in the center of the room and waved toward the soldiers. “Thank you for escorting her. You may wait outside.”
With a click of their boots on the stone, the troll soldiers left, closing the door behind them.
Leaving Melantha alone with the troll king.
King Charvod reclined on one of the chairs. “Please. Have a seat.”
Melantha perched on the edge of one of the stone chairs as far away from King Charvod as possible. This felt like a trap.
The troll king’s icy blue eyes studied her before he gestured at the room. “You have a choice, Princess Melantha. Either I can have you escorted down to the dungeons or you can spend your time enjoying the hospitality that Gror Grar has to offer.”
If this was Gror Grar’s best, then it was sorely lacking. All but a few of the poorest of homes in Tarenhiel had more luxuries than this.
Even if this place held all the wealth in the world, it would not disguise the fact that King Charvod was attempting to bait a trap. Melantha gathered the poise she had learned as a princess of the elves. “And what would be the price of that hospitality?”