strike something within Vaeril as he suddenly looks at me, his expression thoughtful. After a few seconds, he relaxes and quickly dips his head once in agreement. “They prefer to live close to the sea,” is his diplomatic response, and I get the impression we’re being listened to.
“I feel like they are only here for political reasons, and they would much prefer to return to their people,” I say lightly, and I feel his arm tighten against mine—a warning. He slows us down, almost coming to a stop as he turns his head, his lips close to my ear.
“I would be inclined to agree,” he whispers, his breath tickling my skin, but I barely breathe, staying motionless, not wanting him to move away. “However, I would advise not to share this theory with anyone outside of our circle. The queen would not take those comments kindly.”
He stays like that, my body almost pressed against his for a couple of seconds, until I nod once in silent agreement. Pulling away, he reaches up and turns my head towards his, his expression intense. Anyone who might be watching might think we’re about to kiss, two lovers flirting quietly in the hallway, but I know better. We’re being watched. I understand, I tell him with my eyes. Squeezing my hand, he takes a step back, returning my hand to his arm as he starts walking again.
“I’d like to see where they live one day,” I comment flippantly for the benefit of whoever is listening to our conversation, but I mean it. The leader, Borro, told me about their glorious halls built into the cliffs of their homeland, so much grander than the caves they inhabit here. I’d love to see them.
“I’m sure we can arrange that.” I feel his gaze on me again as he speaks, but I keep looking forward.
“How was your meeting with the queen?” I don’t anticipate an answer, but I can’t help but ask. All afternoon, I’ve been wondering about this ‘meeting.’ Part of me believes that the queen made it up just to be able to spend time with Vaeril—or to stop him from spending so much time with me.
“Tedious,” he replies with a snort. It’s so unlike him that it brings a startled laugh from me, making him grin in return. “But you can’t tell her I said that, she’ll have me hanged.” His voice is lowered, but certainly not quiet enough to stop someone with supernatural hearing from listening to his words. Given his smile and teasing tone, he gives off the impression he’s joking, however the tightness around his eyes tells me enough.
“What was it about?” Lowering my voice, I ask the question that’s been plaguing me since he left earlier.
“Mostly going over details about the agreement between us and the mountain tribes,” he explains. I’m still not completely sure what Vaeril’s role is in Galandell. I know he’s a lord, but I have no idea what that entails or what duties he has to carry out, so I don’t know if him attending a meeting such as that is unusual or not. “She also wanted more details about what happened while I was away.” He sounds different now, and I’m trying to decide why. His voice is tighter, and when I glance at his face, I can see a hint of anger in his eyes. Although, if I didn’t know him as well as I do, I’d just dismiss it for a neutral mask that the elves seem to be so good at wearing.
“What is it?” I say with more force than necessary, but a sense of dread lingers in the back of my mind, whispering that things are not as they seem.
Glancing over at me, he meets my hard eyes and sighs, knowing I’m not going to let this drop. He looks around quickly. We are still in a relatively quiet section of the palace. In fact, I have only seen one other couple who exited their rooms not long ago, but thanks to their elven speed, they are already out of sight. Pulling me into an alcove, he stands in front of me, blocking me from view as he lifts a hand to rub at his brow.
“I’m going on trial.”
My eyes widen and my mouth drops open as I stare at him in shock. “What?” I’m not sure what I had expected him to say, but it wasn’t that. “What do you mean?” Mind spinning, I search for answers in his expression.