Naril states with a grin, and I freeze, almost choking on the apple I just started to eat at the ‘share’ part of his comment. My mind instantly thinks of Grayson and Tor, but I push that thought away and turn to Vaeril with an arched eyebrow.
“Share me?” I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral, but I can tell from the gleam in his eyes that I don’t quite pull it off.
“We need more elves on our side. I might not always be able to be with you all the time,” he explains, and I know what he’s implying. The queen will probably try to call him away on private matters, but one part of his answer makes me raise my brow.
“Our side?”
When he brought me here, I thought I would be safe, living under a fair and just ruler, so why are we suddenly talking about sides? Is there some threat here that I don’t know about?
You are the threat. The thought hits me with sudden clarity.
“The queen is telling everyone you’re a demon,” Naril informs me cheerily, as he continues to shovel an omelette into his mouth. His gaze is alight with mischief as he watches my eyes widen.
“What?” My voice is shrill, and I turn to glare at Vaeril. “What did you tell her about me?”
Vaeril glares at Naril who just laughs, leaning forward eagerly like he’s about to watch his favourite theatre show.
Turning back to me, Vaeril tries to reassure me. “I will resolve this, but I need you to trust me. We need allies.”
I have an uneasy feeling about all of this, it sounds too much like we are picking a fight with the queen. Allies, taking sides, this is going to turn out badly. I know Vaeril fought in the war before he was captured, so he thinks like a soldier, I just hope things don’t escalate.
“I don’t want you getting into a civil war because of me,” I tell him firmly. “I just want peace.”
It might sound selfish when there’s a war going on, but I want somewhere peaceful to live out the rest of my days. I already escaped my own personal hell, I helped those children escape, and now, I just want to rest. As soon as I have the thought, I feel uneasy again, knowing I could never just sit back if someone needs my help. The Mother told me I have a greater purpose, I just wish I knew what that was.
“It won’t come to that,” Naril answers, leaning back in his chair now. His voice is serious and he’s lost the mischievous gleam from his eyes.
“It won’t,” Vaeril agrees. “But I also won’t risk your safety.” He’s firm now, his eyes are narrowed, and I can feel his determination through our link.
“There’s got to be something I can do to help.”
“Just keep being you. You’ve already changed many perceptions and you’ve only been here a couple of days,” Vaeril says with a small half smile, shaking his head as if he can’t quite believe it. I’m about to open my mouth to comment that there has to be something more, but I’m beaten to it.
“That guard from the prison seemed pretty infatuated with you,” Eldrin drawls. The room goes silent as the other two elves look at him in surprise.
“Infatuated,” I scoff, as I reach for another slice of apple. “You make it sound like he’s in love with me.”
Naril and Vaeril watch our interaction with an odd expression on their faces, their gazes going from me to Eldrin and back again.
“No, you’re just the shiny new toy everyone wants to play with,” he retorts with venom in his tone as he glares at me, his hands gripping the edge of the table tightly as if he’s trying to restrain himself.
Whoa, what have I done to deserve his anger?
“Eldrin!” his brother snaps, his voice uncharacteristically stern as he narrows his eyes at the elf.
“Are we going?” Eldrin cuts off whatever his brother was about to say, pushing up from the table.
“Going?” I ask, confused. Looking at Vaeril, I see him glaring at Eldrin, and I know there’s something else going on here, but once again, it’s something I’m not privy to. I push away my frustration and anger at Eldrin’s behaviour. He was so different in the prison, and now he’s flipping from silent and observant, to snapping at me for something that’s out of my control.
“Yes, just give Clarissa time to finish her food,” Vaeril says,