“But you are willing to help me escape.” I didn’t realize that my headache had faded until the empress’s words renewed the pain.
“If you leave this world afterward.” I sighed, rolled over on my back, and covered my eyes with my left palm. It was hard to think with the throbbing in my head and I was suddenly exhausted. I just wanted to sleep, but I wondered if she would betray me to Turnia if I did not agree to do as she asked.
“There is nothing for me anywhere else. Everyone I knew has been dead for thousands of years. My daughter is dead. I will promise peace with your people if you promise the humans the same. What can I do to convince you of my sincerity?” She did not respond to my question and I turned my head to see that her eyes were closed.
“You never met your daughter?” she whispered after a few minutes.
“No. I do not even know her name.”
“Did you want to be a father?”
“I never considered it. My life was consumed by our war. When I found out she existed, I was desperate to find her. Knowing she is lost makes me feel that a part of me is dead.” I sighed and rubbed the pain behind my eyes. “You must have felt the same. But now you have the chance to reconnect with Nadea.”
“Nadea is important to you?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” I answered quickly.
“Would you kill me if you knew it would upset her?”
I turned to look over at her and found her eyes regarding me intently.
“I need a way to ensure my people will be safe from you. Something more than just your pleas of sincerity.”
“If you enslave Nadea’s people, she will want to kill you herself.”
“I do not intend to enslave the humans. The offer to Jessmei’s father was sincere and we were advised falsely by Nanos. That was the only reason Alatorict invaded.” I sighed and went back to rubbing my temples and forehead, but I realized my headache had faded.
“How can I assure you that you will be safe from me?” I asked.
“How can you assure me that you won’t don your armor again?” she asked after a few moments.
“You threatened Jessmei and my other friends.”
She exhaled sarcastically. “And your intentions were peaceful? You had just killed dozens of my soldiers, including Isslata, and intended to escape with Nia’s army and then return and attack us.”
“Your reasoning is flawed,” I began. I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts before continuing, “If you cannot bring yourself to trust me as an ally now, in spite of our past, I will have to tell Turnia we are done and she will execute you. I will escape the Council and return to this world. Your people will have to face me and an O’Baarni invasion, all without your guidance. Or, you can agree to trust me. I cannot believe you fear me more than the entire population of the O’Baarni seeking to harvest the skulls of your people!”
Her eyes narrowed. She was unconvinced. I was growing weary of trying. I did not need her help.
“Why are you so desperate to meet your child? Is it because she is Iolarathe’s or because she is your daughter?” She raised an eyebrow.
“That is a strange question.” I pondered for a few seconds and tried to figure out why the empress was asking such a question at the moment.
“Just answer honestly,” she prodded.
“Because she is ours. I love Iolarathe, I want to meet the child we created.”
“What if you had a child with someone else you did not love?” Telaxthe’s question hit me square in the nose and I realized what she wanted to ensure that I never attacked her people.
“You still want a child with me? The Destroyer? Why?”
“It is the only way I could trust your promise. Even a monster will protect its offspring. I have seen how desperate you are for even a shred of information about your daughter. I do not trust your words, but I believe you would protect our child, its family, and its mother.”
A smile spread across her lips and though we were separated by a few feet I was conscious of the warmth coming from her body.
“Your previous O’Baarni lover did not prove very trustworthy. What if I take the child from you?” I touched back on the story of Nadea’s kidnapping. This part of the story made little sense to me and I guessed that Telaxthe was hiding the truth.
“That line of questioning indicates that you are willing to breed with me.” Her tongue slid across her lips slowly.
“I have not agreed to anything. Please answer my question.”
“You have no motivation to kidnap our child. Where would you take it? To a world with O’Baarni? You would rob your child of his or her mother?”
“No. I would not do such a thing.” I shook my head. “Unless it was apparent to me that you meant the child harm.”
“Is that what you believe transpired with Nadea?” She raised a dark metallic eyebrow.
“Your story does not make sense. I am supposed to believe that your mate suddenly decided your child was safer sent off alone to a distant planet than with you for no reason? If there is more to the story, tell me now. If you expect me to father a child with you, I need the truth.”
She stared at me for a few seconds and her eyes narrowed. She turned away from me. A few minutes passed and I guessed that our conversation was over. I began to plan my next steps. I wanted the empress’s help with this escape and the eventual manipulation of the Radicles, but if she intended to kill me after we freed ourselves of Turnia, I was going to have to decide when and how to kill the woman.
“He said he heard a voice in his dreams,” she whispered.
“A voice?”
“He was insane. We caught him a few seconds after he sent her away.” She sighed and rolled back over to face me. “He intended to follow her but never had the chance. I didn’t realize that he knew how to use the Radicles. During the torture process I came to understand he had this planned from the beginning. I thought I had been manipulating him but in actuality, he was taking instructions from the voice.”
“Who spoke to him?” I felt a chill crawl down my back. This story sounded familiar.
“He claimed it was our Dead Gods. Then he laughed.”
“Did he say why he sent her to this world?”
“No. He did not even tell me where he sent her. Believe me, Kaiyer. I was more than persuasive. I held him captive for two years and worked on him almost every day. I did things to the man that disgusted me then and still do now. He never cracked. Except for the laughter. He said that as soon as he sent the child through the Radicle, the voice stopped.”
“So you did nothing to Nadea to make him fear for her life?” I asked.
“Of course not. I know you believe us to be monsters, but we are not incapable of love. She is my daughter. And I had important plans for her. Nyarathe had hypothesized that such an individual might have the ability to unlock wondrous new magic for our people. I had gathered thousands of tomes about the Singleborns and the new abilities they have discovered. The girl was going to be important to my kin. She still will be.”
“When I talked to Nadea in the dungeons she said that you two had not spent much time together.”
She looked irritated with my question. “To protect Nadea, to protect this planet and all of the humans and Elvens here, I must close the Radicles. Every moment I have must be spent teaching Jessmei. Once we have done this, when I can rest assured that we are safe, I will spend more time with Nadea. I am more than eager to do so.”
“Could Nadea learn the same magic that you are trying to teach Jessmei? She is part human, after all.” I realized it was probably a mistake to ask the question. I wanted the empress to think I was her best alternative to Jessmei. Then again, Telaxthe was intelligent and I was sure she already thought of using her daughter to close the Radicles.
“I can sense power in individuals much like Nyarathe, I know what is needed to work with the Radicles. I believe Nadea’s powers lie elsewhere.”
“She did bring me through the Radicle.”
“She did?” The empress seemed surprised by my statement and I realized I may have made an error in revealing this. “I was told the human boy Paug was the one who pulled you from the Radicle.”
“You’ll need to discuss it with Nadea. She had a different story and I was out of sorts when I awoke.”
“Very well. Did my answer to your earlier question satisfy you?”
“Somewhat.” I exhaled and debated how to refuse the empress and still form a lasting alliance with her. Truth seemed the best course of action.
“I cannot mate with you. I have commitments to others,” I began to explain.
“Oh? To Jessmei?” Her full lips smiled.
“Yes. Also, Nadea.”
“You are lover to both of them?”
“No.” I refrained from explaining further and she left it alone.
“Their opinions do not matter while we are prisoners of Turnia and facing execution.” She shook her head and the smile left her mouth.
“They will be upset with me if you and I make a child. It will interfere with your relationships with them.”
“I can deal with their anger if it means I have you as my ally. Besides, you and I do not have to be in any sort of relationship beyond what is required to create an offspring. If you want to mate with the queen or my daughter afterward, I will not attempt to stop you.” I almost laughed at her comment when I thought about what Jessmei or Nadea would think of what Telaxthe said.
“They will consider it a betrayal. The humans of this planet value fidelity. Their traditions hold that couples remain entirely monogamous.”
“If they are sharing you already, why would they care if you created a child with me?”
“Nadea and I have never been lovers, and Jessmei does not know I have feelings for Nadea. Your daughter knows about Jessmei and she has made it clear that it is unacceptable. I will have to choose between them, or neither will have me.”
“Their traditions are impractical. Elvens mate with multiple partners to create stronger offspring. In Iolarathe’s time, the deals were orchestrated by the chieftains of each tribe. I have divided my population up between my generals and give them guidelines for breeding the most powerful offspring.”
“I remember Isslata complaining about something like that while I was her captive.” I thought back to the golden Elven warrior woman and did feel a slight pain of loss. I knew part of me cared about the woman, but I would probably never be able to figure out why.
“Do not speak of her again or I will become angry,” Telaxthe’s whisper turned into a soft growl. Before I could respond she spoke again. “We both have leverage over each other. I am sick of the back and forth now, Kaiyer. I care little if you anger Jessmei or Nadea. There are more important reasons for us to solidify an alliance. I will give you a few minutes to consider and then you need to make a decision.” Her demands came out rapidly and I fought against my own anger. I had saved Telaxthe’s life and offered her a small chance at victory over the O’Baarni. She had displayed gratitude initially, but now she was making demands that benefited her more than me.
“What has changed tonight, Telaxthe?” Her hair was dark in the night, but still had a metallic sheen that reflected the small amount of the moonslight seeping through the thick canvas above us.
“What do you mean?” She raised her eyebrow in an expression that reminded me too much of Nadea and her mouth curved slightly into a smile.
“You are making demands that you know I won’t agree with. I have the power here. I can tell Turnia to kill you now. I bartered for your life to be spared and I have a plan for us both to live. I don’t understand your strategy.”
“Do you have an answer?” she whispered urgently.
“No. My answer is no, but this does not mean we must be enemies. We can still work together.” I reached to touch her shoulder. I intended the movement to convey friendship, but my hand stopped midway between our bodies.
Something was wrong.
The pit of my stomach was clenching. My skin was crawling. The Earth raced through my body like a rushing river. I knew the feeling. I looked down at Telaxthe and her smile grew.
“Do you think I am a fool, Kaiyer?” Her voice was no longer a whisper. She brushed my hand aside and sat up in our bed. “Did you think I would only take a few dozen guards as an escort while I was in the maw of the bear?” My ears rang and I heard the sound I knew all too well: Elvens and O’Baarni engaged in combat.
I stood up and the empress followed. She glided a few steps away from me toward the wooden stand that held her many robes. With a practiced movement she donned one of the plainer garments.
“I would have let you stay if you had agreed to my terms.” There were screams in the camp now and it sounded as if a full scale battle was underway. The explosion of magic a few hundred yards from our tent lit the night with orange flame and tore through the shouts like a dozen thumps of thunder. “But I am not without gratitude.” She walked toward me and placed her palm on my bare chest. “Turnia would have killed me before Yillomar and Fehalda could plan the perfect ambush. Thanks to you, I am still alive.” Her hand slid up my chest, around my neck and to my jawline. My mouth was still opened in surprise and she gently closed it.
“But now we will continue to the Radicle with a few thousand troops. I will banish you from this world and my people will live here in peace.” I heard the shouts and the footsteps before they poured into the pavilion. I turned my head and stood nose-to-nose with the big Elven general Yillomar. Beside him stood Fehalda. The big red Elven wore a smirk on his face, but the empress’s sister did not look pleased.