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With a flick of his wrist, one appears in his hand, but instead of giving it to me, he gently combs out the snags the couch friction created himself. Though, he lingers for a bit longer than necessary, letting the silk strands glide through his fingers. I’mtoo numb to move, to feel. After this meeting, the rest of them will know who I am, and our little bubble will pop.
31
Asmodeus
My brother has theworst possible timing. I argued with him for a full five minutes before he stopped responding, demanding he push this meeting back an hour. I would've offered him anything for just a little more time.
Of course, that didn't happen, though.
It's not that I don't understand. It's that I don't want to. I know one more hour would only leave me wishing for another. It's a vicious cycle that never ends until someone forces your hand.
And right now, that someone happens to be Kai.
I stride into the meeting hall, Valeria at my side, and our tardiness draws a collection of disapproving glances. Her hand trembles within mine, and I can feel the tautness of her nerves, like a bowstring pulled to its limit. The lords and ladies gathered around the elongated table shift with unease, attempting to hide their stares when they notice our joined hands.
And with reluctant grace, we take our seats.
“About damn time,” Finn whispers across the table.
"Hope you weren’t waiting long." It’s a lie. I really couldn't care less how long they were waiting, and I milked every secondof the walk down here. I'd gone out of my way, choosing not to use magic, and purposely led Valeria down the wrong hallways. Hell, I even strode through the second floor, which I normally avoid like the plague.
Finn rolls his eyes then gives both of us a once over, choosing not to taunt me any further.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Valeria's head jerking left to right, her gaze darting around the room. She's so nervous… soworried. Though, I understand why. If what she's told me is true, that she feared my brother and Alice would take her prisoner before she met me, I doubt that fear has vanished entirely. She knows she'll have to tell the truth about who she is, here and now, in this very meeting.
In an effort to soothe her, I pry my fingers from her death grip, setting them on her thigh, and begin drawing little circles there. Maybe it'll bring back memories of what just transpired between us. Having her mind on that and away from the weight of this meeting might just keep her from hyperventilating.
Carefully, she weaves her fingers between mine, her clammy palm pressing down over the top of my hand. And whatever my touch did, wherever it took her mentally, it worked. Her shoulders ease, her chin lifts, and she's schooled her features into a wall of stone, letting nothing show through the cracks.
That's it. You got this.
"Now that we’re all accounted for," Kai announces, his royal tone cutting through the whispers that have stirred. "We have to decide a course of action against the elves and their declaration of war tonight. So, I hope you all thought long and hard because we're not leaving this room until we have a plan.”
Kai cuts a glance towards me, silently telling me that he's far more concerned about what Valeria and I decided to do than anyone else. Considering he decided to pop into my head while my face was between her legs, I'm going to assume he believeswe didn't do much talking. And honestly, we didn't. But what we did say was productive.
Turning his attention back to table as a whole, my brother continues, “Lord Elcrys’ offer expires tonight, so we can either throw everything we have into negotiations, or prepare for war.”
“Tonight? What kind of time is that? When was the offer made?” Lord Zule stands up. His chair nearly tips over from the force as he tossed his hands about.
“We had three days to either accept or decline. Lord Elcrys gave the offer with the declaration at Ogre’s Landing. By the time we saw it, we summoned all of you. This isn’t disorganization, it’s the elf lord being obnoxious, and trying to claim he gave us a chance to prevent war.”
Each word he speaks weighs as heavy as stone.This is our only option.
If we go to war now, I'm not sure who would win. The elves have the most elite soldiers, ships that quite literally can slice through the oceans. They cast magic from stones, meaning their souls aren't drawn from, making their power endless.
The elves would be the only realm I fear to go to war against. Especially now, when we're vastly unprepared. The demons have grown soft, and now we're reaping the repercussions.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's why Alice has risked scrying herself into oblivion of the last few weeks. She's terrified and rightfully so, since she's against the only option to prevent such a war.
If we do this wrong, it could very well be the downfall of the Seven Realms.
Clearing my throat, I twirl the rings on my free hand, desperate to keep my mind busy. Valeria’s eyes are on me. I can feel them burning into the side of my face. She's discovered the reality I have just now, that she must go home. And if she returnsto the Elven Islands tonight, this meeting marks our final hours together.
A pang shoots through my chest, an unfamiliar ache that tightens my grip on her leg. It's not love that binds me to her—it can't be—but the thought of her leaving still carves a hollow space beneath my ribs. I stroke my thumb over her fingers, unsure of what to say, just knowing if I look at her right now, I won’t be okay.
Kai's voice slices through the charged silence, his gaze sweeping over the assembled court. "Does anyone have comments? Suggestions?” He stares at us, pursing his lips.“Anything at all?”
Valeria's grip on my hand tightens, and I know he's spoke into her head, too.
