“Blackthorn,” she repeated. “Isn’t he a full elf? Strange for his family to have translated their name.”
“He is a full elf, but has no family. The humans who raised him gave him the name,” Adrissu replied, trying not to sound as defensive as he felt. Pollux’s name seemed a point of contention everywhere. “He did create the Blackthorn weapon, but is no longer associated with the studio that makes its predecessors. Perhaps you made the connection between him and I, but mistakenly attributed the weapon to me.”
“Exactly what happened,” she said, quickly enough that he was sure it did not happen quite like that. But he had not expected the full truth from her at any point. “It’s unfortunate he’s no longer making them. Those early Blackthorns are a technological marvel. Something about them just has so much more of a…kick, compared to the newer models. Can I ask why he moved on?”
At that moment, two more servants brought out the first course: a cold, blended soup that was popular in the heat of the summer. It was approaching fall, but the dish was an elven staple, so he was not surprised to see it. He waited for her to take a spoonful, then took a polite sip of his as well.
“It is a complicated story,” he said slowly. “But in short, he left the studio to come be with me in Polimnos and decided against setting up a new studio here. I’m lucky enough to be able to support us both, so he invents for pleasure now, rather than profit.”
“How romantic,” she said, smiling, and he nodded with a tight smile. “Well, who could argue with that? If he won’t make them, he won’t make them.”
Adrissu was silent for a long moment, taking a few spoonfuls of soup as he thought. He had expected her to protest, or try to weasel her way into getting more Blackthorns—from a woman who had probably had the former Lord Representative killed for the purpose of taking her seat, for her to fold so quickly was not only surprising, but suspicious. What would she have to gain by giving up? Would she move on to something far more drastic?
Adrissu hated the thought of it, so he would have to be proactive in offering a compromise.
“However, perhaps on a smaller scale, I think he would not be opposed to creating something similar,” he said. “It would have to be modified, of course, as the original studio holds the patent for that particular model. But he is quite inventive, and if it were only a few… I could arrange for you to speak with him, instead. If you’d like.”
Her smile brightened considerably, and he wondered if he had just been played—if she had been waiting for him to offer, so no one could say that she had strong-armed them into it. Annoying, but he would play her little games for now. He always outlasted them in the end.
“Why, I would absolutely love that,” she agreed, taking no notice as the soup was removed from the table and a platter of soft flatbread topped with herbs and greens took its place. “Pollux, you said? I’m sorry I didn’t know sooner, otherwise I would have invited him. Both of you, of course. Let’s plan that out now, shall we? As you might imagine, my schedule tends to fill up quickly.”
Adrissu smiled. She was banking on the fact that they had already discussed what Pollux would be open to.
“Next week, perhaps?” he offered.
“I’m all booked up, unfortunately. The week after? I could do something earlier in the day, I think.”
“Perfect.”
They set the day and time, opting to meet in a fancy cafe in this part of town, a place Adrissu was sure she frequented. It felt safer than the two of them coming to her home, in any case.
The rest of the dinner felt far less fraught, as she was content to talk with only the occasional comment or interjection on his part. She went on about the current projects and improvements happening in the city, one involving the newest steam engine development that was gathering funds, until finally she asked him about the Academy.
“I know you have a second branch in Feld Heslyn,” she said. “Have you considered opening a third branch? For such a longstanding institution, I’m surprised it’s still as bound to Polimnos as it is. Even the College at Gennemont has a handful of smaller campuses across Autreth now.”
“Two is quite enough for now,” Adrissu laughed. “Maybe if I had the right person, the right place… But, no, I don’t think a third campus is in the cards for the foreseeable future.”
“I’d be happy to help you find a location and secure funding, if you should ever need it,” she offered.
“I appreciate your offer, but for now I must decline,” he repeated. Her smile didn’t waver.
“Of course. I have a long memory, and I plan to have a successful tenure as Polimnos’ Lord Representative, so the offer is always on the table.”
Their meeting began to wind down, and before much longer, she was walking him to the door, although her gait was slow and leisurely.
“I know you had a good relationship with Alana Pughes,” Willow said, making him entirely alert once more. “I understand you must harbor some… suspicion, or even ill will toward me, for how things happened. But I can assure you, nothing nefarious occurred between us. And while it was an unfortunate accident, it was also an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I fully understand why you might want to distance yourself from me, but I hope someday we can have a beneficial partnership too, the same way you did with Alana.”
“Alana was a colleague before she was ever Lord Representative,” Adrissu said coolly. “Our close relationship was due to that. I mean no offense to you, Miss Elafaer, but we do not have that sort of history and never will.”
“And I wonder why that is,” she mused. “The elves of Polimnos have always wondered why such an influential family line such as yours has eternally distanced itself from its cousins. Elves should stick with elves, don’t you think?”
“My forebears came to Autreth because they were outcasts in Aefraya. Forgive me if I still harbor some of that residual suspicion of its denizens.”
“But we are hardly elves of Aefraya any longer. I was born and raised in Polimnos, as was my father before me. I’ve never been to Aefraya, and he has only visited. We are much the same, Adrissu, and it’s a shame you won’t see past whatever preconceptions you have to join us.”
He stared at her for a long moment—a cold stare that she met with a smile, whose warmth, in light of their conversation, seemed to Adrissu only calculating. This was why he hated elves.
“I will consider it,” he said simply, knowing full well he would not.
