Aerhril looked away, swallowing.
“More than soft?”
“You know what he did to me today? Everyone saw.”
“You hated Celedin,” said Hafindel. “You did not really make a secret of that.”
“I suppose,” said Aerhril. “But I think I must tell you something about Celedin. You finish what you are saying first.”
“No, what do you have to tell me?”
“Go on, you’re building towards something.”
Hafindel wrung out her hands. “You’re not on their side? You didn’t help him? You didn’t want free of Celedin so badly that you—”
“That I would betray my people and get so many of us killed by their invading army, that I would have the Peak taken over by orcs? Are you mad?”
Hafindel let out a breath. “Well, good.”
“You thought it? Others think it?”
“You are… they said you were not the least bit frightened of him, calling out in the midst of his speaking, being defiant. And that he… he did not truly correct you. They said it seemed like the two of you were playing a game together. I didn’t see it, for I was fed my dinner early and sent down to help bring up bags of wheat from the cellars, but others saw, and they said…”
She could now see that the way she had spoken to him had been ill-advised.
“Have you agreed to share his bed?”
“Well, I suppose it’s better to be able to influence—”
“After he took you by force?”
“Well, I’m not going to allow him to do that again.”
“You could stop him?”
She opened her mouth to answer and then closed it.
Hafindel hung her head. “I am sorry, my lady. It is not my place to say such things. I forget myself.”
“No, no, have I ever been that way with you?” Aerhril was pleading with the other elf. “And now, of all times, it is even more important that we do not stand on that sort of ceremony. We are under attack. We are occupied.”
Hafindel nodded.
Aerhril paced, unsure of what to say to convince Hafindel that she was not on Dathor’s side. She could protest against it, but to some degree, it would be a lie. She could try to explain everything to Hafindel, but she did not know how to explain what her relationship was to Dathor.
They were not exactly enemies, but they were at odds.
To various degrees, they had always been at odds.
“You said you had something to tell me of Celedin.”
“Oh, yes!” That was a good change of subject. “He’s alive.”
Hafindel’s eyes widened.
“I do not think we should both go together. That would be suspicious. But I can tell you where he is and you can go and look in on him. I looked just after we ate. He was still breathing but he was not awake.”
“I heard his throat was slit.”
