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“But how did he come to be in Queen Asteria’s service?”
“He was caught stealing a loaf of bread and turned over to the Youth Guard, where he showed an aptitude for bowmanship and scouting. He eventually struck out on his own when he came of age but returned to the Guard and offered his services a decade or so ago. He feels a debt to the Crown, for feeding him and giving him a home and a good start.”
I frowned. “He became an assassin.”
“Not, mind you, the most ethical choice of careers, but he’s good at it and we must face facts—assassins are necessary, as are scouts and rangers and soldiers. Every government has its own elite arsenal of fighters. Quall belongs to us, and we make use of him when we have the need.” Trenyth slid into the chair that the assassin had vacated.
“And you approve of having assassins in your employ?” Delilah cocked her head. “I thought elves wouldn’t approve of the darker routes.”
Trenyth shrugged. “Elves hold honor in high regard. However, that does not mean we eschew common sense, nor vital military tactics.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.
“But you don’t like it,” I said softly.
“No. I long for the days when Elqaneve was isolated, when we kept to ourselves. But that was long before the Great Divide, and time waits for no one, be they elf or Fae or human. Politics do not make good bedfellows with honor, and try as we might, there can never be a return to the days of glory, where we wandered through the forests, silent in our thoughts, singing of heroes long lost and battles shrouded in the mists of time.”
It was, perhaps, the longest statement we’d ever heard Trenyth make, and it left me unsettled. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of the days during which the worlds had been one, when time had still been young in the way of sentient beings, before progress had come to both Earthside and Otherworld.
“You were young then, weren’t you? Before the Great Divide?”
He gave me a faint smile. “Was I ever young? Ah…yes, my dear, beautiful vampyr…I was young, and the Queen was in her glory days. I entered her service and gave my life to the Crown.”
“And your heart,” Camille whispered.
Trenyth jerked. “What are you talking about?”
But rather than tell him what we knew, rather than put him on the spot, especially in front of Queen Asteria, she just smiled softly.
Trenyth waited for a beat and then, seeing that we had run out of steam, brought the conversation back to the present day. “Quall is under orders to infiltrate his father’s inner circle. His father is a known sympathizer to the sorcerers.”
Delilah voiced the question running through my mind. “What if Quall takes a notion to change sides when he meets his father? He may have grown up in Elqaneve, but if he’s a desert raider by birth, what’s to say that blood won’t out and he’ll return to the fold?”
“There’s never a guarantee that something like that won’t happen,” Queen Asteria said. “Anyone can go rogue at any time. However, remember—his father sold him. There’s no love lost there. And despite his demeanor, Quall is one of the most loyal hires we have. He’s been on a number of missions and come through with not a single smirch on his record.” She gave us a quiet look, indicating the matter was settled. “We have to trust him. He’s our best chance at finding out just what Telazhar is plotting. We know what, but we don’t know how.”
We’d have to be satisfied with that.
“And now, I must attend another matter. Trenyth will see you out. Thank you for answering my summons so quickly.” The aged queen swept out of the room, still a fountain of power.
“Then we wait for Darynal to contact us through the Whispering Mirror,” Camille said. She glanced at me. “How long before morning?”
I closed my eyes. “A while yet. It’s barely past midnight.”
“Your evening is far from over. As we told you earlier, you must go to Y’Elestrial.” Trenyth sighed, pushing himself back away from the table.
“Yeah, about that. You mentioned that our father wanted to see us. But that’s not possible. Camille’s proscribed from setting foot through the gates. And didn’t you tell us some time ago that our father and Tanaquar are on the outs?”
He grimaced. “Your father is muchly changed this past month. He’s become withdrawn and silent, and while he is still working for Queen Tanaquar, he confided to me that he made a grievous mistake when he did not stand behind your choice, Lady Camille.”
Her lip trembled. Father’s denouncement had cost her a price far more than any she had ever paid. It had cost all of us. We’d always done everything to make him proud, but he was quick to judge. He’d judged me since the day I came home a vampire—he hated vampires, and I knew it took every ounce of self-control he had to remain civil to me. But I didn’t care. Not like Camille.
“He truly wants to see us?” A flicker of hope lit up her voice, but I heard doubt behind it. And fear.
Trenyth pressed his lips together, a gentle smile playing across them. “Yes, my dear. He truly wants to see you.”
And so, without another word, he bundled us back in the carriages and we were on the way to the portals, to travel to our home. For the first time in several years, we’d all be together at home again.
Chapter 3
As we were on the way to the portals, Camille pulled her cloak around her shoulders and shivered. “Is it just me, or does it feel colder than usual out here?” She rubbed her temples. “I have such a headache. What the hell are we supposed to do? I don’t want to go but we don’t have any choice.”
