Page 65 of The Nymph King

She left Ellisar’s breach plan, their timing, and the details of Stralas untouched. Those belonged to the alliance once it existed.

Gorrum remained silent, observing her with a calm, focused stare. His expression showed no emotion, only a clear evaluation of her intentions rather than her exact words.

“You take him,” he said eventually, “and then what?” He pressed on without waiting for her reply. “What does that mean for the Sprites? What remains after the shift you’re initiating?” His head tilted slightly. “You’re removing a deceitful false monarch and choosing what will stand instead. So, tell me… what are you constructing?”

Esa stood beside Imani because this mission belonged to her as much as any negotiation could belong to a First Witch. She was the person Imani trusted most in her future court, the one expected to fill the gaps in Imani’s knowledge and speak when Imani lacked the history, customs, or relationships to do it herself. Here, that mattered even more. Esa was also a respected High Sprite, known among Gorrum’s people and able to translate Imani’s political needs into terms the Sprite territories would understand.

She was the bridge between Imani’s claim and Gorrum’s army.

“I’m building something for all of us, including the Sprites⁠—”

“While you might not be able to trust us today, I guarantee you won’t get what you want from Tanyl while he’s in bed with the Upper,” Esa cut in.

Imani’s eyes went wide at her blunt interjection, but Gorrum seemed unfazed. Tapping his fingers on his chair, he kept his leer on Imani and the crown.

Imani narrowed her eyes at him, knowing he was testing to see whether she would fill the silence after Esa’s audacity. She wouldn’t. Her First Witch had already made their point.

Massive Draswood doors groaned open, breaking their standoff. Everyone’s heads whipped to the left.

Lore, the High Sprite witch she’d met briefly in Stralas during her trials, stepped into the atrium. He was still lean and lithe, his short blue hair catching the light against assessing violet eyes that took in everything at once, his fitted, dark-woven leathers tailored close to his frame and marked with subtle silver stitching that suggested rank without declaring it outright. A pair of broad Sprite wings rose from his back, larger and darker than Esa’s, their deep brown-black membranes catching only narrow flashes of light when they moved.

He crossed into the space with confident strides, his presence settling naturally beside Gorrum, taking position at his right hand.

Gorrum moved little for the introduction. One hand lifted in a loose gesture toward him, casual, almost dismissive in its delivery despite the weight behind it. “Lore,” he said. “I’m anticipating the Fabric will give him my place when I’m gone.”

Imani tilted her head in surprise as magic swirled outward from Lore. It carried a distinct, layered, interlocking pattern she hadn’t noticed when they met before. Each strand reinforced the next until his magic became difficult to separate at its beginning and end.

She had known he was a powerful Master Witch when she saw him fight Tanyl in their first encounter, but she had underestimated Lore.

The male Sprite’s attention fell to Esa first, lingering for a moment as an emotion passed between them in a single look. Imani couldn’t read it, and then it was gone.

“What is this?” Lore asked.

“We’re asking for support,” Esa said, clenching her fist. “For a coordinated strike against Tanyl.”

Lore glanced at Imani, brief yet appraising, before his attention returned to Esa.

“And you’re part of this strike,” he said through a clenched jaw.

The force of his reaction made Imani curious. Lore was looking at Esa the way Kiran sometimes looked at her when danger entered the room—too personally, too immediately. She filed the comparison away before either Sprite noticed.

Esa smiled sweetly, all teeth, but her wings fluttered slightly, giving away her anger. “I’m leading it.”

Lore’s face remained a mask of cool composure, but his shoulders tightened almost imperceptibly.

“Not against Tanyl, you’re not,” he said, his voice flat. Then he added, “You’re asking for support on a plan that risks more than it secures. So why is it necessary?”

“You haven’t even heard the plan,” Esa spat.

“Don’t need to,” Lore hit back.

“It’s not your decision,” she nearly yelled, pointing at Gorrum. “It’s his.”

Lore’s gaze intensified, burning into the other Spite. “You’re asking for support in removing Tanyl.” Lore ran a hand through his hair. “That means entering hostile territory, confronting a sitting ruler, and betting that your little plan holds long enough to survive the aftermath. Any one of those can go wrong.”

“That’s every plan,” Esa returned.

“This one puts you at the center of it. You said it yourself, it does.”