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You might have thought of that before you put yourself at odds with the sea folk.The thought lurks in my mind. I bite it back. I’ve always suspected the young king charged into this war without giving enough consideration to the consequences, but reminding Falamar of his past failings won’t help my cause at the moment.
“What sort of strategic move?” I ask instead.
“We need to take out the Seamother herself. Scatter her people.” He looks up with me. The sharpness in his gaze that fills me with dread. “Are you really telling me you lured the Seamother’s heir to the surface and then let her escape?”
“She didn’t escape. Her mother tried to drown me, and Evya rescued—”
“No excuses, and no changing the subject!” Falamar pinches the bridge of his nose, looking at once frustrated and regretful. I almost feel pity for him. Almost. “You’re still my friend. I must answer to the One Who Is if I let harm come to a Dalzana, no matter what your brother did. But if you’re finally receiving visions like a real prophet, you must remember their purpose.”
“Are you now presuming to interpret the meaning of my visions?” My voice is frigid. The king is overstepping his authority, and he knows it.
“You are an elf, first and foremost. The survival of this settlement is your responsibility as much as it is mine, and we are desperate. If your visions aren’t serving the elves, perhaps you should ask yourself whether you’re seeing correctly.”
My jaw drops. “Burning stars! That’s not—”
He holds up his hand, cutting me off. “I have spoken, and I will not renounce my words. I do what I must for what remains of our people on this world. So should you.”
So many words well up inside me, but I can only stare at Falamar in astonishment. He can’t tell me what to do with my visions, and he certainly can’t demand they only work for our good.
“I’m a Dalzana. Aprophet,” I venture. “If you’re asking me to use these visions to smite our foes, that isn’t how my role works.”
“Maybe you have the luxury of following fantasies, or maybe you’ve finally been overtaken by the same madness that took your brother.” I flinch under the verbal slap, but the king goes on. “But I am the ruler here, and all I know is that I must do everything with the interests of my people at heart. The interests of the accursed tuath and their fetching princess do not concern me.”
If you did care for the tuath’s interests, this whole war might have been prevented.I don’t dare speak the words aloud. Not with Falamar in this mood.
“If you feel you must chase visions, so be it,” the king goes on. “That is your divine right, regardless of your brother’s misdeeds, and I will not tempt the wrath of the One Who Is by restraining you.” His voice hardens to steel. “However, I too have been given authority by the Eternal. As the last king and heir of Sovarthian House I must do whatever is best for my people, no matter what your visions say.”
“None of this changes the path I must take,friend.” I fight to keep my voice level. “If we’re both honoring our destinies, why not trust that the One Who Is would not pit us against each other like this?”
Falamar drains his goblet, then fixes his bloodshot eyes on me. “Was your brother honoring his destiny when he razed his own empire and left the elves without a homeland?”
“I’m not my brother!” I steady myself against the nearest wall, silently praying for wisdom. And restraint. I breathe deeply, reaching for the most diplomatic response I can manage. “We’ve always claimed to trust each other. Let us do that now. Let me follow the vision a little longer and see if it leads to the good of everyone involved.”
Falamar stares back, unblinking, for a moment. I expect him to refuse. Instead, he sighs and leans down against the table, bracing himself with both hands and drooping with weariness. “I can give you until the final night of the tuath’s spring festival.Ifyou swear you will not betray me to our enemies, no matter how this woman addles your mind. Believe me when I say it is foolish to give your trust to her, no matter how amiable you find her.”
I brush off the insults of his last words, my mind skipping back instead to the first part of his offer. “But the Shantura festival starts tonight. That only gives me nine more days.”
“Excellent. You can count.”
“Can’t you spare a little more time?”
The king sighs. The action indicates I am missing something very obvious from a political standpoint. My mind jumps through all our recent council meetings and war strategy sessions, trying to figure out what piece of information is eluding me. “Keliveth, I know you don’t think much about battle strategy, but if you were to lead a major offensive against the tuath with the intention of killing the Seamother and her kin, when would you do it?”
I grimace. I don’t like the direction of this conversation. But thanks to my years of training in Oraithian’s court, I can form the answer. “During the Shantura festivities. When the entire tribe is gathered at the underwater palace.”
“Very good. And our mages have finally devised runes which can break through the palace’s defenses.”
Dread clenches my chest as I put more of the pieces together. The king isn’t speaking in hypotheticals. He’s been making plans right under my nose, without sharing them with me. “So either I find a way to end the war in nine days, or you blast the tuath to oblivion and pray you don’t destroy your own army in the process?”
“As I said, it is time for a drastic move.”
“What role are you hoping that I’ll play in this?” I demand, anger darkening my voice. My mind immediately jumps to a political tactic favored by the elven nobles. “Do you want me to capture Evya and bring her to you as a bargaining chip against the Seamother? Because I won’t.”
“Damn it, Keliveth! You talk as though I actually want to launch an offensive like this. As though I want more of us to die.” The king turns his back to me and clasps his head in his hands. “I have no choice, unless you can work out another solution through your blasted visions.”
“In nine days?” I repeat. Burning stars, this is the first vision I’ve ever received! How am I supposed to unravel all its mysteries and figure out everything the One asks of me in only a few days? “I can’t make promises. The One Who Is doesn’t deal according to our timelines, you know.”
“I’m not asking for promises,” the king says flatly. “I’m giving you the only offer I can: nine days to prove yourself a true Dalzana and ensure our people’s protection, or I will solve the problem in the only way I know.”
