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“Being fae is not illegal yet, Councilman,” El replied. “And there are ways to hide it with glamour, if I need to.”

Councilman Creag, who had until then been quiet and contemplative, spoke up. “Should the Paragons deign to imprison official emissaries of peace, they will further taint their own reputation with egregious political blasphemy. It would be an affront to civilized political decorum. Surely King Evander would not stoop to that level, despite the distasteful rumors circulating about him. He is still a king, after all.”

Councilman Torin still looked concerned. His brow furrowed, wrinkling his already wrinkled skin further, but he said nothing more.

“It may be a risk,” Councilman Calder said, “but they’ve pushed us too far this time. I’ve had enough of the Paragons and their blatant propaganda. They’ve turned good people against each other. Made the fae-touched an enemy, a scapegoat. It is time to take a stand.”

Several council members murmured their agreement, including Creag, Fínán, Loganach, and Celestine.

After a moment’s silence, Councilwoman Celestine called in a clear voice, “We should take this meeting to private council to make our decision. The open portion of this circle is adjourned. We will inform you of our decision soon. Thank you for coming.”

The Council stood and moved their chairs around the oval table as we exited the chamber into brilliant sunlight.

“What’s up Torin’s ass today?” El chimed as soon as we’d crossed the enchanted passage through the waterfall and were out of earshot of the chamber.

Byrgir huffed a small, amused laugh through his nose. “There’s always something up Torin’s ass. And it isn’t always Loughlin.”

Crow chuckled as El laughed, hitting Byrgir’s arm in amusement. She caught my questioning glance and clarified, “Loughlin is Torin’s husband. They’ve been together longer than we’ve been alive.”

“Loughlin is also Torin’s Blood-Bound,” Byrgir added. “They’re one of the last few sworn pairs.”

“People still take the Blood Oath?” I asked. “I thought it ended when the wars ended and the fae left.”

“Sort of,” said Byrgir. “Torin and Loughlin took the Oath over a hundred years ago, so I’m not sure you can say that people still do. It binds them together for life, though. It's old magic. Strong magic.”

“Blood magic,” El added.

“They took it over a hundred years ago, and they’re still alive?” I asked.

El explained, “Torin is half fae, so he will live much longer than a full human. And when a pair takes the Blood Oath, their lives are entangled, magically interwoven. The bond is strong enough that, if there’s an imbalance, the life of one is extended to match that of the other, like between a fae and a human. Apparently in the old days, when humans and fae lived amongst each other, there were many sworn pairs between fae and humans.”

“The legendary Lane and Lorelei were a sworn pair,” Crow said. “Tales say Lorelei’s fae influence helped Lane live to be over five hundred years old, and he was still spry when they vanished. You’d never know his age.”

“Are Blood-Bound pairs always lovers?” I asked.

“No, although it happened frequently. The bond of the Oath is strong. Compelling.” El said, “Emotions get heightened,and feelings grow. Often sworn pairs are good friends, strong teammates. It used to be a common tradition within the fae armies. It was intended to strengthen warriors on the battlefield, and it worked, made a more cohesive and motivated team. The bond can only be broken by death, and the member of the sworn pair left behind experiences great pain when it’s severed, so those in a sworn pair usually fight more for others than themselves. Not to mention it makes them more powerful. They make incredibly fierce battle masters. Both individuals of the Blood-Bound pair can fight with the strength of two, and some legends even say that especially powerful pairs can fight with the strength of whole armies.”

“The feelings might not always have come after the Oath,” Byrgir added, returning to my question after El’s verbose tangent. “Maybe some pairs are compelled to take the Oath to better protect the love they already have.”

“The old story goes that Lane proposed the Oath to Lorelei when the war started,” El agreed. “They were already committed lovers, and his love ran so deep that he wanted to protect her against the world when the fighting got bad.”

“Romantic,” I said, watching my footing as the path grew steeper.

“Very,” El said. “Seems like that kind of chivalry doesn’t exist anymore, hey Byrgir?” She gave him a teasing smile over her shoulder.

“Chival-who? Never heard of her,” Byrgir said.

“It’s said they took their Oath together in a secret ceremony while their city was under siege, and the power it gave them helped them destroy the entire enemy legion. Their first followers enlisted that same day,” El finished. “I know I would have.”

We fell quiet, each lost in our own thoughts.

El never stayed quiet for long though, and her thoughts had returned to the recent meeting, “Really though, I wish Torin would shove off. He made it very clear in front of the whole Council that he doesn’t trust me.”

“I don’t think it’s personal, El,” Byrgir said. “Torin’s been around a long time, seen a lot. You don’t live through that much shit without a healthy dose of caution.”

“He never supports my ideas though,” El retorted.

“Because your ideas are always dangerous,” Crow said simply.