Page 33 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)
Darrow
I stood in my father’s office, reading the missive from Therress that Lord Gannon had just handed me.
It had taken two full days of negotiating back and forth, but we’d gotten what we wanted.
In eight hours, we would meet Lord Morgunn’s son, along with a small retinue of his soldiers, at the border to make the prisoner exchange.
“It’s ironic he believed our threat about killing Aella and has no idea that legally, she belongs to us,” I said, shaking my head.
Lord Gannon snorted. “For someone who is so protective of his wife that he won’t let anyone near her body, you did provide quite vivid imagery for what you would do to her before killing her should Lord Morgunn delay any longer. I think that likely convinced him to agree to the deal.”
“Sometimes, my dark reputation works in my favor,” I said, scowling. “I’ve never forced a woman, much less a sleeping one, and I certainly wouldn’t slit her throat afterward.”
My father lifted a brow. “Are you going to have difficulties returning her to our enemy?”
“Yes.” I ground my jaw, imagining handing her over to those bastards. “But I have no choice in the matter. Somehow, I’ll find a way to free her from that place for good.”
He patted my shoulder. “I know you’ll do what’s best for Veronna.”
“Don’t I always?” I asked. I wasn’t bitter but certainly frustrated.
Lord Gannon grunted. “Not without arguing and second-guessing all my orders. You’ve always had difficulties doing things in any way other than your own. ”
Only my father could reduce me to the young boy I’d been decades ago.
Little did he understand how my time away in Karganoth had left me sour and angry, as my mother’s family worked to extract every ounce of weakness from me during my visits.
They’d been brutal—physically and mentally.
Dark elves took pride in producing strong children who didn’t flinch in the face of pain or danger, and my grandfather had made certain I wouldn’t bring him shame.
“I only argue when I believe there is a better way.”
“Or do things behind my back so I can’t stop you,” Lord Gannon said, giving me a wan smile. “Such as getting married.”
I lifted a brow. “You can’t argue now that it wasn’t the right call to make.”
“Begrudgingly.” He took the missive from me. “Now go prepare your wife for departure. We must begin our journey in two hours if we hope to arrive early.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
Wasting no time, I exited his office and headed upstairs. There wasn’t much I could do to prepare Aella, but I’d checked on her more often than necessary during her stay. Having her here physically but not consciously wore on me.
I entered the room and found her lying on the bed, the same as before.
On the first night after her arrival, I’d had my sister—the only other person I trusted—wash and change Aella into a simple plum-colored dress.
I didn’t know if she could sense the state of her body, but I didn’t want to leave her dirty from her travels.
Faina had kept my wife’s undergarments on her through the process, so I could at least say we preserved her modesty. It would still leave Lord Morgunn wondering who’d bathed and changed his niece while with us. I hoped it deeply upset him to think what might have happened.
Now, I stood over Aella and gave her one last kiss, breathing in her natural floral scent.
The gesture was always brief yet impossible to resist. I kept hoping she’d magically wake up, but her curse was obviously different from the old fables I grew up hearing.
Nothing I did here would make those beautiful green eyes flutter open .
“She’s so quiet right now,” an ageless voice said from behind me.
I stiffened but didn’t bother to turn. “What are you doing here, nameless one?”
The dark-skinned god came to stand beside me, looking down at Aella. “Checking on my favorite fae.”
“I assume that is her,” I said with a dark chuckle. He’d only visited me a few times in my life, but usually, he had little nice to say.
The nameless one grunted. “For once, you assume correctly.”
“You wouldn’t be willing to remove the curse on her, would you?” I asked, figuring it couldn’t hurt to make the request.
“She asked for the same thing the first time I met her.” He gestured toward Aella. “You can see where that got her.”
I raked a hand through my hair, frustrated with the god as always when he visited. “You can surely see us clearly enough from wherever you usually inhabit, so why come down now?”
“To warn you.”
“About what?” I asked, jerking my gaze from Aella to him.
“Beware the Unseelie. They have become more active recently, and I fear they’ll undermine your plans,” he said.
I let out a growl of frustration. “They’ve taken enough from us already, so what do they want now?”
“Their thirst for power is unending and can never be satisfied, but every time they reach for more, a price is exacted from them in return. Now, they seek a way around the troubles they’ve brought upon themselves. I fear you and your new wife will draw their attention if you don’t take care.”
“In what way?” I asked.
“Vaslav knows, though I doubt he’ll tell you.” Before my eyes, he vanished.
I clenched my fists, hating that he always came with cryptic messages that left me with more questions than answers.
Everyone on Zadrya knew to beware the Unseelie.
It was hardly news worth sharing, except a nameless god wouldn’t have troubled himself to say that if it wasn’t especially dire this time.
What were they planning now? And he was right that even if I found Vas, he wouldn’t share a shred of information. He never did, but he likely knew.