“They will,” Jala assured him. Standing slowly, Jala looked to Sovaesh. “You have one hour to gather your family and whatever items you wish to take to Merro,” she informed him firmly then looked back to Truce. “You also have one hour to gather my gold from your treasury,” she added.
“Milady, do you have any idea how much money that is? It will take far longer than one hour to do,” Truce objected.
“One hour and then I start killing household or family for each additional hour it takes. That should be proper motivation Truce,” Jala snarled as she nodded her head back toward the door. “You will bring me the gold to my camp and sign the terms of surrender that I have waiting. If you fail to arrive in my camp I will raze the city,” she said as she turned for the door.
“Your definition of mercy is interesting,” Sovaesh said in an amused voice.
“At least I have a definition of mercy. The Avanti certainly don’t or I would still have my husband,” Jala snapped as she left the room.
“It’s moments like this that make me love you so much, Jala,” Neph said with a smile as he fell into step behind her. “You are almost mean enough to be adopted by the Delvay formally.”
Valor frowned and gave Jala a look of dismay. “Please, by all the gods, say something sweet and caring so he gets that notion out of his head,” Valor pleaded.
“Love you, Valor,” Jala said sweetly as she started down the stairs. It was spontaneous to say it now and she knew it, but during the few days after Jail’s visit in her tent she had come to realize it was true. With all her focus on fighting and planning and, of course, dealing with Jexon, she had never closely examined what she felt for Valor. She had known that she loved him, but had considered it love for a friend. That simply didn’t apply, though, when she put thought into it. If Valor asked her for anything, she wouldn’t hesitate to give it. If he showed pain, she would do everything she could to heal him. The thought of waking in the morning without him nearby was unbearable. There was no other way to describe her feelings for Valor, other than love, and it was more than for a simple friend. She heard Valor stumble behind her, followed by Neph’s ringing laughter. Glancing back, Jala smiled at Valor and shook her head slightly as she continued to walk.
Chapter 32
Sanctuary
Shade watched in silence as Sebastian Blackwolf bowed before Symphony and turned to leave the chamber. The Blackwolf line was renowned for their dignity and pride and Shade had spent the past three days watching Sebastian sacrifice his as he pled with the Fionaveir for help.
“Be wise in your choice, Symphony. We have limited resources and we can hardly afford to squander them on nations that are as weak as Glis,” Faramir said gently.
“Glis and Arovan supported you. You can’t just ignore their plea for help,” Shade said quietly, earning a glare from Faramir for his words.
“This is not something you can be sentimental about, Symphony. You must set your emotions aside and think as a ruler,” Faramir said firmly. Standing from her chair the dark haired woman moved behind Symphony and rested her hands on the younger woman’s shoulders. “You must hold the city. We need strength here and you will lose the following of the commons if you put them on rations to send food to Glis.” Faramir spoke softly and Shade could see Symphony already surrendering to the older woman’s advice.
“What does your gut tell you to do, Symphony? What thoughts crossed your mind when you watched Sebastian humble himself before you and beg for his people?” Shade asked in a louder voice, desperate to stop Faramir.
“Shade, she is right. I have to keep my fighting strength here or I can’t hold against Nerathane. Morcath may have fallen before Oblivion, but they didn’t capture Myth and Queen Willameir is a very big danger,” Symphony said in a voice filled with sadness.
“Symphony, please don’t do this to them. They are your allies. Glis and Arovan have supported you since before you took the city. Don’t leave them to die,” Shade said as he rose from his seat and stood before her, his eyes filled with pleading. If Sebastian’s begging wouldn’t sway her, maybe his would. It was worth a shot anyway.
“Symphony, you cannot afford this no matter how much your heart bleeds for them. I want you to succeed here, love. You have to be ready to face the dragons.” Faramir spoke softly and Shade watched with a heavy heart as Symphony’s head bowed forward.
“She is right, Shade. I’m sorry. Glis will have to stand on its own for now. I will send them help when I can, I promise you,” Symphony said with grief thick in her voice.
“When you can, will be too late, Symphony,” Shade pressed, shaking his head at her. With a heavy sigh, he chewed on his lower lip as he made up his mind. “I can turn into anything, Symphony. With the Changeling blood, I can take on any form I want,” he began, his words drawing her eyes back up to him once more. Calmly he rolled the sleeve of his shirt up and stared down at the Fionaveir tattoo. “There is just one thing that I have never been able to be, no matter how hard I’ve tried.” Raising his eyes to look at her once more he smiled sadly. “I want to be the good guy for just once, Symphony, and seeing this has made me realize that I never will be as long as I follow others. I hope one day you follow your instincts. I’ve talked with you enough to know you are a good person, you simply have bad counsel,” Shade said, his gaze flicking to Faramir with the last words. “Good bye, Sym, and good luck,” he added quietly as he turned for the door.
“Shade, please don’t go,” Symphony called behind him. “Please, Shade, I don’t have many friends and I don’t want to lose the ones I have.”
“I’m sure the people of Glis feel the same way about their friends, Symphony. If you won’t help them, I will,” Shade said as he paused at the door.