In direct contrast to Other lands she had read about, most of the populations in Ys were human. Vampyres, the Light and Dark Fae, the Djinn, and others of the Demonkind such as medusae, ghouls, and trolls, were mostly entertaining tales from far distant places. But Lily did see the stern visage and sleek, pointed ears of an Elf among the Braugne soldiers, along with another male who looked as if he might be part Wyr.
As she picked up random details, she narrowed her eyes. Like the waiting group from the abbey, the troops on the barge presented a united front, but not all was well among the Wolf’s men.
Lily, put your hood up! Margot exclaimed telepathically. I don’t want him to see your face!
Lily’s reply was distracted. Hiding under a hood won’t offer any protection from what is coming.
You don’t know that! Margot snapped.
Lily glanced at her friend. With all the visions the goddess has seen fit to send me, actually, I do.
As Margot’s mouth tightened, a rough, powerful voice rolled easily over the water and announced, “Wulfgar Hahn, Protector of Braugne, sends his regards to the Chosen of Camaeline Abbey.”
The voice startled her. She had been so intent on trying to sort through the confusing melee of visions and arguing telepathically with Margot, she hadn’t noticed that the older, brawny solder had stepped forward until he had spoken.
The soldier bowed to Margot.
Wulfgar Hahn did not bow. He watched with an impassive expression.
“You are mistaken,” Margot replied, all ice and hauteur. She was more than just a beautiful face and fiery temperament. She was also an accomplished sorceress, and she held her Power poised to retaliate against any sign of physical aggression. “I am not Camael’s Chosen. I am Margot Givegny, prime minister of the Camaeline Council, and if your commander has anything to say to me, he can address me himself.”
Scowling, the soldier had opened his mouth to reply when the Wolf moved to lay one gauntleted hand on the other man’s shoulder.
In a deep, pleasant baritone, he said, “I sent word yesterday that I would speak with your Chosen.”
Margot looked down her nose at him, and Lily had to bite her lip to suppress a sudden smile. Nobody did supercilious better than Margot when she put her mind to it.
Coldly, Margot replied, “Our Chosen does not respond to tersely worded imperatives from foreigners.”
The Wolf dropped his eyelids, shuttering his sharp, dark gaze. It turned his blank, hard expression even more unpredictable.
“Your response is unfortunate.” His pleasant baritone acquired bite. “I brought gifts of ancient manuscripts for her, and gold for your abbey. We could have made our business as pleasant as possible.”
When he said, “ancient manuscripts,” Lily derailed momentarily from her mission to consider them with a pang. But no matter how alluring they might sound, it would have been entirely inappropriate for the Chosen to accept them.
“It is not our duty to make your business as pleasant as possible for you,” Margot replied. “The abbey has no desire for your gifts.”
The Wolf raised one dark eyebrow, and suddenly his unremarkable face became arresting with silken menace. “I have approached you with courtesy—far more courtesy, in fact, than I have shown to any other principality I have met with thus far. You would be wise to take note.”
“There is nothing courteous about arriving on our doorstep with an army,” Margot said between her teeth.
Wulfgar gestured back to the empty shore. Even the town was silent, as most of the townsfolk had evacuated to the island. “Do you see an army?”
“You may have kept it out of sight, but we still know it’s there. Did you think we wouldn’t? It’s camped on the other side of the woods.”
Now it was Wulfgar’s turn to speak between his teeth. “I left it behind, again, out of courtesy. I did not arrive on your doorstep with it.”
“All the farmlands that surround the town are part of Calles,” Margot snapped. “You are on our doorstep. You cut down the Chosen’s trees and burn it for your firewood. You camp in her fields, hunt her creatures, and drink from her streams without permission. You trespass where you do not belong. If you had meant to be courteous, you would have sent word asking permission before you and your army set foot on our land.”
They both looked magnificent as they flared with temper. If they had been on stage, they could have made a grand romance out of it, but Lily got the impression the Wolf was only pretending to be angry as his restless gaze roamed over every detail of the scene.
She had no doubt he noticed everything, including the fact that the landing carved from rock upon which the priestesses and Defenders stood was too narrow for any invading force to make effective use of a battering ram on the massive, iron-bound gates.
The two-mile island was bordered by cliffs. It had no beach, only treacherous black rocks, many of which were submerged underwater when the tide rode high. Several generations of stonemasons had worked to build the ancient walls that towered along the cliff’s edge. Camaeline Abbey was known for being impregnable and had, on occasion, provided sanctuary to famous figures at different points throughout its long history.
The Wolf and Margot continued to snipe at each other. Their argument faded into the background as Lily angled her head and sidled a small step sideways. Then another. When she bumped shoulders with the priestess on her left, it earned her an uncertain glance.
She’d hoped a shift in perspective might help her gain a clearer vision, but it didn’t, and she sighed in frustration. Assessing people’s psyches gave her vital clues about a person, but she couldn’t get a decent reading on the Wolf, not with the layout of the scene the way it was, especially since she had no other vantage point from which to observe him, and he and his men were limited in their movements as long as they remained on the barge.
Margot would not allow the Wolf of Braugne to step onto the narrow dock, so Lily would need to do something else to get the information she wanted.
Even as she realized that, she snapped to an awareness that something important had happened.
The argument seemed to have turned a corner. She vaguely realized something had been suggested and accepted, but she had been so lost inside her own thoughts she had missed it.
Suddenly Wulfgar’s dark, powerful gaze speared her. Taken by surprise at his unexpected attention, she felt skewered, as if she had been stuck on a pin.
He said to Margot, “I agree. I think a liaison from the abbey is exactly what I need.” He gestured at Lily. “I’ll take that one.”
Margot flamed with outrage. “You can’t just pick out one of my priestesses like a horse and expect to take her home with you!”
“It’s all right, Margot,” Lily said. “I don’t mind. I’ll go with him.”
Reaction reverberated through both groups. On the barge, the Wolf raised an eyebrow while his men exchanged glances.
On the dock, Margot whipped around to stare at her. Armor clanked behind Lily as the Defenders took a quick step forward, as if they would prevent her from leaving through physical force.
Why were they all looking at her like that? Scowling, she thought back, teasing out the vague memory of what had just occurred.
Something had been said, along the lines of…
Someone should teach you a lesson.