Page 76 of Ryld's Shadows
Ah. There it was. The thing he was forgetting.
“Good morning, Sean Dove-Feather. Pardon, please, if I don’t stand. Medical will fuss.” He cocked his head to the side. “I do indeed know where to begin the process. The Bureau of Land Management will need to rewrite the land use parameters and it can be done by executive order. It won’t be immediate, but I will do everything in my power to get it done. Our Kellen is correct.” Kai gave him a sharp-toothed smile. “I do know channels.”
And people. And the ones who owe me favors.
Tenzin returned in the afternoon, still serene and patient so Medical was running smoothly. He gave Kai a quick kiss and checked his pulse. “I strongly suggest you find a stopping place in your work today, my angel. You’re barely keeping your eyes open.”
“Hmm. I’m nearly there.” Kai glanced up at his husband over his glasses. “Does someone have the aelfe in hand? Since their court is essentially broken?”
“Val has taken it upon himself to patch them back together. They have notesinedof their own, so I suppose his is the most logical voice of authority.” Tenzin knelt beside Kai’s chaise to put them at eye level. “There are, from what I hear, three young aelfe women of good bloodlines who might be acceptable as the next queen. Though all three are frankly terrified of the prospect. I believe the court will pick Viburnum, a young mage who had been overshadowed by Yarrow and Yew. She seems sensible if not terribly confident yet, advocating for more traditional tree homes rather than lavish palaces.”
“Confidence will be less important than honesty in the next few years.” Kai let out a sigh. “I don’t envy whoever takes up the title. Though this is a rather pretty part of the world for an elven court.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Tenzin’s voice had a speculative note to it that made Kai sit up straighter.
“You’re considering something. Tell me, beloved.”
Tenzin took his hand and kissed the backs of his fingers. “It is pretty. It will be a more welcoming place again soon. And we never did get to have a honeymoon.”
“Time away from the office without anyone trying to kill me?” Kai chuckled. “What a novel thought.”
* * * *
It had been an interesting morning. If interesting meant exhausting. It wasn’t even noon and Hank wanted to go back to bed. He’d told the whole story—from the first visit to the flower fairies to that horrifying confrontation with Lady Jessamine—to no less than seven AURA officials, some of them nicer than others.
The enforcement captain, Hartgrove, he’d been kind and hadn’t badgered him or Ryld. Just wanted to put the events in order and get all the players in the right places. The human from crime scene investigations had been more confrontational and had obviously made Ryld uncomfortable. Hank had told him to come back later to finish his questions.
They were taking a break from the chaos outside in a little grotto within the drow court. A shaft went to the surface, providing light and allowing the sun to cast shimmering reflections off the water.
“Strange. Being in the aelfe court in the beautiful rooms filled with light I felt more like a prisoner there than in this place I was so afraid of,” Ryld said.
“There was good reason for that even if we didn’t know it.” Hank bumped shoulders with Ryld. “I think your instincts were trying to tell you something the rest of us couldn’t see. But yeah…we’re not aelfe. It’s in our nature to like caves.”
Ryld nodded. “The drow here seem very different than the drow I knew before. The goblinkind too, are not the same. Do you think it’s just they are a different court, or is it because they have crossed over to this world?”
“The way I understand it, we all come from different worlds and in those worlds, history and the people in them made the courts very different places.” Hank scratched at his arm absently. “In my world, goblins traded with humans. They took contracts with drow. Sometimes the drow did dark things, but not…not in a conqueror’s sort of way. But I’ve talked to other people who come from places where the drow courts were terrible places of treachery and murder. Places where aelfe warred with goblins or goblins with humans. So this court, it’s not like they all came from the same place, but their queen isn’t one of the brutal ones. And she says who gets to stay and who has to go. It’s her influence that makes the court one way or another.”
“Yes, for the aelfe too. They like to accuse the drow of arrogance, and the drow in turn accuse the aelfe of the same. Both are right, and wrong. We’re more alike than we are different.”
Hank smiled at that. “True. Most other races just shake their heads and say,eh, elves.”
Ryld smiled too. “Goblins included.”
A soft cough drew their attention. Dzev.
“Pardon the intrusion, friends. The world outside is still as warm with aelfe and others, I had hoped we might have a quiet moment to talk?”
“Of course.” Hank patted the rock ledge beside him. Dzev had been there when things had gone so horribly wrong. Or right. Depending on how he wanted to look at it. But Hank was beyond grateful that he’d been there for Ryld, had made certain that the deaths were few. “We needed some quiet, too.”
Dzev gave them a small bow, hand over heart, before he settled himself on a stone. “As I sought you out I had many things I wished to say…and now I find I don’t know where to begin.” He gave a small laugh. “I don’t wish to be the one to bring worry to your feet when you’ve had so little time to recover, but I’m also afraid we may not have much time to talk if you choose to leave soon. Ryld, little brother, after the events here and Lady Jessamine’s plans to try to use you to her advantage, by whatever means, I am gravely worried others might attempt the same.”
“He has a lot of people watching out for him.” Hank broke off, knowing he sounded defensive. “Sorry. I don’t mean to speak for you, sweetheart, but you do.”
“Of course, and I meant no offense. Ryld, Lady Ksatha understands how ill-treated you were by the drow court to which you were born. She knows that her presence alone might be very upsetting to you, but she would like to meet with and talk to you, if you will allow it.”
Ryld said nothing for a few long moments, then finally said, “I will try. If the shadows become restless, she must leave, or I must go. I can’t promise they won’t attack her.”
“Understood.” Dzev rose and left them.
