Page 87 of Shifter King
Naatos's eyes blazed.
"Understand," Chiriese said. "That sacred place will be one which you can access and more easily escape from with your beloved. And it would be a great honor for them as well as a humiliation for you and all Vawtrians. Given how vindictive Zorna can be, she will crave that."
"Why?" AaQar asked calmly. "What would keep her from pretending another is Naatos? Someone more pliable?"
"He has been seen. She cannot know by whom. More than that, everyone is curious and angry. Zorna overplayed her hand and too swiftly. Once word is spread, she will realize that it is to her advantage to invite you. Though not all may be in agreement with us, all are in agreement that she was wrong to take the Neyeb in this way. She must prove her decision was right due to the passion of the couple or because for some reason there was no other choice. Tradition also dictates that the bride may have an attendant from her own family. The queen may have her own standards regarding this, but if you can get someone who satisfies those requirements in, you may be able to retrieve her before the wedding. But it does not seem likely."
"Why are you telling us this?" Naatos demanded. "If you know this about me, do you expect me to treat this Bealorn queen with compassion or mercy?"
"No. The wedding will almost assuredly run over with blood by your hands. You will take your veskaro back when the proclamations and announcements are finished. It will be easiest at that point because the doors will all be opened for the next part of the celebration," Chiriese said. "But you have not asked the right question."
"What is it you want for this?" Naatos growled.
"There." Opotwo pointed at him, then scanned each of them. "We know who you are." His gaze returned to Naatos. "Who you will be. We do all this and ask that you remember us. Us and our peoples when you take your throne. You will not shed the blood of our families, our kin, or our beasts. No matter what is done."
Naatos set his arms akimbo. "That all depends on whether she lives."
"Throne?" QueQoa scowled, shaking his head. "There is no throne. The Tue-Rah never had a throne. And the Tue-Rah is gone."
Once again, the cousins exchanged glances. "This is not about the Tue-Rah. But you give us your word. You swear to us here on your beloved's life, that you will honor what we have done here for you."
"What happens to Zorna and her people if they refuse this?" WroOth asked.
"War," Chiriese responded. "It is a grave offense already which can only be narrowly mended. It will be met with blood if they fail. Especially now that all the others know. Many have heard the prophecies regarding the coming of this Neyeb and what the New Neyeb will mean. There are prophecies and words of which we do not yet know. But we will survive."
"So," Opotwo said. "Will you swear it? All of you. Not just that one. All of you."
"What does that require?" AaQar asked. "Our word? An offering?" Bealorn tradition was nuanced and complicated.
Chiriese removed a small bronze bowl from the satchel at her side. She then removed feathers and scales from it as well and placed them inside with large chunks of black tourmaline, amber, lapis lazuli, and emerald. Last of all she dropped a coiled piece of paper with charcoal words. She placed her hand over it as did Opotwo. "Do you so swear it?"
"I would like to read what is on the paper first," Naatos said.
The two cousins exchanged smiles again. She pulled her hand back and allowed him to take it.
"You think we would try to cheat you after what we know of you," Chiriese chuckled.
Naatos made some noncommittal response that AaQar suspected they might find rude. "It is only to be certain of what the terms are," he said evenly. "We mean no disrespect."
Naatos scanned over the paper and then showed it to his brothers. AaQar glanced over it, taking in each detail. It had been well-written, the letters finely formed. It detailed precisely what they had discussed. No extra points of emphasis either. "Now what?" Naatos asked.
"You place your hands over the bowl and say 'I so swear,'" Opotwo said. "Very simple."
One by one they did. It seemed quite simple. No particular power transfer or heightened energy. But the words mattered.
Chiriese put the bowl and its contents away, smiling. "Very well." She then stepped forward and took hold of Naatos's arm. "Now then. Let me teach you what to say when you speak with Zorna. It is important for your beloved that you get this right. Even if it galls you."
AaQar approached Opotwo as Chiriese explained to Naatos exactly what he should say. "What is it that you know that has led you to make this decision?" he asked softly.
"Hmmm." Opotwo rubbed the amber top of his walking stick. He stepped out a few paces and then glanced up at him. "What do you know of the Machat?"
"Not much of the past twenty millennia. Before that, enough."
Opotwo nodded, stroking his beard. "It was before the Abliatos fully sealed their rule. The Machat warned us against them. That this blessing to end the Grey Season would in fact be a spiked noose with which they would hang us. That was when the Abliatos said that the magic needed blood. Machat blood. And it seemed to work. They took three up to the Pascal Cliffs, cut their throats and wrists, and drained them into the abyss. The storms faded."
"And this was taken as proof?"
"It was. And it only took a few more storms to convince all of Ecekom that the Machat were the solution. Except not all were slain. And eventually when the Abliatos came into power, that need suddenly ceased. It became another source."
