The Destroyer Book 4 (24 page)

“Four months.” I nodded and motioned for her to follow me out through the bathroom, my bedroom, and into the foyer. Relyara could have betrayed me, but she had not. I trusted her before, but now her loyalty was proven.

“Sit.” I pointed at the plush leather chair next to mine.

“Who else knows?” I asked.

“The spy was one of my best servants. After he told me, I had him killed and his body fed to the pigs. He was not missed.” I nodded. Relyara ran the servants of the mansion as well as personally attending me.

“What do you advise?” I exhaled and looked at the beautiful woman. She was not often caught off guard, but I could tell that she was not expecting me to ask her this. She probably believed I would kill her.

“If the other tribes or elders find out that you were with a human, it will be a horrible loss of power for you and your father. He will be forced to choose a mate for you immediately, and whoever mates with you will request that the human be tortured and killed.”

“Ridiculous. Males fuck human females all the time. None of those women are killed.” I felt anger and frustration fill my stomach. Fuck. I should have been more careful.

“You are the Singleborn. You are supposed to be breeding and have been spinning stories to keep from mating. If it is because of this human, then he will be removed. His life means nothing.”

“So what should I do?”

“Pick a suitor right now. Make the announcement immediately.”

“I can’t.” I sighed and gripped the arms of the chair. Deciding tonight would hurt my father’s venture with the human army. He needed another few years. Nor was that what I wanted. The thought of mating with any of the available males made me ill. “What are my other options?”

“Deny it.” She leaned forward and sudden passion entered her voice. “Ripthe did not see you fuck the human. He has no proof. He said he saw you riding with a human, but it was dark, and he was drinking. Tell your brother to lie and say he was out with you. Or tell another one of your suitors to lie and then move his room closer to yours. It is past time you showed favor to one of the males anyway.”

A loud knock sounded on my door and Relyara rose to answer it. My brother entered the foyer.

“Sit.” I pointed at the chair next to me and across from where Relyara sat. “Who are you fucking?”

“Excuse me?” He tilted his head.

“You stink of sex. Didn’t I ask you to tell me who you would be mating with?”

“Daranyet.”

“Fuck.” I looked at Relyara and she grimaced as well. Daranyet was of Alwor’s family and she would not lie to him.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier.” Grednil waived his hands apologetically.

“Were you with her all night?” Relyara demanded.

“Sister, why does your servant address me in this manner?” His voice rose and he looked at me.

“Answer her fucking question! We are dealing with a difficult problem now that I need you to help me with,” I seethed at him. He looked shocked and his scent changed to fear.

“Yes. I was with her all night. What happened?”

“Ripthe believes I am consorting with a human. He has convinced Alwor as well.”

“Why would he think that?” He looked confused.

“I’ve been teaching the human stable boy to ride our horses at night.” The partial truth came to my lips easily and would not cloud my scent. “Ripthe was spying on me and observed us together. He is convinced that I am fucking the human.”

“Why would you teach a human to ride?”

“I wanted a better skilled stable hand.”

“So have one of our kind in the stable.”

“That is a good suggestion Brother. I should have consulted with you earlier about my stable management.” I wanted to strangle him.

“Ahh Sister.” He laughed slightly and sat forward. “I know you sometimes think me a fool, but I have been around horses enough to know Elvens are just better than humans at these tasks. I can help you pick someone. Actually, you probably need two for a stable the size of yours.”

“Perhaps after this situation is handled, I will welcome your help with that.” I turned to Relyara and almost laughed as she struggled to keep her face impassive. My half-brother really was an idiot.

“I can help with your suitors.” He stood up suddenly and stretched.

“How?” Relyara asked.

“I’ll go talk to them. Tell them that you were training a human in secret and that will be that.”

Relyara and I exchanged looks and she shrugged with her eyebrows raised.

“I believe they are in Ripthe’s room,” she said to him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. Let’s talk again over breakfast.” He sighed and swaggered toward the exit of my suite. Relyara and I looked at each other and she hinted at half a smile.

This just might work.

Grednil opened the door to the hallway and let out a surprised yelp.

“Get out of my way, boy!” my father growled and stepped into the hallway. Grednil quickly moved to the side and the chieftain stomped past him. My father’s face was red with frustration and his hands clenched at his side. I could smell his anger like burnt metal.

“What are you playing at girl?” He spat the question.

“What do you
—
”

“Get out!” He turned to Relyara and Grednil with a scream of thunder. They scurried away from his hot voice and exited the room quickly. Once the door slammed shut he turned back and pointed his finger at me.

“Are you trying to ruin everything this tribe is working for? Are you a fucking idiot? A human? By the Dead Gods girl, I thought you were smarter than this.”

“Father, I can
—
”

“Shut the fuck up!” he screamed again and seemed to vibrate with his vocal chords. His massive fist slammed into the small table I used for breakfast and the wood shattered into hundreds of splinters. I pulled the World to me and stood up from my chair. Killing him would be a worse mistake than fucking Kaiyer, but I wouldn’t let the man attack me without consequence.

“Fix this tomorrow. Kill this human you are dallying with and focus on the task at hand. You better make it convincing, or I’ll line up all of your suitors and let them have turns inseminating you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” My teeth clenched so hard that my jaw ached. I could just kill him now. The World was coursing through my body. One flick of concentration and he would burst into flame. I could leave this place tonight. I could live on my own. If anyone came after me, I would destroy them.

“Try me, Iolarathe.” He stepped closer and our noses made contact. His eyes burned like silver suns. He was bigger than I was, but I knew I was much stronger. His breath came out in puffs of steam and filled my nostrils with the scent of his mouth. There was no fear there. Just anger.

“I’m sick of your games. Kill the slave tomorrow morning or you’ll see what I am like when I am really angry. Your insolence has almost cost me everything.”

Kill him. Kill the fucker. You want to be free.

The voice in my head was my own and repeated the desires of my heart.

“Fine,” I spat.

He inhaled to taste my scent, nodded slowly and turned to walk out of my room without another word. When the door opened I saw a small assembly of guards out in the hallway that had responded to the shouting. Relyara was holding them back from the door and the group parted to let my father pass.

I sat down on the chair again and looked at the destroyed table. It had once been beautiful, but was quite far beyond repair now. Why hadn’t I killed him?

For the same reason I never left my mother’s estate and set out on my own.

“Will you do it?” Relyara was at my side and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Yes.”

“It is for the best. Your suitors will believe your words if they accompany the action.”

“I know.” Why was there coldness in my stomach? It was just a human. Yes, Kaiyer was different than all the others, but he was still just an animal. I would forget about him soon enough and occupy myself with other things.

“Tell my suitors and brother to join me for breakfast tomorrow. Do not invite the maidens. I’ll kill him after we eat.”

“Very well, Mistress.”

“Get me a new table. Nicer than this one was. I will retire for the rest of the morning.”

“Yes, Mistress.” Her voice followed me into my room.

My robe was only slightly damp from the aftermath of the bath. I slid out of it, tossed it across the carved back of my dressing chair, and then dove between the satin sheets of my massive bed. I heard Relyara issuing curt orders to various servants, but the specifics didn’t bother to enter my mind.

My mother would probably find out about this ordeal with Kaiyer. Perhaps my father wouldn’t tell her, but I had no doubt that she had spies in this tribe already. What would my sister think? In many ways she was like my mother, made up entirely of logic and hard facts. However, unlike my mother, Nyarathe understood passion and emotions. She would no doubt shrug her shoulders and tell me that I should have been more careful.

I would have to kill Kaiyer myself.

There was no other way. I had to eliminate all possible doubt in the minds of my suitors. It would be simple and believable. I was already known as a violent killer. That would extinguish all the rumors. I felt a disturbing mixture of regret and fear that made me feel sick.

I couldn’t believe that Ripthe would even come to the correct conclusion without seeing us in the act of fucking. It also seemed out of character that he would speak to Alwor. Ripthe was garrulous, but Ubarwa was the closest neighboring tribe and enemy. They had denied sending warriors to kidnap me when I first arrived here, but we all guessed that they had made a power play that flew against any peaceful co-existence. I could not believe that Ripthe was dumb enough to bring his suspicions to Alwor. Yet he had.

I guess one cannot predict idiocy.

Kaiyer and I would pay the price for my indiscretions and Ripthe’s yammering mouth. If only Ripthe had come to me first, then I could have killed him and put the matter to rest. Now that my father knew, it was too late for that.

Kaiyer. Kaiyer. Kaiyer.

I said his name over in my mind while I recalled his scent and the image of his shy smile. I did not want to kill him. I could not. I had at first been so physically attracted to his scent that I spent time with him out of simple curiosity and lust. But now I cared for the man. He saw me differently than every other human or Elven I had ever interacted with. Of course he feared me, he was too intelligent not to, but I could also sense that he enjoyed my presence as much as I enjoyed his. If he was dead, I would have nothing to bring me joy and peace.

There was nothing for me here but breeding with one of the slobbering morons and waiting around while their spawn ruined me. How could I care for children born of such a cold political alliance? And if I did love them, how could I let them go and move on with my life without them? I wanted no part of this. I could not hurt Kaiyer. There had to be some solution to this problem I had not considered yet. Escape came to mind again, the world was large, and while Elvens inhabited most of it, there would be pockets where we could live alone together.

Until he died, old and broken. Humans only lived for half a century, my kind for at least five. Would my father hunt for me? No doubt he would, he would be forced to by the other tribes. But I was stronger than all of them. I could protect both of us and fend off any Elven who came for me.

“Mistress,” Relyara’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“What?”

“Your suitors will be here in an hour. Do you wish to bathe beforehand?”

“It is morning?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

I sighed and pulled my head from under my pillow. Relyara was correct, unwanted morning light pierced my curtains. Had I even slept at all?

“I will bathe.” She nodded at my words and then commanded my other female servants, who prepared my tub and morning ritual.

I paid little attention to the process of my bath or the following effort my servants put into clothing me. My mind was only focused on Kaiyer. Too soon I was made ready for breakfast and walked into the foyer.

“Your suitors will arrive shortly.” Relyara pulled my chair out and I sat upon the plush leather pad. “Do you approve of the new table?”

“Yes,” I answered automatically. I did not give a single fuck about the table.

A knock sounded at my door and Relyara floated across the hallway toward the entrance to my suite. My suitors and Grednil were gathered there and the beautiful woman ushered them in while thanking them for coming.

I said nothing to the men while they took their seats. They normally talked amongst themselves, made jokes, or said other idiotic things in an effort to gain my favor or belittle their competitors. They must have understood the mood, none of them spoke.

My servants poured drinks of juice, sparkling wine, and water. Then they set about placing piles of smoked fish, breads, cheeses, and eggs on my new table and onto my guests’ plates.