Page 21 of In Darkness Forged
“Tell me.”
“The Marlord’s survival is indeed in question,” the regent admitted. “The sole remaining remedy we have not tried contains one final ingredient that eludes us. You will go with a companion and, between the two of you, obtain this ingredient. Should you be successful, and should the Marlord live, I will convince him to grant you what you seek.”
The prisoner smiled again, a bitter, twisted expression. “You’d never send me if you could get it for yourselves, but…” He shrugged as much as his bonds allowed. “Better to die out there than rot in here. Why a companion? I travel alone.”
Aislin’s very breath froze in her lungs.
“Another petitioner,” Vanadar said offhandedly, pointedly avoiding Aislin’s gaze. “Perhaps if one fails, the other may complete the task.”
“Who is this illustriouspetitioner”—the prisoner infused the word with unmistakable mockery—“and what are we to obtain?”
Vanadar indicated Aislin with a jerk of his head.
“This human.”
For the first time, shock crossed the prisoner’s face.
“And you must bring back wild arantha venom.”
The prisoner burst out laughing.
CHAPTER5
He was going to say yes.
Vanadar had known what his answer would be from the moment he spun that ridiculous offer—known his prisoner would have no choice. Not when that prize was dangled in front of him like raw meat before a starving wolf.
Talyn was dead the moment he took the bait. There was no doubt in his mind, but what else could he do?
Lani was gone. Paendreth had killed her, as surely as if he’d plunged the blade into her heart with his own hands, and yet the bastard lived—secure behind his father’s name, his guards, and his reputation.
Tal alone could settle that debt. But there was no one who would recognize his right to do so. To win that chance, he would have to brave a wild arantha nest, subdue one of their cunning and deadly queens, and harvest her venom.
Perhaps with a small army of night elves, the task would be manageable.
He had a single human.
One soft, tiny, unarmed human, who seemed likely to either scream or faint at any moment. At least she would be easy to get rid of. In the space of a breath, he could disappear into the forests of Dunmaren, and she would never find him again.
She would never find her way out, either, but that was not his concern. Whatever quest had brought her here was assuredly even more foolish than his own and would lead her to a similar end.
So why would Vanadar send either of them?
“The Marlord forbade you to go after it yourselves, didn’t he?”
The regent stubbornly refused to answer, but his silence was answer enough.
Tal did not bother to hide the sneer that tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I’m a better chance than no chance at all, but if I die, you’ll only breathe a sigh of relief.”
He heard a quick indrawn breath from the human but ignored it. If she was so easily shocked, this lesson could not come too soon.
“I answer to my lord,” Vanadar said finally, coldly. “Not to you. I must balance the demands of duty, loyalty, and honor, though I do not expect you to understand what any of those entail,wilding.”
He meant the term to sting. And perhaps for those who had home, community, and traditions to lose, it might have. But Tal had never had those, so why should their absence cause him pain?
“Return my property,” he said harshly. “And I will get you your venom.”
Vanadar regarded him for a few moments, searching his face as if looking for signs of treachery or deceit. He must have been satisfied, because he gestured for the guards to remove the chains.