Page 71 of In Darkness Forged
“Because I lo—”
No. That couldn’t be. She could not love him, because he was as far beyond her as the castle at Arandar was beyond her own pitiful little cottage. If Sandric was out of her reach, what did that make Tal?
But Aislin’s heart, apparently, did not care. She’d left most of it in that dark cavern with Tal’s body, and if he died, she would never get it back.
“I love him,” she said quietly.
The Queen laughed again, and the sound was echoed by a low hiss from the aranthas that surrounded them.
“Such an interesting thing, love. It twists us in directions we did not think to go.”
A profound truth from the lips of a creature Aislin had once assumed was no more than a monster.
“Perhaps since you know what it is to love, you will understand that I, too, love my children.” The Queen gestured to the aranthas around them. “They are not exactly as I am. They cannot speak or think for themselves, but they love me, and I care for them.And over the centuries, I have grown weary of sending them out to be hunted.”
Aislin winced. She wondered if the Queen knew how many of her “children” Tal had killed.
“I propose a bargain, human.”
Aislin’s heart began to thud with a strange and terrible hope. Was she not to die after all?
“I will give you what you seek. My children will allow you to leave here alive so that you may save your companion, but then you must do as I ask.”
“What would you ask of me?” Aislin asked quietly, trying to disguise the trembling of her hands and the quickening of her heart.
“Your vow, human, that you will treat with the night elves on our behalf.”
“And for collateral?”
“Enough of my venom to satisfy their demands.”
“What am I to bargain for?”
“We ask only to be allowed to live in peace,” the Queen said. “My children harm no one unless they are attacked. They hunt quietly and live in holes where no one else goes. The night elves must respect our territory, or one day I will grow weary and teach them that respect over the bodies of their dead.”
Time—and Aislin’s heart—seemed to freeze. There was no going back from this decision. Vanadar had promised to grant her only a single request, so instead of using the venom to purchase her family’s future, she must use it to convince the night elves to consider the Queen’s demands.
She had come here, willing to risk death for the chance to save her family, and she would leave no closer to her goal.
But Tal would leave with her, and he… Whether he knew it or not, he was now a part of her family too. He and Cuan.
“I will do everything I can,” Aislin promised. “I would be lying if I promised you the night elves will listen, because I am weak and human, and they do not respect me either. But I will swear to bargain for you and to give them your message.”
The Queen regarded her in silence for five beats of Aislin’s heart, and then she nodded regally.
“We have an accord. Have you a way to carry my gift?”
Aislin removed her pack and scrabbled in the bottom of it with trembling fingers until they finally closed around the small glass vial. She held it out, and somehow did not flinch when the Queen’s claw-tipped fingers took it from her palm.
The Queen turned away, hiding her face, and a moment later, it was done. She held out the vial again, this time with a bead of shimmering, golden liquid in the bottom.
“A single drop is sufficient for your purposes, human,” the Queen warned. “There are two, so do not waste them.”
Aislin clenched the precious vial in her fist and fought to keep tears from flowing down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said hoarsely. “I assure you that I do not take this gift lightly.”
The Queen inclined her head.“I believe you do not. Now go. My children are hungry, and even I cannot prevent them from feeding forever.”
Aislin turned and fled.