“Egh, well, he wasn’t with her at the time. And she refuses to give us his current location.”
I reached over to her, my finger slipping under Jezz's chin and forcing her head up at me. She snapped her jaw away trying to resist, but I brought her eyes back to me again by snatching her head right back. Her stubbornness wasn’t news to me. I’d heard plenty of stories of the sole fighter in the dystopian remnants of Senterra, and heard more about her limitless heroics and feisty persona. It was no secret at this point that her comrades were dwindling in numbers, her counterpart even dying by her own hands.
Word spread quickly between the nations, and Miss Valentine was a star…
“How the mighty have fallen,” I whispered, looking down my nose at her. “I don’t know how you were captured, and quite frankly it doesn’t matter. All I know is that I will make your time spent here worth my while. In the end, you will tell me everything you know about your champion and where to find him, as well as the locations of the Senterrians you’ve been hiding.”
She flexed her fists behind her back, her chest heaving harder. Seeing her flustered up put a smirk on my face. “I will rip him apart by my own hands this time, savoring the enjoyment of dismembering him for my own. It was only a matter of time before I sent him to where he belongs, in the belly of a beast.”
“Enough,” my father retorted, the boredom finally seeping from his face. “I tire of these idol concerns about this fae. I didn’t attend this meeting to discuss a boy and his pet.”
Jezz tensed up with anger at my father's dismissive tone. She may have been captive, but she was no one's pet. Fortunately for me, she had a rod in her mouth, otherwise she would have said something she’d regret, and I’d miss my opportunity to find Silas.
“Very well, sire!” Tog bowed. “Let us proceed with the parley.”
He took his seat, and I took mine adjacent to my father. Saphyra was to the right of me and nudged my elbow, giving me a sneaky wink. She was pleased with the gift from the goblins, and seemed to be the only one in the conclave who was. While the three dragon men continued to slip glances at Jezz who stood against the wall with my slave as we discussed, neither of them commented on her capture and our ticket to eliminating the revolt of mankind for good.
Maybe they were skeptical, maybe they thought she wasn’t the real deal…
And I wouldn’t blame them. Everyone had been trying to capture the meddling fae for years now. Whenever our men advanced to dystopian lands, there was always a 6/10 chance of encountering resistance. And the fae was smart with her approach. She observed our numbers along the horizon and then drew back to set traps if those numbers were unfavorable. She was as smart as she was agile, and paid attention to every little detail.
I swore she was spying on us after sunfall, teleporting to our camps and retention zones.
Despite my deep-pitied hate for her, I acknowledged her unyielding bravery and skill. She made an army of ten appear like a mere group of amateurs. It was exhilarating to know that she was finally captured and in my control, even if it was by the hands of the goblins.
But as the parley continued, I noticed something strange in Jezz’s demeanor. She wasn’t struggling against the chains that bound her wrists, nor was she flinching at the occasional glances from the conclave. Instead, she was calm, eerily so. As I studied her temperament further, I’d even say that she was waiting on something, my eyes suddenly darting to Tog and his bogburs.
Could this be a trap?
My chest went tight at the thought. The goblins… they were playing us for fools…
That was it… Silas was making an alliance with the opposition! I knew this arrangement was too good to be true! Presenting Jezz as a gift was a set up to get her inside the palace. Their motives were clear—they were trying to sabotage us and secure the crystal shard of our dungeon core!
“Father!” I blurted, jumping right out of my seat. Tog was in the middle of opening a large metallic stone egg with hinges on it over the table, my outburst making him stop midway.
“What is the matter, Lucyna?” the king asked me, my eyes still fixated on Tog and the half-opened makeshift stone container.
“I have reason to believe that these goblins are playing us…”
“I beg your pardon, princess?” Dovidan chimed in a bothered voice, while the stone container continued to captivate the conclave in its illuminating, blue-glowing glory.
“Whatever that is, it isn’t Alzera-Kar’s crystal shield.”
“This is madness!” the king uttered irritatingly. “I ask that you show our guests some respect! After all, they managed to do what you couldn’t.”
“The details of which are still unbeknownst to me.”
My father stared at me cross. “You made a fool out of me, Lucyna. I gave you my men to continue Project Conquest and you came in short-handed. I ordered you to capture this human machine, and you failed! Not to mention you allowed all of those prisoners to escape your lair under your watch!”
He knew about that?
“And now you storm in here with these accusations, without even a shrivel of evidence under your tongue!”
“What does it matter how she was captured?” Tog argued.
“It matters a lot, and you’d know that if you have more than a hundred of your men slain by her and her party.”
“You didn’t seem to care before…”
“That was before. Now it’s different,” I pressed on, ignoring the king’s aggravation.
Tog stared at me with a hint of agitation in his beady eyes. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
“She was unconscious in our village stream, on the verge of drowning. A maid had one of the warriors fish her out and bound her.”
“That seems awfully convenient.”
“The maid said she fell from the sky. I knew you wouldn’t believe us, princess, so I didn’t bother you with the details of her capture.”
“Now Lucyna, what is all of this truly about?” Dovidan pressed.
I hesitated for a moment before I gathered my words together and said, “This is all too convenient. Our prime enemy falling into goblin territory wounded, the orc’s strongest tool suddenly captured by a small village, and—”
“My lady—”
“You will hold your tongue until I allow you to speak!” I fired at Tog, and he fought a glare from his eyes as he bowed to me.
