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I quirk a brow at my sister. “Am I allowed to answer now? Without interruptions?”
Outrage, pure and simple, flashes across Adalind’s face. She isn’t as used to my brotherly needling as she used to be. That’ll have to change. If Dura and I aren’t banished, that is.
My sister takes on a mulish expression, but gestures a magnanimous hand out, signaling me to speak. I would snort at her high-handedness, but she is my queen, after all.
“I am sorry for all your pain, Addie, but truly, I’ve only known that you were alive for two weeks. I couldn’t have gotten to you for months before that. I was unconscious for much of it.”
“What?” Adalind asks, concern overtaking her earlier anger. “What do you mean, you were unconscious?”
“We did fight at the Battle of Fort Attis. It was a deadly duel and in the end I lost. Dura’s dagger stabbed me in the chest, and I lost consciousness. I was dying.”
Adalind gasps, her eyes darting to Dura, who seems to shrink a little under that gaze.
I continue, “When I woke again, I was in a cave in the Deep Wood. Rather than letting me die, she had saved me, at great personal cost. She took me from the battle and healed me with her magic, tending to me through fevers and hallucinations until I was well.” I don't mention that Dura ended up taking me captive afterward. That won’t really help our cause.
“But why?” Adalind asks, still looking at Dura. “I thought you had experienced the elvish Recognition? Why did you try to kill him in the first place?”
“He is myAsh’ka,” Dura confirms, her voice as small as I have ever heard it. “But it was not until I struck the killing blow that I felt the Recognition binding me to him. Once I did, Ihadto save him; there was no other choice.”
Understanding crosses Adalind’s features. She presses, “But that still doesn’t explain the desertion. Could you not have appealed to Rognar for aid? He would have understood. Orcs have mates as well.”
Dura shakes her head. “I thought of that, but it’s different. Orcs can mate with anyone that their instinct wakes for. They are not tied to their mates until they Claim them. Elves have only one mate and are bound from the moment the Recognition surfaces; besides, I am only half elf. I have never heard of another half-blood experiencing the Recognition. Rognar would have argued with me that it was only my Mating Instinct, not the Recognition, and he wouldn’t have wanted to waste resources to save one dying human, especially one that had been protecting our enemy. Marvik would have died while we argued. I couldn’t take the chance.”
Adalind’s face grows more serious listening to Dura’s explanation. “Are you sure?” she asks. “The Rognar I know is fair and even-keeled. He listens to wisdom and believes those he loves. You’re his cousin, Dura. He would have listened to you.”
Wait. What? The orc king is Dura’swhat?
Dura just responds to Adalind, not noticing the sudden shocked expression I send her way. “Heismy cousin, and as his cousin, I know him well. He was furious at the humans when we fought them. Rognar wanted nothing else than to crush Adrik beneath his fist. He wasn’t in a frame of mind to spare precious resources to save a hated enemy. Obviously, something happened after I left to change his mind.”
Adalind flushes lightly, a sprinkling of pink on her cheeks. Even her embarrassment is a sight to behold. “I suppose I understand what you mean. But why did you not explain this to Rognar just now? He is not without mercy and he doesn’t want to punish his only cousin. The thought devastated him. You are like a sister to him.”
“It is not the Orikesh way,” replies Dura simply. “I must either take my punishment or challenge my king. And I will not challenge him. Either I would kill him, or he would have to kill me with his own hands. I would not do that to him.”
My sister looks thoughtful. “It may not be the Orikesh way, but we are in Adrik now. We have adopted many of Orik’s practices, but our trials still allow for a defense. There may be a chance to save you both . . . but I must hurry and start maneuvering. This will not be easy.”
Adalind looks like she’s about to leave, when she suddenly turns back. “Marvik . . . there’s something else you should know. Your mother . . .”
“I know,” I say. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”
To my surprise, she shakes her head. “No, not yet. She is being executed in the morning. Her sentence is . . . not merciful.”
“But at Grimblton, they said . . .” I begin, then stop. Karn said that my mother’s trial was here, not that the sentence had happened already. I change tacks. “What happened while I was gone? I heard she tried to kill you after my father died? Was it vengeance?”
Adalind bites her lip, worried. She doesn’t want to tell me what my mother has done. I can see that plainly. “It’s alright,” I reassure her, “I will not defend my mother. I know as well as you do that she is a monster.”
“That’s the thing, Marvik,” Adalind says, still reluctant, “your mother is capable of so many worse things than we ever even knew. She and your father were part of a secret society that was dedicated to the torture and killing of innocents. She worshiped the demon Grazrath and this Cabal is what released him from his prison. There is untold blood on her hands. Not only that, but you are right, she tried to kill me and Rognar after we wed to try to restart the war and her plot almost succeeded. Maybe it was for vengeance, but mostly for power. Her charges are severe, and Rognar has sentenced her to a lowly, painful death.”
I take in a deep breath. I knew that my mother was not a good person. Once again, I think back to that day with the stableboy. But did I know she was capable of all Adalind is telling me? Somehow, it doesn’t surprise me, but I still feel horrified.
“I am sorry for all the wickedness that my family has visited upon you, Addie,” I say gravely, my heart heavy. “The sins of my House toward you and the kingdom are great indeed.”
Adalind’s fingers reach through the grate, obviously reaching toward me. I put out my hand and grasp hers in mine. She gives me a comforting squeeze. “Peace, Marvik,” she says. “I have never blamed you for your parents’ actions. It is all in the past and I am happy now. Safe and protected. Now that you have been returned to me, I have all that I could ever want.”
I withdraw my hand from hers. “I cannot be entirely returned to you, Adalind. Whatever happens to Dura, I will go with her as well. I am her mate and we cannot be parted.”
Dura looks like she is going to interject something, but I give a quelling look. We’ll talk later.
Adalind merely nods her head. “I will work to help you. Though I cannot promise that I will lift your punishment, I will work to mitigate it. I must go.”
