Page 59 of Graevale
The only sure way to know if he was Claimed was for her to personally force her will upon his, just like she’d done with Jordan, and Release him if need be. But there was no way Alex was going to get close enough to him to risk something like that, not if he was liable to snatch her away on theValispathand deliver her to Aven, regardless of whether he was already Claimed or not.
Besides, she was…mostly… confident that if Gaiel trulywasClaimed, he wouldn’t be so antagonistic towards her. If Aven was the puppet-master, he’d be more inclined to lull her into a false sense of security and nab her when her guard was down. Instead, Gaiel’s prickly attitude was causing her hackles to rise enough that she refused to trust him, and that wouldn’t work in Aven’s favour at all.
Aven, Alex knew, was a renowned strategist. There was no way he wouldn’t use Gaiel to his full advantage if he’d taken over the council member’s mind. Gaiel, therefore, was acting on his own reckless impulses.
Alex just wasn’t sure if that made him less of a threat… or more of one.
“So you met with Aven,” Alex said, “and he said he’d trade me for free access back into the city?”
Gaiel offered a narrow-eyed nod.
“How did you respond?”
When Gaiel didn’t answer, Roathus spoke up for the first time since Alex had arrived.
“Gaiel told the Rebel Prince that he would bring the offer to the council.” Roathus paused. “Or what remains of it.”
“Before your untimely entrance, we were debating the matter,” Cykor drawled. “Aven’s proposition is tempting, I must admit. I’m with Gaiel in the belief that you’ve caused us enough trouble and we’re better off rid of you. The odds of this meeting, young mortal, were not entirely in your favour.”
“What a load ofshogot,” Zain growled. “It was two against two, with Roathus left as the deciding vote. That’s an even balance, with even odds. And even if it weren’t…” His voice lowered, becoming significantly more threatening. “It wouldn’t matter. Because we will not hand over Alex—for anything.”
“Why do you think Aven wants her so badly?” Kyia demanded of the council. “Aven is no fool. He knows she is a viable threat to his reign, perhaps theonlythreat, since she alone is capable of resisting him. Within her, she has the power to Release our people from his Claim, to unseat him from his stolen throne and to restore us to our city as free Meyarins.Thatis why Aven wants her. Because if he has her, then his victory over our race, his victory overallthe races of this world, is assured.” Kyia’s voice quieted as she finished, “Without Alex, there is no hope for any of us.”
Silence descended upon them. Until—
“That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Cykor said, his amused tone ringing with derision. “It’s laughable, really. I mean, look at her.” He glanced at Alex and added a condescending, “No offence.”
How, exactly, was she not supposed to take offence to that?
Niyx, I’m sorry to say this, but your dad’s a jerk, she shot off quickly through their mental bond, unable to help herself.
His response came just as swiftly, and it was telling enough about his own relationship with his father that he didn’t ask for details. All he said was,Tell me something I don’t know.
“There is no real choice here,” Gaiel said. “We can accept Aven’s proposition of freedom and return to Meya to make the most of his rule within the comfort of our own homes, or we can remain trapped up here like cowards and wait for a pitiful human to… what? Save us all?” He laughed. It was a harsh, mean sound. “I would rather take my chances and risk being Claimed.”
“Your opinion has already been noted, Gaiel,” Kyia said curtly. “It is only Roathus who is left to vote.”
Zain cracked his knuckles and reminded, “And that vote is a token gesture only. As I said, Alex isn’t going anywhere.”
“You—” Gaiel started, his features livid, but Roathus interrupted.
“Enough,” the ancient Meyarin said, switching over to his native tongue, his tone brooking no argument. “You’re acting like a bunch of spoilt younglings. We have enough to be worried about without you fighting each other along the way. Open your eyes and see that this is about more than you, just as it is about more than the mortal girl.”
Guilty shuffles met his statement, and he continued in Meyarin, “It is never easy to cast the deciding vote, but in this instance, Gaiel is correct: there is no real choice here.”
Alex felt her heart sink. Gaiel looked smug, Cykor looked bored. Zain and Kyia both tensed and opened their mouths to argue. But Roathus held up a hand for silence and continued speaking.
“If we don’t hand the girl to Aven, then we may end up in a war for our city—indeed, for our world—where we have to fight against our own people, our families, our friends, all of whom are under Aven’s control. We may lose those we care about, and there is no guarantee we will triumph.”
Gaiel’s haughty look only deepened, enough that Alex half expected him to start crowing.
“However,” Roathus said, causing Gaiel to glance at him sharply, “if wedohand the girl to Aven, then, as Kyia said, there won’t just be no guarantee of triumph—there will be nohopefor it. Our loved ones will live but half a life, mindlessly forced to obey Aven’s every whim. And even if we could trust his pledge not to Claim us, how could we live with ourselves if we trade our own freedom at the sacrifice of the only hope for our race?”
Roathus shook his head and continued, “No, there is no real choice here. This is no longer just about Aven’s vendetta against mortals. He has declared war against Meya, and those of us who remain free have a responsibility to our home and to our people.”
With resolute eyes moving from person to person, Roathus quietly finished, this time in the common tongue, “We cannot hand the girl to Aven. To do so would mean the end of the Meyarin race. And, I believe, the end of Medora as we know it.”
Alex actually wilted with relief. Not because she doubted Kyia and Zain would have found a way to get her safely out of there if the three others demanded she be handed over, but because, if she was reading Roathus’s declaration correctly, then he was firmly on board in the fight against Aven. Not just for Meya—but forMedora. And if his was the deciding vote, then his decision would have to be upheld by the rest of the council, along with all the Meyarins who remained free in Draekora.
