Her father had been speaking with Herrick about only the gods knew what as she had remained withdrawn, so she had not realized that a flute of the sparkling Elven wine had been poured for her. She grabbed the delicate crystal glass and downed the effervescent lavender liquid, praying to the gods that she would survive this dinner.
Once everyone had served themselves, Aeric stood. The room grew quiet as they all waited to hear what the Shadow King would say.
"Friends, the gods have woven the threads of fate to bring us together for the upcoming summer solstice," Aeric's voice rang out in the quiet room, the shadows thickening as he spoke. "The seeds of friendship and unity have been planted between our respective kingdoms in hopes that in the near future, we may all be alliesonce again. We meet tonight to plan our next steps to free Ahland from tyrannical rulers and those who would defy the gods and fate for their own gains. But first, we will feast to celebrate freedom. May the Allfather and Freyr, the god of summer and harvest, find our sacrifice acceptable and bless us with a full crop."
A pause impregnated the space Maude, and her friends occupied, the silence following her father's speech echoing with the gravity of his promises for only a moment before he spoke again.
"Skol," her father said as he raised his glass of sparkling Elven wine, his silver eyes flitting to hers for a moment before returning to the room.
Everyone raised their glasses as well before shouting, "Skol!"
Maude cast her eyes down and only tipped the rest of her second glass of Elven wine into her throat, choosing to fall into her foul oblivion rather than pretend they were one big, happy family.
So they could all be allies again, she scoffed to herself.Easy to say when you've been hiding the truth of why the treaty was created after the Elemental War.
From underneath the table, a swift kick from that same booted foot collided with her shin. Maude hissed as the sharp needle of pain traveled up her leg, bringing her into the present. Across from her, Herrick winked at her and held his glass up for her to tap with her glass. She rolled her eyes but obliged, tapping her empty flute with his full one.
She knew she was being childish, but she couldn't stop herself.
Conversation staggered at the long table as everyone began to feast, the scraping of metal on ceramic ringing in Maude's ears as she took in her birth father's dominating presence. In her self-proclaimed solitude, Maude evaluated how everyone at the long table reacted to Aeric. How many of them knew about their true history? Liv had surely told Herrick and the rest of their friends, but did Bryn know?
The longer she watched, the longer she could no longer deny that she couldn't find any fault in Aeric's behavior. No one gave a false answer to his pressing questions; no one reacted as though his questions were pressing at all. No person shook as they placed their glass down; no one trembled in their seats as they were facedwith the Shadow King's attention. Rather than cower, the dinner guests seemed to relax in his presence.
Everyone might have been behaving positively for Maude's benefit, but she could not imagine anyone taking the time to stage entire conversations just to put her at ease.
The interactions taking place were as genuine as Maude could decipher them to be; the ease that her friends radiated was a key indicator that she should relax. But Maude could not allow her barriers to fall around Aeric, especially since discovering he was hiding the truth of the Helvig/Kolbeck coup that had erased Ahland's previously peaceful system of rule.
So, Maude did what she knew best. She rebelled.
Interrupting whoever was speaking, Maude looked directly at her birth father and asked, "So, what is your stake in all this?"
The sudden hush of the room pressed in on Maude as everyone's attention fell on her. She only kept her eyes on Aeric as he searched her face for a moment longer than she felt was needed.
"The survival of our continent is an important cause for all of us, isn't it?" Aeric finally asked, his silver eyes never leaving Maude's.
The way he phrased the question sounded more like he was fishing for another answer or reaction from her. She couldn't quite put her finger on why it was a strange response, but his eyes glittered as he watched her.
"But you've been hiding up in these mountains for centuries, ignoring the rest of Ahland as it was divided by distrust and hatred," Maude bit out, her attempt to stay neutral already failing as her vexation rose in a swift wave, threatening to overwhelm her.
"I made the decision to let Ahland become ignorant of the truth to protect my people after we suffered many losses," Aeric explained calmly. "I make no apologies for my choices— something you will understand one day."
"Why are you so invested in Ahland'sfuture now?" she asked roughly.
"Because of you,måne," her father said softly. "As selfish as that may be, it's the truth. I've always known of you, but I never dreamt that the gods would bless our meeting. Perhaps it's best for us to skip straight to the point?"
Well, that wasn't entirely what she thought he would say. The male who her mother had written about suddenly made his way to the surface, his barriers falling with an ease that Maude envied.
"By now, I'm assuming Liv has told you about the truth behind your respective kingdom's regencies and how they came to be, so I won't begrudge you the details again. Instead, I'll tell you about Sylvi and I."
At her side, Bryn reeled at her birth father's words. Clearly, Liv had not shared that bit of news with her. Across the table, Liv tried to get Bryn's attention but she ignored the Elven shieldmaiden and tuned in to Aeric's words. Maude swallowed her annoyance with Liv— she would not get in the middle of whatever was brewing between her sister and her friend.
"When your mother left Nida for the last time, she knew that she carried you already," her father explained. "Sylvi never revealed how she knew, but her letter to me told me that she would have to raise you in Logi so her mission from the Kingdom of Rivers would not be in jeopardy. I guess I had hoped she would raise you separate from King Helvig. It was my selfish wish— that another man would not raise my child. I should have known how committed Sylvi was to her mission."
Her friends had stopped eating altogether and listened to Aeric's words, hanging onto his every syllable, while Maude tried to listen to his meaning.
"Why didn't you come looking for me when she died?" she asked, her voice trembling more than she would like. It felt as though her throat was closing rapidly, the burning of unshed tears trying to force their way out as a wave of abandonment washed over her.
Maude had lived for so long under the care of a father who looked at her as a creature to be molded into his image. Before her, with affection radiating from this Elven's very pores, was a male who already loved her. Without even knowing her, he loved her.
