Go away. Dhuro crossed his arms. The last thing he needed was Noc trying to pick apart his past and attempting to make him a kinder, gentler cave troll.
Noc whipped his tail, catching Dhuro in the back. Just remember, even cave trolls pause in their rage from time to time to give a care about something. You can do at least as well as that.
Dhuro sketched an amused smile that swiftly faded, then shooed Noc away. Enough of this gooey, sticky emotional mess.
I know that Janessa—
He turned on Noc, glaring. We do not discuss her. Not now. Not ever.
It had been over two thousand years since he’d heard her name spoken, and it was too soon. Never again would be too soon, in that woman’s case.
Arabella passed them by, her head hung low. Noc blinked over wide eyes and, without another word, accompanied her away.
Dhuro smoothed back his hair, watching them walking side by side. Noc gave her drooping head a nudge, and she perked up a little, if only briefly.
Dhuro drew in a deep breath, fighting a twinge of conscience. All this time, she’d given as good as she’d gotten. Things weren't different simply because guilt had displaced her sense of moral superiority.
As long as there were no more charms during battle, it didn’t matter what she thought, and he didn’t need her to think well of him. If that meant he had the emotional range of a cave troll, then whatever. He just needed to do the job Mati had given him, and do it well. That was it. And right now, it meant finding a secure campsite.
The early-afternoon sky had only grayed further, and he wanted some shelter while it was still dry.
Just then, the first droplets of the storm began to fall.
Chapter 6
Arabella glanced beside her, and that bitter porcupine of a dark-elf was close. Far too close. Huddled together in a mountain cave should’ve been better than being out in the storm, but if it meant getting some distance from him, then the rain, the thunder, and the lightning began to feel inviting. And the sooner the other unicorns could help her get her powers under control, the better.
Noc took the rare opportunity to nap, leaving her to stand around, unsure where to rest her gaze.
Arms crossed, Dhuro leaned against the stone, his head bowed, staring intently into the space before him. Eyes couldn’t strangle anyone—she was fairly certain—and yet anyone who’d intrude into Dhuro’s line of sight right now wouldn’t be ridiculous to wonder. Occasionally he tapped a claw against his bicep, but one look at the slope of his eyebrows on his shadowed slate-blue face would dissuade anyone from asking him what bothered him.
Was he still angry over her charm during the battle? Maybe his dark mood had nothing to do with her at all, but she was certainly taking the brunt of it.
In the heat of the moment, she’d misunderstood, and he knew that. She’d tried to make peace between them, but she wouldn’t force her presence on him. If he didn’t want to forgive, then the remainder of this trip would feel all the longer, but that was his choice.
All eyes meandered to the outside from time to time, just as hers did, anxious to get out of these tight quarters, no doubt. The sun was setting, and it would soon be dark. Dhuro and his team had taken so many precautions, but if his reaction after the ambush had been any indication, they hadn’t known about the bounty out on her.
So which enemies had they been so prepared to face? He wouldn’t tell her anything, but she’d have to find out, somehow. If only to know what she was walking into out there. All he’d said of their attackers was that they were light-elves and had nothing to do with her. This enemy of theirs had to be problematic, something they wanted to hide. Something she’d uncover, if she had anything to say about it.
Even more curious had been the griffins’ involvement. From everything she’d learned, griffins were high mountain creatures, and light-elves made their home in the lowland woods. The peculiar partnership had to mean more, especially since it had etched that ever-present furrow on his brow even deeper.
When darkness finally settled outside, Dhuro jerked his head to the dark-elf with the long braid—Gavri—and she gathered the team.
Bella nudged Noc awake. Seems we’re heading out.
Noc nodded sleepily, then as the dark-elves leaned in together, he turned an ear toward them.
Can you hear them? she asked.
He craned his neck toward them a little, but when they dispersed, he made a show of looking around.
Dhuro narrowed his eyes at him before tipping his head in the direction of the exit. “Time to go.”
Although he faced Noc when he said it, those golden eyes stole the briefest of glimpses at her before he strode away.
She shifted from hoof to hoof, turning to Noc. Well?
Something about watching out for the light of the crystals. They must be wary of light-elf attacks, since they use crystals for illumination in the dark. We are very close to Lumia’s territory.
Lumia? These might be the answers she needed. She followed the dark-elves out alongside Noc. At least it had stopped raining. Is it a particularly aggressive queendom?
Noc hesitated, picking his way carefully through the rocky dirt. There’s bad blood between Nozva Rozkveta and Lumia. At the end of their last war, the light-elf queen killed Queen Zara’s partner, Mirza.
Bella’s heart fumbled a beat. Queen Zara’s partner? Was he Dhuro’s father?
Yes, Noc answered somberly.
Dhuro had lost someone to war, too. Someone he’d loved. Being so close to Lumia had to put him on edge, worry him, just like the sounds of battle always reopened her anguish at losing Cosimo. Every time, it was as sharp, as deep, and as devastating as the first time, darkness and numbness stretching for months, for years.
No, she wouldn’t go back there again right now. Whenever those dark feelings resurfaced, she tamped down on them, focused on what she could do to stop that kind of violence as Renato. It didn’t always work, but she had gotten better with practice.
How did Dhuro bear the loss of his father? Did he have someone he shared the burden with?
She gulped a breath. This wasn’t about what scars they shared.
Whatever he’d been hiding, was Lumia somehow involved? The attackers had been light-elves, after all. Was there another war brewing? If so, how did taking her to the unicorns figure into it?
That night of the battle, when she’d charmed everyone, had come with a realization: Unicorns could stop wars.
It was clear from Dhuro’s every stomping step that he’d like nothing more than to paint the mud red with his enemies’ blood. But Queen Zara, perhaps, had another strategy in mind to deal with threats to her queendom. Would returning a wayward unicorn to the herd grant the dark-elves some sort of favor? If unicorns could stop wars, then their support would be a useful tool for anyone to win. But what would the bargain be? Surely returning a fledgling such as herself wouldn’t be enough to buy a tool like that. There had to be something else, something immensely valuable on offer, but what it was would for now remain a mystery.
Skirting along the base of the mountain, the dark-elves ringed her, a few leading the way. Their wary eyes traced the woods, pausing at the night’s sounds. Owls hooting, wolves howling, the wind rustling the trees. Even if the final bargain would involve more important trades, they did protect her. More than simply helping her find her sire, they guarded her. Perhaps she was their way in with the unicorns? An overture to negotiations?