The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4)(94)

“Well, Neph, with the fact that Micah is dead, as are my two siblings, the list of suitable candidates is pretty slim. It basically comes down to me and my mother for those with royal blood and my mother said no,” Valor snapped. His hand smacked down over the top of the coin and he slid it off the table and into his pocket. “Is there any part of me that looks happy about the arrangement or makes you believe it might have actually been my idea? What was I supposed to do, tell my Uncle to bugger off when he asked me?”

“Yes,” Neph answered bluntly. He had been in Merro for over three weeks now and this was the first he had heard of this matter. It had to have been something that was decided before Jala disrupted the council meeting in Arovan. He seriously doubted Elijah would have contacted Valor after that particular meeting.

“If not for him and my father, I wouldn’t have been given probation in Sanctuary, and I would most likely be dead now. I couldn’t tell him no,” Valor grumbled as he glared at Neph across the table. “And now, I have fresh reports in and none of it is good news. Morcaillo is still attacking the Firym border. The Blights are still attacking in Faydwer. Han’shy has sealed their border completely and is offering help to no one. Avanti is wreaking havoc near the Greenwild. My men have already arrested six slavers this week. By far, the most disturbing is Nerathane, however. They have moved eight dragons to Seravae, and from what I understand, the Seravae isles are still in Civil war. I don’t know if the dragons are there to support one side of the war in Seravae or it’s a staging ground to attack Arovan. Either way, it’s bad and Jala can’t spare the strength to support Arovan again,” The words poured out of Valor in a flood of misery. The knight leaned back heavily in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “And I don’t want to tell her any of this,” he added softly.

“She won’t leave Arovan to rot and you know it,” Neph said with a sigh. He rubbed his jaw as he stared down at the food he no longer had an appetite for. When you combined Valor’s reports with the information he had given Jala about Delvay it was grim news all the way around. An optimist might see a way through all of the ill tidings, but Neph had never been optimistic. As far as he could see it, Sanctuary was going straight to hell faster than anyone could stop it. “Where is Jala now?” Neph asked after a long moment. She would need to be informed of the reports, of course, but if he was with Jala there was a chance he could talk some sense into her. There was only so much Merro could offer the rest of the world, and he knew Jala would offer more than she should. It was in her nature to help others, even when it meant risking herself.

“Ahh. That’s the other wonderful part of the day,” Valor sighed. His gaze dropped back down to Neph’s face and he smiled bitterly. “She is working with Zoelyn and the Blight. Have you had a chance to see the Blight yet? I just did for the first time. Jala has finally managed to convince him to show himself to others.”

Neph shook his head slowly and raised an eyebrow at Valor. “I haven’t, but what does it matter?” Valor’s sighed heavily and glanced toward the cabinet with a look of longing on his face.

“Kind of early to start drinking, Val. Why don’t you just keep talking instead,” Neph suggested dryly. He had thought Valor was past his drinking issues. At the Academy, the knight had been drunk more often than sober, but he believed Jala had cured that. From the look on Valor’s face now, though, it was obvious she hadn’t.

“Wine is a hell of a lot better company than you,” Valor grumbled, but didn’t move from his chair. “Jala told me on the day we learned about the Blight that he had Arovan blood,” Valor began quietly once he realized Neph was still waiting for an answer. He tapped his finger on the table and frowned. “I thought she meant he was from the people of Arovan. I didn’t realize she literally meant House Arovan’s blood. She did, though. I figured that out when I saw him for the first time this morning. The creature is a spitting image of Micah. I nearly called him Micah at first glance. I thought somehow Jala had managed to bring him back from the dead until the Blight looked at me. The eyes are the only difference until you notice the fangs,” Valor explained in a hushed voice.

Neph stared at Valor for a long moment, not realizing that his jaw had dropped open. Closing his mouth quickly, he shook his head at Valor in disbelief. “It can’t be,” he objected, shaking his head once more. “Micah was fighting the bloody Blights. There is no way he took time from his crusade to bed one of them.”