The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(110)
“The Assassin spoke of killing your son and rather than act on that, his mind was occupied with sex,” Neph growled.
“That was arrogance, not compliance. If Noble truly believed Legacy was in danger, he would have sacrificed his own life to save my son,” Jala replied as she lowered herself slowly to a chair across from him. “He thought he had her and could have his cake and eat it too. We are all guilty of arrogance from time to time, Neph.”
“You are too soft,” Neph grumbled shaking his head at her.
“And you are too hard so we are both at fault,” Jala countered with a faint smile. With a sigh she crossed her arms on the table and laid her head down gently, still watching him. “I hate dragons,” she murmured, her eyes half-closing.
“Nigel and Dresharn will be very displeased to hear that,” Neph responded dryly.
“I hate their dragons. I love mine,” Jala amended softly. “What did Jail say when you visited him?”
“I didn’t actually get a chance to speak with Jail, but Dresharn said he would investigate the matter. It was a wise choice sending Dresharn to assist in Sanctuary. He seems to know a great deal about politics and subterfuge,” Neph replied calmly. She looked ready to fall asleep at the table and he wondered if he should leave her be. He hated the thought of her being alone when she was obviously so weak, though. Even if Hemlock wasn’t planning to move against her, there were plenty of others that would, and the incident with the spy had proved clearly how the security in Merro was lacking.
“He should know politics. He was Lady Nerathane’s advisor for decades,” Jala said through a yawn. Blinking several times, she sat up slowly and rubbed her face. “I can’t remember the last time I was this tired,” she admitted with a faint smile.
“As soon as Valor returns, I will leave you to rest,” Neph assured her.
“As soon as I’ve rested, we move on Delvay, so make sure you get sleep as well. Vaze said he gathered enough information for an attack,” Jala informed him and glanced at the door. “I know Valor has to be as tired as I am. He must really be laying into Noble to be gone this long,” she sighed.
“Good. I hope he beats the little shit senseless,” Neph grumbled.
“And I hope he finds a bit of understanding and realizes at one point of his life he would have likely done the same thing,” Jala countered with a smile.
“Finn, maybe, but not Valor,” Neph objected with a frown. “Valor would have beaten the living shit out of anyone that even suggested harming Legacy,” he added without a trace of doubt in his voice. He had seen too much of Valor’s loyalty and honor to believe anything else about the knight. In Sanctuary, Valor had been Finn’s drunken shadow, but with Jala he was a completely different man. He still had his faults, but they did not even begin to compare with his strengths. Out of everyone Neph knew, he couldn’t think of another person he would rather leave to protect and care for Jala.
“You are probably right,” Jala agreed with a nod. She turned her gaze toward him and Neph could see the sadness written in her violet eyes.
“I’m sorry I mentioned Finn,” Neph said softly and wished he had considered his words more carefully before he spoke them.
“It’s not that,” Jala said with a shake of her head. She sighed heavily and smiled sadly. “Tomorrow I am going to do everything I can to give you back your home, and it’s moments like this that make me wish I wasn’t going to,” she held up a hand before he could interrupt and her smile faded a bit. “It’s selfish, I know, but I want you here, Neph. Tomorrow you will have Delvay back and I will lose you again, and I am ashamed to admit how much I’m going to hate it. I treasure every moment we have to talk, and even if we fight, I know you are just trying to protect me. I am surrounded by people that love me, Neph, and I shouldn’t be so selfish, considering what I have, but you are the only one that will get in my face and tell me how stupid I’m behaving.”
“Once I have Delvay back, I can try to awaken the heroes. I think Zoelyn might be the key to breaking the magic on them. The moment they draw breath again, I will be back here, Jala, have no doubt of that. Merro is my home now, but Delvay is a responsibility that I have to face before I can find my place here,” Neph replied and smiled ruefully. “I just have to come up with a way to get Zoelyn to help me. She doesn’t like me much.”
“Try asking her for help, Neph. That is usually the best approach on such things. You can ask her after we take the city. She will be with us during the fight,” Jala suggested with a look of amusement on her face.
“Why in the hell will she be there? I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard her say violence begets violence. I can’t imagine her suddenly having a change of heart and wanting to fight.” Neph’s voice was filled with confusion as he tried to digest this newest information. He hadn’t even known they were going to attack Delvay tomorrow and it seemed as though Jala had already decided who all they were taking. That in itself wasn’t too surprising, but the fact that Zoelyn was going dumbfounded him.
“She wants to help me, Neph, and she won’t be fighting. Apparently Seth has helped her master a few of her talents, but the one she shows the most competence with is healing. She asked if she could come along in case any of us were injured, and her confidence in herself is so fragile right now that I didn’t dare deny her request. I plan to have her tucked well behind us and out of harm’s way the entire time,” Jala explained and turned as the door opened.