The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(22)
“Madren get your scrawny ass back in that tent,” Neph snarled as the man approached, but the wounded man simply shook his head.
“Valor, I was thinking about it all and I don’t think Jala can hear us here. This is Arovan, not Merrodin. I think you will have to be in Merrodin before she can answer you,” Madren began slowly his voice as kind as the expression on his face.
Valor faltered slightly at the abrupt change of topic and his hand slipped from his sword hilt as he stared at the newcomer with an almost fanatic expression.
“Please don’t encourage my son’s delusions,” Troyelle began in a voice that held more grief than Zoelyn had ever heard before. “I’ve lost two children to the war. Please don’t hasten the loss of my last to madness,” he added in a softer voice, with a look of pleading toward Madren.
“General Troyelle, I sympathize with your loss. I truly do, but Valor is not mad. Valor is grieving and heartsick as are we all. The best place for him to heal is Merrodin. The best place for me to heal is Goswin and I will be taking Lord Neph and his people with me.” Madren glanced toward the towering Delvay lord and then back to Troyelle. “I heard everything the Rivasan said and it made me want to kill him too. Then I heard what was going on out here and realized the bastard was right. Emotions are too high right now and everyone is ready to lash out. If we don’t break this camp up, our alliance is damned, and as weak as we are individually right now, we will lose another fight against them. The only way to stand together later is to stand alone for now.”
“Well said for a scrawny little bitch,” Neph agreed with a nod and looked to Troyelle with a raised eyebrow. “That is, unless you wish to continue our conversation about what kind of magic I used to save your country.” The words rang with challenge and Zoelyn could see the General tense.
“If I had Neph’s power, I would wipe Rivana from the face of Sanctuary. Nothing would remain of that country.” Valor’s voice was filled with such loathing that all eyes turned to him and even the Delvay lord looked mildly shocked.
“You’ve got the roles wrong here, Val. I’m the bloodthirsty callous bastard. You are the shining honorable knight. We both can’t be *s,” Neph said with forced levity and what might have passed for a smile on his face.
“We need to go, General. Whatever you have to say to Neph can wait. I will make sure that the matter is settled later. If it is pressed now, however, …” Madren’s words trailed off as his gaze flicked to Valor and then back to Troyelle. “Let us all rest and Valor can focus all of his attentions on finding Jala in Merrodin. Jail Han’shy is in control of the country right now. I’m sure once he is back there, everything will be OK. Jail will make sure Valor gets the help he needs with Jala,” Madren continued with a bit of emphasis on the last.
Troyelle nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on his son and then back to Madren. “Lord Goswin, you have shown unexpected wisdom. I believe we could all use time before we attempt to settle matters.” Turning, he motioned one of his remaining guards forward. “See that Lord Goswin has everything he needs to transport his wounded, then rouse the Merrodin knights and inform them that they are taking Lord Valor home. See that everyone is provisioned as they need to be.” The guard nodded sharply and Troyelle turned his attention to Dominic. “I appreciate your efforts, but please return to healing now.”
“Yes, Milord,” Dominic agreed with a final dark look at the Delvay. Turning back, he nodded to Zoelyn and motioned toward the tent. She pushed the flap aside for him and turned to follow him inside.
“Wait,” Valor’s voice called from behind and they both froze in place. Slowly, Zoelyn turned back to regard the lord and glanced up at Dominic, wondering what he could possibly want with her Guardian. Slowly, the knight moved forward but his gaze was on Zoelyn rather than Dominic as she had expected. “You are the one from the river that Noble was babbling about, aren’t you. I didn’t notice you standing back here with everything that was going on.”
Zoelyn frowned and looked from Dominic to Valor then nodded slowly. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” she said softly while silently wishing she had just stayed in the tent rather than let her curiosity get the best of her.
Valor nodded slowly and motioned to the hood of her coat. “Push it back please. I understand you don’t like being touched and I promise I won’t come closer.”
Zoelyn froze for a long moment and then slowly reached up and pushed her hood back. Her long hair fell down over her face and she brushed it back quickly. It was possible that she was far enough from the firelight that no one would notice the strange coloring other than Dominic. He was used to such things, though. She hadn’t told him exactly what had happened yet, and from the expression on his face she would have some explaining to do.
Valor studied her face for a long moment, his eyes locked on the bruise before he turned back to his father. “Noble said the village girls threw rocks at her and called her Undrae, but she doesn’t look like a monster to me. A half-starved waif, perhaps, but certainly no monster.” He shook his head sadly and sighed. “The village girls used to pick on Jala, too, for being different. You should do something to help this girl, father, before she gets hurt again or ends up hurting someone else to defend herself.”
Troyelle watched his son for a moment and glanced at Zoelyn before locking his deep blue gaze on Dominic. “Tomorrow, after you are rested we will have a talk about your Ward. It seems there are things about her that I haven’t been told.”