Underlord (Cradle #6)(19)

Eithan glanced down to meet Lindon's gaze, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't expected anyone to notice him. He waved, then raised one finger to his lips for silence.

Lindon looked back at the others. Yerin, Bai Rou, and Naru Gwei were still locked in a three-way argument. Mercy jumped in, saying something conciliatory on behalf of the Akura family, and Orthos had drawn his head back into his shell. Clearly, he was bored with the whole thing.

None of them had noticed Eithan.

Lindon couldn't sense anything of the Underlord, and apparently neither could anyone else. Eithan had always been skilled in veils. But for once, Lindon had caught him.

Dross made a throat-clearing noise. [Who caught him? Hm? It's not as though I need the praise, but a little credit...]

It was hard to concentrate on the argument after that. Yerin was red in the face, her sword-arms quivering, and her hands pressed down on the table hard enough that the wood creaked. Mercy stood next to her, leaning on her dragon-headed staff. Inside Lindon’s pocket, he could feel Little Blue playing with Suriel’s marble.

Bai Rou turned his whole body to Mercy whenever she spoke, looking oddly respectful. Finally, he said, “I will live up to your test, honored Akura.”

This seemed to surprise Mercy, and it caught Naru Gwei's attention. “You had better explain yourself, Skysworn.”

Bai Rou looked to his Captain, pressing his fists together in a salute. “I cannot say anything until the time comes.”

Naru Gwei bit his leaf in half, letting the other half drift down to the table. “I don’t like learning new things this late, Skysworn.”

“They gave me a glimpse of what is coming,” Bai Rou rumbled. “I swore an oath to reveal nothing before the proper time.”

Naru Gwei turned sharp eyes on Mercy. “And is the Akura clan planning something? Is this something the Emperor should know?”

Mercy looked as lost as the Underlord, stammering out an answer, but Lindon turned back to Eithan.

The Arelius Underlord drifted backwards to the corner of the ceiling, over Naru Gwei's head. Lindon was the only one watching him.

It was hard to keep his expression blank.

The Underlord withdrew his Thousand-Mile Cloud and released his veil at the same time, dropping to his feet behind the Skysworn Captain and clapping his hand on the man's shoulder.

Naru Gwei tensed up, his eyes closing as though he were holding himself back from taking a swing.

Mercy gasped, Yerin groaned, and Orthos stuck his head out of his shell. Bai Rou leaped back, conjuring a fistful of yellow liquid madra, and Dross choked again.

Eithan leaned in next to the Captain's face, grinning ear to ear. “Well, based on this new information, it seems I was correct once again. You should be used to that by now.”

“We have no evidence of that,” Naru Gwei said, clenching his hand into a fist.

Eithan turned to address Mercy. “Young miss Akura, I have suggested that this year's competition between Monarch disciples will spill over to affect us here in the Blackflame Empire. Tell me, have you seen any signs of your clan putting unusual emphasis on raising up their young elites?”

Yerin turned to him, suspicion on her face. “The Akura Sage said something with about the same shape to it. There's a competition coming, or so she said. It's why all those Truegolds were on the island.”

Mercy ran a hand across her shortened hair. She looked deep in thought. “If they sent Harmony and Aunt Charity to Ghostwater, then...I don't know if they'll involve you or not, but it does seem like the tournament is going to shake us up this year.”

Lindon still wanted to tell her exactly what had happened to Harmony. Or at least his role in it. But he wasn’t sure if she was afraid of being overheard or if she really didn’t care.

Still holding onto Naru Gwei's shoulder with one hand, Eithan reached out to lay a hand on Bai Rou. The Truegold Skysworn tried to dodge, but he might as well have stood still; Eithan's green gauntlet landed on top of his straw hat.

“Yet another reason why we can't afford to stifle the growth of such promising young talents!” Eithan said passionately. “Let us set aside the petty feuds of the young generation, and grow together for the good of the Blackflame Empire!”

It was a warm speech, but Naru Gwei spat the chewed-up remnants of his leaf at Eithan's feet.

Eithan smoothly slipped his shoe to one side and continued talking. “It's truly fortunate that I have come to support the Skysworn in your time of need, to raise our youth into responsible citizens and champions of the Blackflame Empire.”

“They have no loyalty to us,” Bai Rou said, eyes burning. “They are a weapon that will turn in our hand. They—”

Eithan cut him off by whirling on him and grabbing him by both shoulders. “Do you think I'd forgotten you? What a paragon of a young Truegold you are! Even among the children of the vaunted Akura clan, how many of them could possibly have talent to rival yours?”

Mercy started to speak up, but Eithan waved her to silence without turning from Bai Rou.

“How could you focus on this tiny grudge? It's beneath you! Let me take these children out of your way,” he turned to Naru Gwei, “and yours. I assure you, I will keep my sharpest eye on each of them.”

Dross spoke up. [Say, here’s an idle thought: do you think you could take me out of your head and put me in his? Not that I think he's better than you, or anything. Of course not. But uh...could you think about it?”]