Page 53 of Song of Earth and Claws
Iron ring tightens
Desire burns
Breath runs out
Call of freedom
Scream of love
World disappears into the abyss
When Nazarr suggested a repertoire composed of whirlsongs inspired by the Great Tremor, Lannahi readily agreed, curious about the landshapers’ perspective on the event. Since the factors that had led to the destruction of the Continent were numerous and the lyrics were usually vague, she didn’t always know to which people and events the song referred, and the concert turned into a guessing game. The previous two pieces revolved around feuds and characters that the enchanters’ songs rarely mentioned, but this time the answer was obvious.
“The moment of the Tremor,” Lannahi said when the sounds of the lyre faded. “Did you purposely speed it up so I could guess?”
Hearing her question, Nazarr almost choked on the flowery compliment he probably intended to bestow on her but quickly recovered and grinned. “It’s a real pleasure to perform for you, lady. Few realize how much it means for the artist that the listener is receptive. That they listen with an amiable mood.”
She arched her eyebrow. “The repertoire you have chosen is not very conducive to amiability,” she noted. “What saves you is that it’s interesting.”
Nazarr’s smile grew. “Being interesting is almost everything I dream about.”
She made a sound that was something between a laugh and a snort, then shook her head and reached for her goblet. “Call of freedom, scream of love,” she quoted. She took a sip. “I admit that I’m having trouble interpreting it. Is this the version where Aida loves Kaizar or hates him?”
Aida was a descendant of humans from other worlds brought by pathfinders to Bind them to the enemy fae. In those days, there had been no code to curb the ambitions and cruel inclinations of the fae, and the idea of subjecting enemies to the Binding Ritual against their will spread quickly, which was possible mainly because then children hadn’t been given secret names as they were today. Possessing the name and blood of a fae and a piece of iron, the only challenge was to persuade a human to cooperate, but this was quickly resolved—with promises, threats, or enchantments. Aida was interesting in that the human hadn’t been acting under a curse. To this day, no one knew for sure whether the magic had gone wild because Lord Adalhar, whom she’d served, had exploded in rage when she’d betrayed him, because Lord Kaizar, whom Adalhar had enslaved, had gotten furious when Adalhar had killed her, or perhaps because Aida, still magically Bound to Kaizar at the time of her death, had Wished the earth would swallow them both.
“And which variant do you prefer, Your Highness?” Nazarr asked.
Lannahi smiled sardonically. In Goldenshadows, she would have had to be careful with her words, but there were no humans present in Goldfrost so she spoke plainly, “Given the scale of the damage, I’m more inclined to believe in a destructive Wish.”
Nazarr pressed his hand to his heart as if he’d been stabbed. “How unromantic of you, lady.”
“I’ve heard that among enchanters the version with a love triangle is more popular,” Eder chimed in. “Perhaps Your Highness would like to sing it? We’ve been here nearly three weeks, and we still haven’t heard your voice.”
“It seems to me that you hear my voice every day,” Lannahi replied teasingly.
The thought that she might have unintentionally told a lie abashed Eder, but she redeemed herself by saying, “You know very well, Your Highness, that this was a mental shortcut.”
“Your voice is music to the ears when you speak,” Nazarr added, rushing to help his wife. “As musicians, we can’t help but be curious about its sound when you sing, and imagining your singing, it’s difficult for us not to deplore of your choice to hide your gift from the world. Music sounds better when shared with others.”
Lannahi raised an eyebrow. “Your flattery resembles poetry, Nazarr. The words are usually pleasant and the meaning sometimes graspable, but the author’s true intentions are always doubtful.”
A strange sound resembling hiccoughing came from the door, and everyone looked in that direction. Since Akammu was looking at the brown wolf lying on the opposite side of the doorway, the attention of those gathered focused on the beast, who became a natural suspect. Ashared’s ears were perked up so he probably sensed that he was the center of attention, but he didn’t open his eyes, and it occurred to Lannahi that the wolf hadn’t hiccupped but choked the moment he tried to laugh. Or he caught himself wanting to laugh and held back at the last minute.
Can wolves laugh?she wondered.
She knew that foxes could giggle so if wolves could laugh, she would have heard about it by now. And Ashared wouldn’t show amusement in her presence, right? Since she’d arrived at Goldfrost, she hadn’t noticed him smile even once, and for two weeks, she hadn’t seen his human form at all. The day after their encounter with Amaruk, Kalahadd had informed her that he would be accompanying her during the day and that Ashared had taken over the evening watch. Lannahi didn’t question the deputy captain about the reason for the change, but when for the umpteenth day in a row at her side appeared a silver-eyed wolf instead of a uniform-clad man, she began to suspect Ashared was working off something more than anger.
For a moment I couldn’t believe my eyes, Amaruk’s words echoed in her head.This mongrel running obediently behind the sleigh couldn’t be the same proud puppy who insisted that he would never serve anyone.
What happened, Ashared? Did you let yourself be leashed or did someone catch you?
Hearing the soft sounds of the lyre, Lannahi’s attention returned to the artists.
“It seems to me, Eder, that the queen is not in the mood to sing,” Nazaar said. Though he directed these words to his wife, his gaze was fixed on Lannahi’s face and his next question was addressed to her. “What would you like to listen to, Your Highness? Is there a song that will drive away your worries?”
This time Lannahi’s smile was forced. She enjoyed the company of the musical couple, but she couldn’t allow herself to forget that they were sent to spy on her.
“I’m pleased with your repertoire,” she said. “Continue please.”
