Page 88 of A Fractured Song

“Well.” The elf’s smile was a little too calculating to be warm. “It didn’t get all the way to me without some assistance. But certainly the penetration of an active enchantment into our protected territory is an event that will secure our attention. It was a sensible approach. Without our assistance, you certainly would never have reached us.”

“Just how deep in the jungle are we?” Zev asked. He rubbed at his chest again, unable to help the gesture. Even elevated in the tree where the pressure was less than on the ground, it was so intense it was almost painful.

The elf’s eyes lingered on his fist. “Very deep, as you seem to be aware. The magic here is thicker even than the foliage outside our sanctuary. It’s trying to crush you from the inside out, from which I surmise that you are not a singer.”

“Trying to crush him?” Marieke sat up straighter on her cushion, her alarm clear on her features. “Is he in danger?”

“No.” The elf’s answer was slow and thoughtful, her eyes never leaving Zev. “He doesn’t seem to be in danger. Which is interesting in itself.” She exchanged a glance with her granddaughter that filled Zev with foreboding.

“Well, we didn’t come looking for you to chat about my safety,” he said.

“Your motivations are your own,” the Imperator saidcalmly. “They have no bearing on my reasons for allowing this audience.”

“What are your reasons?” Marieke asked cautiously.

The elf smiled. “The fact that I have reasons does not mean I intend to disclose them.”

“Perhaps we can trade answers,” Marieke said boldly.

The Imperator leaned forward, interlacing her fingers, which were slim but for the knobbed knuckles that proclaimed her age.

“I feel I’m owed some answers already, in exchange for allowing you passage into our protected realm,” she said.

“Your feelings don’t create obligation on us,” Zev said sharply. “Your choice to allow us entry was your own. It wasn’t the result of any bargain.”

The younger elf chuckled, drawing Zev’s gaze to her. Her grin was more cheerful than the older elf’s as she directed her eyes to the Imperator.

“He’s sharp, Grandmama, you must acknowledge it.”

“Imustacknowledge nothing,” said the older elf, although she didn’t appear annoyed. Her eyes were fixed on Marieke’s face now. “The simple truth is that it is in my power to expel you from this place and leave you at the mercy of the jungle. If you do not wish me to do so, you must tell me why you sought an audience with me.”

Zev was inclined to try harder to drive a bargain of some kind, but Marieke took a gentler approach.

“I don’t mind telling you why I’ve come looking for you. I’ll hardly get answers if I refuse to ask questions.”

“True,” the Imperator agreed. “But that’s not the first answer I want. I want to know how you discovered our existence.”

“That’s easy to answer,” Marieke said. “We ran afoul of one of your mining parties in Sundering Canyon.”

“You’re part of that tribe of monarchists?” Kiarana asked curiously.

Marieke shook her head. “We’re not. We were actually looking for them when we stumbled on Rissin’s party.”

“Rissin.” The young elf sighed. “So that’s what you meant when you said you ran afoul of them.”

Zev raised an eyebrow at her. If Rissin wasn’t well liked even among his own people then maybe Marieke had been right to think it worth pursuing answers with the other elves.

“I am aware of your encounter with Rissin.” The Imperator’s eyes gave little away. “What I’m asking is whether you truly were unaware of our existence prior to that incident.”

“We truly were,” Marieke said in her earnest way.

“If you know what Rissin tried to do to us, then I would argue that you owe us an explanation,” Zev said darkly.

“Your argument would not be sound,” the Imperator said. Her posture softened a little. “But as a show of good faith, I will inform you that Rissin’s actions were his own.” She flashed another of those swift, unnerving grins. “Not that I would have been averse to learning the results had he been able to study you as he intended to do.”

“Study us?” Marieke repeated. “That sounds very ominous.”

“For you, perhaps.” The Imperator’s granddaughter once again inserted herself into the conversation. “Grandmama might not, but I want to know why you’ve sought us out.”

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