Page 97 of Taloned Heart

“And I had plans for them. But if you want to fight with a few starving humans, then I will let you watch them die.”

A flash of anger turned Lore’s cheeks red. “So you knew they were starving? You knew you had sent them to places where they could find no food. You sent them there to die.”

“I sent them to where they deserved to go.” Margaret thudded a fist over her heart. “I did whatyouwere supposed to do! I became what our people had prophesied when I saw that you would not become that person. I remade Umbra into a better place for our children and our children’s children. Our people were dying out, forced to work as slaves and viewed as little better than animals. Umbra now bows to us, as our ancestors foretold!”

Oh.

Oh.

That was what Margaret had been working for all this time. She thought herself the elf in the prophecy. She thought that she was meant to save this kingdom, because Lore had failed to do so.

Or perhaps she had been working to get Lore on her side simply because she knew that Lore had the power to be the person in that prophecy. And then Lore had gone off on her own. Lore had thought her own thoughts, and as such, that had turned her path away from what Margaret thought was the right direction for this kingdom to go.

Abraxas felt his heart squeeze in his chest at the realization. This was almost... sad. He almost wanted to look at Margaret with pity.

This poor, misguided woman had led all her people into ruin. She’d led them straight into a lion’s den because she truly believed that the gods or their ancestors would forsake Lore at the last moment. That they would see Margaret was right, and the power would transfer over to her.

He stepped up beside Lore, glaring with his mate up in the Tower. “The ancestors and your seers have always seen the future clear and bright. That was the saying, wasn’t it? The elves see the future as we see the sun.”

“You stay out of this, dragon.”

“I will not,” he replied. “If you believe that your seers knew the future, and that there had to be an elf to save us, then you know they were not wrong in choosing Lore. You know the future she has selected is the one that they saw and wanted.”

“It is the one they warned us about.” Again Margaret thudded herself on the chest, and a few elves beside her did the same motion. “The elves warned us of a half elf who would deny her lineage and her people. They warned us she would come to destroy our kingdom and that we must do all that we can to fight her.”

“Twisted words,” he snarled, his lips curling in disgust. “You seek to manipulate the prophecy to fit what you desire, that is all.”

Lore placed her hand on his back and drew him away. Abraxas knew he could not battle this woman for her, but he hated that Lore felt as though she needed to do this on her own. She should not have to prove herself. She should not have to fight so much, but she had and would for the rest of her life.

“Margaret of Clan Darkveil,” she shouted. Lore’s voice thundered through the open field like the bellow of a goddess. “I call upon you to stop this madness now, at the source. You will vow to no longer hunt humans. You will vow that the castle remains open for all those who desire to improve this kingdom. And once that is complete, I will leave this place alone. There will be no bloodshed in either of our hands.”

Only laughter rang out after Lore’s declaration. Margaret’s laughter spread until it was a wall of elves, laughing down at the half elf who dared threaten them.

And when they all finally controlled their mirth, Margaret grasped the edge of the castle with her hands and leaned over the edge. “You seek to threaten us, but we do not fear one such as you. My hands are already dripping with blood, little girl. And so are yours. What is one more battle? We look at a half elf and a dragon, neither of whom scares us. Parlor tricks and a beast we’ve already beaten? You wish us to run from our own fears.”

So that was what she’d told the elves. That Abraxas was easy to beat because they already knew the acid balls would wound him. And that Lore had moved the moon in the sky, but it was only an illusion. That her magic was limited to just illusion meant to scare or that she couldn’t actually do all the things that she threatened she could do.

And as he watched all the elves, their eyes still filled with mirth and their faces wearing wide grins, he realized he was afraid for them. All of these people were going to die because Margaret had lied to them. Because they had trusted that Lore wasn’t a goddess reborn or that a dragon was easily defeated.

“They’re all going to die,” he said quietly. “All the elves.”

“Not all of them.” Lore shook her head and glanced back at him. “There’s an entire clan behind us who listened. An entire clan who heard the truth of what was, and they stuck to that truth no matter how difficult it was to hear.”

“But what of the other clans? Are they so worthy of death if they do not know how to listen?” He shook his head. “These are the last of the elves, Lore. Your people.”

“Then they should have been better.” Little lines appeared between her eyes. A frown, perhaps, or worry that bubbled out of her chest. “They can still run.”

“They have no reason to run.”

She swallowed hard and turned her attention back to the Umbral Castle, where so many wrongs had been committed. She took a deep breath, her shoulders moving with the force of her inhalation, before she tilted up her chin and spoke once more. Her voice thunderous and strong.

“I do not ask you to run from your fears, but from a very real threat that stands on your doorstep. I never wanted to be the reason that there were even fewer elves here. I call upon you all to realize that if we do this, there will be no more elves left. We will wipe ourselves from Umbra until only whispers and legends remain.”

A few of the elves shifted on their feet, looking at each other with nerves before they steeled themselves.

Margaret, as always, wore her bravado like the dark armor she never took off. “It’s just you, Lore. Just you and a dragon and a few mortals who have never fought in their life. You wish me to lay down my weapons at your feet for a threat that does not exist?”

Lore nodded, then lifted her hand into the air.

---