Page 50 of Earthbound

‘Yes, you did,’ Yeeran said with a sigh. ‘There will be war.’

Furi lifted her chin. ‘That is all you have to say? Where is your wrath? I know I deserve it.’

Yeeran assessed her feelings. And to her surprise she wasn’t angry. Would she have killed Motogo in that situation? Probably not, but neither had she ever hoped to be in that situation. The crowd had been as dangerous to the elves as to the royals. The Lightless rebellion was still fresh in all their memories.

‘I’m not angry. I’m just sad, I think,’ Yeeran said.

‘I’m sorry that all your work was for nothing, Yeeran.’ Furi did sound remorseful.

But that was not all Yeeran was sad about. Furi’s words from earlier rang out in her mind. She tried to quash the pain of it; there was too much to think about.

‘Do you think they really did it? Ordered the obeah’s death?’ Yeeran asked.

Silence again. Yeeran stole a look at Rayan. He had closed his eyes. She wondered if he had fallen asleep standing up.

‘I do not think that it mattered really,’ Furi said. ‘The fae would have wanted war either way. By killing Motogo I sated their need for violence.’

‘For now,’ Rayan said.

So he was listening.

‘We need to come up with a plan. We don’t have long before Malak and Motogo are expected back at their camp,’ Yeeran said.

Furi looked down at Motogo’s body. ‘Why don’t we do nothing?’

‘We can’t do nothing. If Malak and Motogo don’t return, the elves will take it as an act of war,’ Yeeran said.

Furi pointed to the body of the chieftain. ‘War has begun already.’

‘What do you think, Rayan?’ Yeeran asked. He looked so haggard as he opened his eyes.

‘I’m happy to do what you suggest,’ he said.

‘Where has this deference come from?’ she asked. ‘As my captain you always had an opinion.’

‘And you so often ignored it,’ he reminded her with a small smile.

She didn’t return it. ‘It doesn’t matter; you’re no longer captain now, you’re king. Rule like one.’

Yeeran was rarely sharp, especially with him, but the night had grated on all of them.

‘I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted.’

‘That’s all right,’ Furi said. She was more forgiving towards him than Yeeran was. ‘I think we keep Malak here,’ she decided. ‘Right now, if they don’t return there will be questions, but if Malak is released, they’ll know the extent of what happened here.’

‘But all we’ll be doing is delaying the inevitable,’ Yeeran reminded them.

‘The delay will be to our benefit. We need to recall every single bound obeah back to Mosima. They’ll be the first people who the army will attack.’ Rayan made a good point. Ajax was one of the many obeah who had been spending most of his time topside, despite the danger. Yeeran wasn’t sure how Rayan could stand the anxiety of it and she idly wondered how much that had contributed to his listlessness.

‘Hopefully it will give us a day or two,’ Furi said. ‘I’ll get the message out immediately.’

Yeeran kneeled beside Motogo. ‘We need to move the body.’

‘We cannot send it back to the elves,’ Rayan said.

Furi lowered herself next to Yeeran and pushed her hands into the dirt.

The ground opened up like the jaws of a lion. Motogo was quickly consumed by the churned-up soil. Green seedlings began to push through the dirt as the queen extended her own power. The shoots grew into blooming daisies, bright white and pure.