Page 9 of Earthbound

‘What’s in there?’ she asked the soldier.

He gave her a sardonic look. ‘You know I’m not going to answer that.’

‘It was worth a try.’ She smiled ruefully and it seemed to soften him towards her.

‘To be honest, I don’t know what’s in there. Whatever it is, it’s overseen by the chieftains, and I’m not high ranking enough to know.’

She let her feet meander closer to the tent entrance, but the opening was guarded by two soldiers and she couldn’t look in.

What would need an armed guard?

‘Stick to the path,’ the soldier growled, all pleasantries dissipating as his hand hovered over his drum, but Yeeran wasn’t worried. There were conditions in place to ensure her safety–including exchanging her with a senior official.

As long as she held her end of the bargain–namely, not to hurt anyone–then she’d be fine.

The camp got sparser as they reached the end of it. A red flag marked the start of a section of land they had cordoned off as the neutral zone between the elves and fae. Another red flag hung limply in the distance where the fae’s territory began on the edge of the tunnel to Mosima.

It was there that two faeguard stood above a young man marked with the insignia of a general of the elven army. Malak sat unconcerned on the rocky ground, his ankles crossed in front of him. He had long blond hair that ran in waves down his back. His face was boyish, but his eyes were a discerning blue, the lids narrowed as though he were constantly assessing you. Yeeran didn’t need to use magesight to know the faeguard held the general entrapped in a threaded cage made of their magic.

Malak had once been a soldier in her regiment and Yeeran was impressed he’d been Motogo’s choice for general–probably the only thing Motogo had impressed her with.

Yeeran gave the soldier from Waning a little wave as he stopped on the edge of the elves’ territory, and she continued into the neutral zone.

Malak stood as he saw her approach, the magical cage falling away as he joined her in the neutral zone.

‘Another bad day?’ he said as she drew near.

‘Yes, is there any other?’ Yeeran said.

‘My day was quite pleasant, though I must admit, that brute you brought with you today was very boring. He refused to chat.’

‘They’re not here to chat, Malak. They’re here to ensure my safety.’

‘If we wanted to kill you, we would,’ he said with a laugh which managed to not sound intimidating. That was the thing with Malak–he was so affable, even his threats landed lightly.

‘I saw the new uniform,’ she said.

‘You did, did you? Chieftain Kojo’s doing, he’s more interested in the army’s aesthetics than their strength.’

‘Why would you need strength if this treaty is signed?’ Yeeran asked.

Malak gave her a lopsided grin. ‘You tell me. Do you think the treaty will be signed?’

Yeeran sighed. They had done this dance so many times.

‘I don’t know. I fear Motogo’s lust for revenge sways their hand towards their drum. But war would be detrimental to everyone. I accused them of bad faith.’

Malak whistled low. ‘A bad day indeed.’

‘They will not bend on the fraedia terms. They believe I lie about the fray.’

‘Show them, then. Tell your king and queen to let us into Mosima.’

Yeeran shook her head. Furi would not. Her vitriol towards the elves had only grown more potent over the last few months, and she feared what the queen would do.

‘Then we reach a stalemate,’ Malak said.

Not for the first time, Yeeran felt as though the real negotiations were happening here, between the seams of the fae and elf worlds.