Chapter 2 – P5
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The young elf climbed to the top, holding something wrapped in a blue silk cloth. He gave it to Maeglor’s father.
Ebenn unrolled the cloth with a theatrical gesture, revealing an obsidian dagger.
Aerin’s eyes widened at the sight. She exchanged a frightened look with Brylla, who was as pale as she was. Idrimis was so focused on what was happening on the podium that she didn’t notice.
Obsidian was the only material that could prevent a faerie from healing. Thus, giving humans, elves or any other enemy, a chance to kill them.
Aerwith looked at the weapon with horror. He widened his eyes and swallowed hard, before asking with a trembling voice: “Where did you get that?”
Still smiling, Ebenn replied: “For now, I prefer to keep it to myself, but I guarantee there are many more where this came from.”
Aerin noticed that Aerwith was struggling to keep his composure. He ran a hand through his hair in irritation. “We banned these kinds of weapons as part of the peace agreement.”
“Nonsense!” said Ebenn. “Our queen and her husband have a lot of faith in those fucking assholes!”
“There will be no war!” Aerwith said firmly to Ebenn. He turned to the crowd and repeated the same thing out loud. “Let’s not commit this irresponsibility and risk our lives! The faeries can be whatever they are, but they, like us, know how to keep their word. We are going to investigate to find the culprits. I beg prudence, ladies and gentlemen.”
Scared murmurs echoed through the audience.
“Don’t worry! We’ll take care of it! You can go back to your routine now.”
As the crowd dispersed, Aerin watched as Aerwith approached Ebenn and muttered something. She couldn’t hear it, but it didn’t look friendly.
(“Never summon anyone again without telling me first!” he said through gritted teeth.)
Ebenn nodded, but there was something odd, if not sinister, on his face. “Fine. Let’s set up a meeting then. You can share your plans and together we will sort out this mess.”
Aerwith accepted the invite with a frown and walked away.
When everyone returned to their tasks, the three girls said goodbye with hugs.
“I’ll meet you at the old square and we’ll go out to practise,” Idrimis reminded Aerin.
Aerin nodded and smiled excitedly. “I can’t wait to start lessons again!”
“I’ll see you there then!” Idrimis waved goodbye to the two sisters, smiling.
*
A moment later, when Brylla and Aerin were on their way home, they caught a glimpse of Ebenn handing Cethia a small bag of money. Both were standing in a shadowy corner near the podium, trying to be discreet. If it had been anyone else, it would have been no big deal, but it was Maeglor’s father, so the scene became suspicious.
The two girls walked past the couple and looked at them, frowning. Ebben noticed them and greeted them with a nod.
“My good deed of the day,” he said, pausing and glancing at the bag of money. “Helping this poor woman.” He flashed a smile that did not reach his eyes.
The sisters said nothing, just nodded with a forced smile, and continued on their way.
“The obsidian dagger made me nervous,” Aerin admitted. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if to ward off the chill that ran through her veins. “And all that talk about war…”
“Don’t worry about it, Aerin,” Brylla said, squeezing her shoulders. She had a hard edge in her voice, as if she was ready to fight anyone who threatened her sister. “The Queen is going to shove that dagger up Ebenn’s ass.”
Aerin laughed despite herself, as she imagined the scene. She felt a flicker of warmth in her chest, grateful for Brylla’s fierce protection and humor. She knew that no matter what happened, they would always have each other.