“Why?”
“Because I’m not stupid, Tiago. I understand what’s at stake. And believe it or not, I care about my world just as much as you care about yours. So if you want to keep acting like a petulant child, then be my guest, but I fail to see how that’s going to help your brother or prevent the wall from falling.”
Tiago glares with a hard, challenging gaze.
Seriously? Come on. He knows he’s being stupid, right? Shaming me for being human—a fact I can’t change—isn’t going to get him anywhere.
His scornful gaze softens. “Very good, my queen.” He lifts his chin and addresses the hall of giants. “As you see, she is here to help us defeat the Blood King. She has demonstrated her loyalty, as Alwar predicted. You must all treat her with the respect she deserves.”
One of the giants closest to us, a man seated midway up the wall to my right, stands and clears his throat to speak. Unlike the Wall Men, who wear loincloths made of hides, this “ordinary citizen” of the War People kingdom is wearing a cream-colored toga that comes a few feet shy of covering his nether region. I try not to stare at the tip of his enormous penis hanging out the bottom.
I guess modesty isn’t a thing here.
“She is a proxy. She is human. She will never be our queen,” he says.
The room erupts in roars. I think they’re agreeing with him.
Tiago folds his arms over his bare chest in defiance. He’s digging in. Just like Bard would. Just like Gabrio.
I keep my mouth shut, because I’m unsure if the giant with the dangling penis is serious or if we’re playing the Monsterland communication game: Superior gives an order. The subordinate pushes back. Then the superior issues a threat, and the other party acquiesces.
Wait. I’m supposed to be the superior. I look down at Master, who’s sitting dutifully by my side, his dark eyes scanning the room. Possibly for threats. I wonder if maybe he’s their version of a Ninja. No, probably not. He’s the size of a squirrel compared to these people.
He’s a warrior squirrel. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a thing here.
“I’m supposed to call bullshit, aren’t I?” I whisper.
Master blinks twice.
I take it as a yes and point to Mr. Swinging Cock. “You will be quiet, or I will leave, and you will have Blood People, Mountain People, and every other kind of people,” I don’t know them all, “crawling so far up your dangling dick, you’ll be screaming for mercy. Now sit the hell down so the grownups in the room can figure out a plan.”
The room falls deathly still. I could slice the tension with a Flier tooth.
Did I step out of line? Was I too graphic? Did I misunderstand the protocols of communication? I thought I sounded kind of tough.
I’m about to backpedal when the room fills with roars of laughter.
I glance up at Tiago, who gives me a nod of approval.
The laughter dies down, and Tiago turns to me. “The adults in the room are listening.”
What have I done? I’ve proven myself in some bizarre verbal sparring ritual, but I don’t have a clue how to solve this problem.
I get why we need Alwar freed. The other kingdoms will only deal with him, but I don’t know how to get him back without undermining his authority or risking my life.
“I can’t give myself to Benicio,” I mutter to Tiago, hoping only he can hear me since he’s standing right here.
“Then what do you propose?” he whispers back.
“Benicio must’ve offered the Mountain People something they wanted, right?” They came out of hiding and attacked the War People for a reason. “Any idea what he promised them?”
“No.”
If I’ve learned one thing about Benicio, it’s that he’s cunning. When he makes a vow, he’s careful to choose his words. “Whatever he told them, I bet it didn’t happen.”
“And?”
“Why don’t we ask them what they want? Maybe we can give it to them.”
“You mean negotiate with the people who just killed over a hundred War People, including some of our finest Wall Men?”
“I don’t see a better option. Alwar will lose all credibility if I turn myself over to the Blood King.”
“Our people will not agree to this,” he says, continuing to whisper.
“They don’t have to,” I whisper back.
“You are overreaching your authority, Lake. You are human. Our people do not trust you. They will not march to the great ocean to address the Mountain People.”
Uhrn once told me that the Mountain People fled to the great ocean because they lost their kingdom for refusing to bend the knee to the Proxy Vow. I bet I know what Benicio offered them.
“Then I’ll go alone,” I say. It’s a huge gamble, but at this point, I don’t have much to lose. “One quick question: Do you have any extra land?”