“Why would I do that?” asked K’hana, sitting primly on an elaborately colored cushion.

“Because you need people,” Elijah answered. “Your city here is not as isolated as you think. You can’t even run your tower, can you? Or did something change while I was gone?”

“We feel confident that, with your notes, we can overcome our deficiencies,” she claimed. But even Elijah, who sometimes missed social cues, could tell that she was exaggerating.

He said as much, which elicited a frown from the beautiful elf before he added, “But if you ally yourselves with Seattle, you will have all the help you could want.”

“And in return, I will help them find water,” she said.

To Elijah, it seemed like a perfectly good deal. She had an ability that the people of Seattle sorely needed, and the elves of Arvandor had a need that Seattle’s much larger population could help fill. So, he was a little confused as to why K’hana would object to the proposed alliance.

“I don’t get what the issue is,” he admitted, leaning back on his own cushion. He looked around. There were a few other elves there, each one sitting on their own unique cushions, but they all clearly deferred to K’hana. Elijah reached down and took a loud, slurping sip of the tea he’d been provided. It was flavorful, with a hint of something fruity, but he couldn’t identify it. “Good tea. Seriously, though – what’s going on? Why wouldn’t you want to form an alliance?”

“We have heard of this city,” she answered with a sigh. “It is a place of chaos. War. Their laws are not followed, and they do not care for their people. It is a shameful place, and I do not wish to associate with the people who would create such a city.”

“Ouch. Tell me how you really feel,” Elijah muttered to himself. “Would it help if I told you that the man I want you to meet is a good guy?”

“If he was a good person, he would have put a stop to the injustice so prevalent in his city,” K’hana pointed out.

“That’s kind of what I’m trying to facilitate,” Elijah stated. “Water is the problem. It’s complicated, but for most people in Seattle, there’s not enough of it. If you can help them solve that issue, it will save a lot of lives. And it will give Isaiah the leverage he needs to take firmer control. Peace is what’s at stake here. You can help with that.”

There was a chance it would prevent Elijah from having to kill a lot of people on Mercer Mesa, too. After Valoria, his bloodlust had been sated. He would kill if he had to, but if he could avoid it, he would.

“More importantly, it helps you,” Elijah said. “How long until the tower surges? A month? Maybe two? You’ll be overrun by Voxx.”

“You could help us conquer it,” she suggested.

“I have other things to do,” Elijah said. “And even if I didn’t, relying on me is not a viable long-term solution. I won’t always be around.”

“You could be,” came a voice from nearby.

Elijah glanced in that direction, and he saw that the sentence had originated with an older elf. The only real nods to age were a couple of lines at the corners of her eyes and gray hair, but Elijah could tell she was much older than she appeared.

“What do you mean?” Elijah asked.

“You are young, fit, and powerful. I propose a joining with our Water Witch,” she said.

For a second, Elijah struggled to wrap his mind around what the elf had said, but when he did, his eyes flicked toward K’hana. Her expression was stoic, but there was a blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

He coughed.

“Uh…no, thanks,” he said.

K’hana blurted, “What?”

“Why?” asked the older elf at the same time.

“Um…right. That probably sounded rude. In my culture, people…um…join together as a couple because they’re in love. Not to cement an alliance.”

Of course, that wasn’t necessarily true. Throughout history, marriage – which was what he assumed they were talking about – had been used as a diplomatic tool. Yet, that had fallen out of favor long ago, and Elijah was anything but comfortable with it. In addition, despite K’hana’s obvious beauty, he just didn’t find her all that appealing. Perhaps it was her personality, which was a little too reserved for his taste, or the alien nature of her looks, but when he looked at her, he just didn’t feel those sorts of feelings.

Or maybe he just preferred humans.

He didn’t think of himself as that picky regarding looks. However, there was a cultural gulf between them that would almost assuredly be difficult to bridge. But maybe that was just his excuse. Regardless, he couldn’t help his tastes. And that was only considering it from a personal standpoint. It was even less appealing from a political perspective. The elves just didn’t have much that he wanted, so even if he was willing to leave his grove – which he definitely was not – there wasn’t a lot of reason for him to latch himself to Arvandor.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Well, this is awkward,” he muttered as the elves stared at him in disbelief. Clearly, they thought he would fall all over himself to take them up on the offer. He massaged the back of his neck, saying, “It’s…um…it’s not you. It’s totally me.”

By that point, they were all staring daggers at him.

“Did I just commit a social faux pas? If it makes any difference, I kind of do that a lot. I spent a long time alone, and I still haven’t really recovered my social graces,” he babbled. “God. Social graces. I sound like a southern beauty queen or something. My point is that I’m not good with these kinds of things. But I really do think this alliance between Arvandor and Seattle is a good idea. That said, I can see that I’ve overstayed my welcome. So…um…bye, I guess? Catch you on the flip side.”

Then, he gave them an awkward finger gun salute, which he immediately regretted. Either way, he pushed himself to his feet and backed away, mumbling to himself, “Finger gun? When is it ever a good idea to unironically give someone the finger gun? And the flip side? Ugh.”

Thankfully, the elves only stared at him like he’d grown horns. That was better than the alternative, which involved attacking him for his affront to good manners. He didn’t think they were particularly violent, but he also suspected that even elves would react poorly to such a blunt rejection.

For better or worse, none of them tried to stop him, and Elijah decided that it was high time he and Miguel left the elven city behind. So, he quickly returned to the rooms they had been given and told his nephew, “Time to go. Get your stuff together, big guy. We need to vamanos.”

“What did you do?” Miguel asked.

“Huh? Who said I did anything? It’s just time to leave,” Elijah said.

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“Night walks are the best. Stars and moons and all that. Plus, the best predators come out at night.”

“That doesn’t sound –”

There was a knock at the door, which cut Miguel off. Elijah sighed. “Okay, so whatever happens here, just don’t freak out,” he said. Then, before Miguel could respond, Elijah opened the door to see K’hana standing there. “Hey. Long time, no see.”

“You saw me ten minutes ago,” she said, cocking her head to the side.

“Right. Just an expression. What’s up? Please tell me you’re not going to make another marriage proposal. I’m flattered, but –”

“I am coming with you,” she said.

Elijah narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to change my mind,” he said.

“Nor would I want you to. Elder Hama did not ask for my input before suggesting that…partnership,” K’hana stated. “If she had, I would have refused.”

“Huh? I’m not good enough for you, then?” Elijah asked, slightly offended.

“You just said the same thing about me.”

“I know, but…wow. So, that doesn’t feel so great. I know it’s silly, but I still kind of go through life thinking everyone loves me.”

“They don’t,” Miguel said. “In Ironshore especially. Most of them…well, hate is a strong word, but –”

“Zip it.”

“What does ‘zip it’ mean?” asked K’hana.

“That my uncle likes to ignore things he doesn’t like,” Miguel supplied cheerfully. With a grin, he added, “I’m Miggy, by the way.”

“I am K’hana.”

“Great. We’re all acquainted. Now, what changed?” Elijah asked. “Because back there, you were all like, ‘No, I won’t ally with a bunch of backwards thugs who can’t keep the peace in their own city.’ And now you’re begging me to take you with me? I need a bit of an explanation here.”

“Very well. I was always going to go,” she said. “The alliance makes sense. My people wished for me extract more benefits before I agreed. I do not wish to do so.”

“What sort of benefits?”

“You are a Druid. Your abilities could assist our farming efforts,” she said. “We have no food shortages now, but our population has seen a significant increase over the past few years. Soon, our farms will not be enough.”

“I think I need to introduce you to a friend,” Elijah said. Then, he explained how Lucy’s greenhouse worked, finishing with, “I’m sure that if you help them, she’ll be willing to help you. Maybe she could even help you set up a greenhouse of your own. I don’t want to speak for her, but just knowing what’s possible could help. And if not, I’d be happy to assist. You could have just asked, though. No need for the subterfuge.”

“I see,” she said. “I apologize if I offended you.”

Then, she bowed.

Elijah let out another sigh. “Oh, c’mon. Don’t do that. Let’s just…let’s just go,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, and we’re on a timer.”

Indeed, Elijah hadn’t really thought his little excursion through. For one, while he thought his own presence was necessary, he had no intention of taking Miguel back into Seattle. The whole point was to help the young man to commune with nature, and that part of the journey would be finished once they reached the Circle of Spears, where Elijah intended to send Miguel back home.

But he’d forgotten one major thing before setting out.

His coffee. The cherries were assuredly ready to be separated from the beans by now, which meant that he needed to do that as soon as possible or he would lose the whole batch. After that, he only needed to wait a day or so for them to dry, then enlist the help of a Cook to roast them.

Regardless – the point was that he needed to head back to the island for a few days before continuing on to Seattle. Which presented a problem, if K’hana wanted to tag along. It had been his idea, but one he’d barely thought through.

“Also, and don’t freak out, but I’m going to take you to my island for a couple of days. We’ll be back on track soon after that,” he said.

“How?”

“Magic.”

“That’s his answer to everything,” Miguel said. “You get used to it.”

“I don’t understand,” K’hana said.

“It’s simple. Do you trust me?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“Didn’t expect that answer, did you?” Miguel laughed.

“I did not,” Elijah admitted. “But I guess we’ve got a few days. Hopefully, I will have earned her trust by then. And if not…well, we’ll figure it out. Onward and upward, I always say.”

“I’ve never heard you say that,” Miguel pointed out.

“Shut up. And respect your elders,” Elijah said. “Now finish packing. We’re on the clock here.”

To drive the point home, he tapped his finger against his wrist. Clearly, K’hana didn’t understand the gesture, which just as obviously had her rethinking her decision to accompany him to Seattle. But at least Miguel made the connection, because he spent the next couple of minutes thrusting his belongings into his pack.

“Why did you take all of that out?” Elijah asked.

“Because you said we were going to be here for a little while.”

“Don’t do that. Keep things in your pack until you need it,” Elijah said. “You should write that down.”

“I don’t have a pen or paper.”

“Then remember it.”

“I probably won’t,” Miguel admitted.

Elijah sighed, then glanced at K’hana. “Young people, right? So disrespectful.”

She didn’t answer, which Elijah chose to take as agreement. In any case, once Miguel was packed, the trio set off through the city, eventually exiting into the Twilight Clefts and beginning their journey to the Circle of Spears.