Meta Gods War 2

by B N Miles

  “Something’s wrong,” she said.

  “How do you know that?” Key asked.

  “He looks guilty,” Felin said. “Look at him. Like he stole something.”

  “Cam,” Miuri said, “did you steal something you shouldn’t have?”

  “What?” He shook his head. “No, of course not.”

  “Definitely stole something,” Key said with a sigh. She tossed her head back and stretched. “I bet you stole some beer from the kitchens, didn’t you?”

  “I’m not a child,” Cam said, “and the Wardens would bring it if we wanted.”

  Felin rolled her eyes. “He thinks it’s about the beer.”

  “It’s about the rush of the steal, Cam,” Miuri said, her tone light and cheery. “It’s addictive if you’re not careful.”

  He held up his hands. “Okay, okay. I didn’t steal anything. But something is wrong. Well, not wrong, just…” He trailed off, not sure how to put it.

  Key sat up, her head tilted to one side. Felin leaned forward intently. He had to look away from them. He walked over to the window and yanked open the wooden shutter. Cold air streamed in and made the fireplace and all the lamps flicker from the breeze.

  “What’s going on?” Key asked.

  He looked out the window, took some breaths of the fresh air, and turned back to them.

  “I spoke with Galla,” he said.

  “I bet you did,” Miuri said, walking over. She put a bowl in Key’s lap, another bowl in Felin’s lap, and placed one on the table for Cam. He glanced down and saw lentils, some fresh herbs, a spicy bean paste, and strips of what looked like fresh grilled fish. It smelled wonderful, but he kept his mind from wandering, despite his stomach’s protest.

  “She wants to marry me.”

  He said it in a rush, blurted it out without thought. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. He wished he had done it differently, worked them up to it, but it hung in the room like a lead blanket. Miuri went still, lingering behind the couch, and Key’s eyes went wide. Felin only frowned and tilted her head.

  “Seriously?” Felin asked.

  Cam nodded. “She wants to marry me,” he said. “Not for love, obviously, but for politics.”

  Miuri seemed to soften a bit. “Politics,” she said. “I don’t follow.”

  “Galla thinks that if we get married, she can help me… take control,” Cam said, not sure how else to put it.

  “Take control?” Key frowned, her brow furrowed. She shook her head, her golden hair flying. “What does that even mean?”

  “She thinks Cam’s the only one that can lead the army,” Felin said, her big eyes unblinking. “That’s it, right? She thinks you can bring the army out into the field and win.”

  “That’s pretty much it,” Cam said.

  “What about her father?” Miuri asked. “That just seems… she’d be taking power from him. I don’t understand why she’d do that.”

  “I don’t think she has a high opinion of her father,” Cam said. “She believes he’s too weak. I think she believes we’re all doomed unless she does something, and she thinks I’m her best chance.”

  “Interesting.” Miuri mused. “Very interesting. Marrying her would certainly increase your position.”

  “She’s pretty,” Felin said. “Very pretty. And very smart.”

  “Do you want her?” Miuri asked.

  Cam shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “Not like that. Not yet at least.”

  “You haven’t been looking at her then,” Felin said. “Because she’s gorgeous. You probably just need to look a little closer.”

  Cam winced. “That’s not what I mean. Of course I find her attractive. I just barely know her.”

  “You don’t need to know her to marry her,” Miuri said.

  “I don’t even know if this is something I want,” Cam said. “Galla just… sprung it on me.”

  “She’d be a nice addition to our group,” Felin said.

  “I agree,” Miuri said. “I like her. If you want to marry her, you have my blessing.”

  Cam cleared his throat. “Really?” he asked.

  Miuri shrugged. “I told you before, Elves don’t do marriage. When you live forever, marrying someone for a lifetime just seems… unreasonable. So, if you want to marry her for political purposes, by all means. I think you’d be smart to do it.”

  Cam grunted then looked at Felin. “Do you agree with her?”

  “I don’t know,” Felin said. “I like Galla. I wouldn’t mind having her around more often. But I’m not sure this is something you really want.”

  Cam spread his hands out. “I’m not sure either.”

  “Her father will be angry,” Miuri said. “Very angry. That might make things difficult, at least at first.”

  “But Galla’s been advocating for me since we left,” Cam said. “I think she’s already won over most of the Elders. With them on our side, and with her as my wife, she thinks I’ll be given command of the army. And maybe even more.”

  “Interesting,” Miuri said. She bit her lip then laughed. “You seem to have found yourself in a precarious position.”

  Cam let out a breath and wiped his palms on his pants. “I think that’s an understatement,” he said.

  Felin stood up. She walked over to him and put her arms around his neck. He looked at her with a small frown, but she smiled and kissed his cheek.

  “If you want to marry her, for politics or not, go ahead,” Felin said. “That doesn’t change anything with us, does it?”

  “Of course not,” Cam said. “I’d marry any one of you.”

  “No thanks,” Miuri said, her voice sing-song.

  “Marriage is different for Werewolves,” Felin said. She kissed his lips then released him. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re already all mine.”

  Cam laughed and scratched the back of his head. “Well, not entirely.”

  Felin grinned. “They’re all mine, too. I’m the Alpha in this relationship.”

  He sighed and looked over at Key. She hadn’t said a word this whole time, and she was staring down at the floor, her legs folded beneath her. He took a step over and she looked up at him with wide, angry eyes.

  “Key?” he asked. “What do you think?”

  She unfolded her legs and got to her feet.

  “It sounds like you already made up your mind,” she said.

  “I didn’t decide anything.”

  She gestured at Miuri. “She doesn’t care. Neither does Felin. So what do you need my permission for?”

  Cam frowned and tilted his head. “You’re a part of this. I can’t just—”

  “You can do whatever you want,” she said and moved away from the couch. She walked past Cam, slipped out of reach of his hand, and stopped at the door. “If you want to marry Galla, go ahead. But don’t expect me to be happy about it.”

  “Key—” Felin started, but Key glared at her then opened the door and left, slamming the door shut behind her.

  “Shit,” he said.

  “She’ll come around,” Miuri said. “I think she’s just surprised.”

  Felin let out a little growl and shook her head. She walked over and sat down at a chair just beneath the window.

  “Humans,” Felin said. “Always making things more complicated than they need to be.”

  “I don’t know what to do,” Cam said. “If Key doesn’t want this, I can’t just… do it anyway.”

  “I think you have to,” Felin said.

  Cam shook his head and sat on the arm of the couch. “I don’t have to. We can find some other way.”

  “Galla Remorn is the way,” Miuri said. “That girl’s going to take you places, she’s going to take all of us places. If you marry her, you’re going to solidify your position. If you want to do good, Cam, this is how you do it.”

  He stared at Miuri then rubbed his face.

  “I didn’t need this,” he said. “I just wanted to help people.”

&n
bsp; Felin got up and walked over. She put a hand on his shoulder then tilted his face up to meet her own. She stooped down and kissed him.

  “We love you,” she said. “And we believe in you. Galla’s right, you can do so much more.”

  “Key will come around,” Miuri said again. “I’ll find her and talk to her.”

  “I don’t want to lose her,” Cam said.

  “You won’t,” Felin said. She kissed him again then pulled his face against her chest. He breathed deep, his face pressed against her soft breasts.

  “Galla Remorn,” he said. “You really think this is the right thing to do?”

  “Power’s there, Cam,” Miuri said as he pulled away from Felin and stood. “It’s there for someone to take. Whether that’s you or one of the other Elders, someone’s going to lead that army. I think the world will be better off if that’s you.”

  Cam touched Felin’s face then walked over to the window again. He looked out and saw the valley down below them, the trees stretched out like moss in the distance.

  “You’re right,” he said.

  He heard Miuri laugh. “My favorite words,” she said.

  He turned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m going to marry Galla,” he said. “But first, Key has to give me her blessing. I’ll move forward however Galla wants, but I won’t do the actual ceremony until Key is okay with it.”

  Miuri made a gesture and nodded. “Fair enough,” she said.

  “We’ll work on Key,” Felin said. “Go find Galla and tell her the good news. Oh Cam, you’re going to be such a lucky man. Galla will make a wonderful new bride.”

  He laughed and gripped his sword hilt. “This isn’t how I thought today was going to go.”

  “But here we are.” Felin walked over, touched his cheek. “You’re going to be okay. We’ll work on Key.”

  He nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Go find Galla,” Miuri said. “And tell her that I can’t wait to be her sister wife. Or whatever we’re calling it.”

  Cam laughed. “Sister wife? I kind of like it. But I thought Elves didn’t do marriage.”

  She waved that away and laughed. “Not technically, at least.”

  He shook his head and walked to the door. He didn’t know where Galla was, but he figured he could find her. They’d have to talk logistics, figure out how their relationship was going to function, how they were going to break the news to her father and the other Elders. He felt a strange glowing rod of hope drop down through his stomach.

  Galla was the way forward. She was the path to real power here, and Cam knew he had to reach out and make it all his own.

  The others were right. Someone was going to lead, and it might as well be him. Galla thought he could do it, and that was going to be enough.

  He left their rooms holding a lamp aloft and went in search of his future bride.

  41

  The council met two days later. Cam took a seat across from Miuri and Gwedi. The red-haired Elf ignored his presence entirely, which was actually an improvement over the death stares he had gotten used to.

  Lord Remorn sat at the head of the table, with Galla to his right. Officers from the army, men Cam recognized but didn’t know, were scattered along the table. Captain Brice sat at the far end wearing a dark blue tunic, her hair up in a tight bun. He smiled at her and she nodded back, though didn’t return the smile.

  The Elders were arrayed along either side of the tables. Dagan shifted in his chair next to Cam, and he knew the man wasn’t looking forward to this meeting. He’d spoken with Dagan the night before and told him about his plan with Galla, and the Elder hadn’t exactly been excited about the prospect of going up against Lord Remorn. But Cam knew there wasn’t much he could do about it, and so he’d accepted Cam’s plan without much complaint.

  “Thank you all for being here,” Lord Remorn said, standing to address the assembled people. The room was more crowded than Cam remembered, and Lord Remorn’s voice didn’t carry quite as far or sound quite so forceful. In fact, he seemed smaller than Cam remembered. He looked thinner and dark bags hung under his eyes.

  “As you all know, the army recently returned from campaign,” Lord Remorn continued. “But it suffered dire losses. Good men and women, leaders and shamans and Elders, were left behind on the field of battle. We mourn their losses, each and every one of them, and yet we must find a way to move forward.”

  There was a murmur of agreement. Cam glanced at Captain Brice again, and her face was stone hard and expressionless.

  “But there is some good in all this darkness,” Lord Remorn said. “Camrus, shaman of the Medlar village, managed to free hundreds of people from the wolves’ slave pens, and he broke the army out from its siege. Because of him, we have a chance to move forward. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you, Camrus. You have the gratitude of the Mansion, its Lord, and its people.”

  There was another murmur and some applause. Cam inclined his head and met Galla’s eye. She smiled at him, her lips pretty and pink as she tilted her head. She wore a long black gown with a deep, plunging neckline, her hair up in an intricate braid. She looked stunning, and an emerald necklace hung just between her breasts, drawing the eye to her body. Cam knew what she was doing, knew she was trying to entice and distract, but he still fell for her trap regardless. She truly was a beautiful woman.

  “Now, we have a lot to discuss,” Lord Remorn said. “These are dark and difficult days, but there will be a way forward. However, before I begin, my daughter Galla requested my permission to address the council.” He turned and inclined his head to her. “Daughter, if you’d like?”

  She inclined her head in return and stood as her father took his seat. She clasped her hands in front of her and subtly pressed her breasts together. Cam watched every man in the room look at her chest, and he felt a strange surge of pride, followed by a pang of surprise. She knew what she was doing, and she was damn good at it. Even Cam fell for her, even though he was aware of what was about to happen.

  “Assembled Elders, Captains, Lieutenants, noble men and woman,” Galla said. “I don’t want to take too much of the council’s time. I have only a simple announcement to make, one which many of you already know about.” She beamed at the Elders, and Cam noticed a few of them smiled and nodded back, notably Frew, Maris, Edwin, and Trinen.

  “I am aware that my announcement is somewhat unorthodox,” she said. “This sort of thing is typically arranged by the parents and announced by the father, but in my case, events have played out quickly and unexpectedly.”

  Cam looked at Lord Remorn and saw the man frown at his daughter. He shifted in his seat, head tilted to one side, and leaned forward on his hands.

  “Daughter,” he said. “What are you hinting at? I’m sure the council would appreciate it if you spoke your mind.”

  Galla inclined her head. “Very well, Father.” She looked back at the room and her eyes fell on Cam. Her smile widened as she opened her hands wide. “I would like to announce that I’ve been betrothed to shaman Camrus of the Medlar village. We made our decision yesterday, and already the Elders confirmed the marriage.”

  Cam held his breath. Dagan stiffened beside him but didn’t move. All eyes turned to him as he slowly climbed to his feet and inclined his head to the group in respect. Captain Brice looked angry, Miuri was beaming, and Gwedi rolled her eyes and looked like she smelled something bad. The Elders looked pleased for the most part, though a couple seemed surprised, and the rest of the room ranged from shocked excitement to outright anger.

  Lord Remorn looked confused. He stared up at his daughter with a frown and he tilted his head to one side as every eye in the room fell on him. He climbed to his feet and stood there, arms spread wide and palms up, almost as if he were trying to explain something to a small child.

  “Galla,” he said. “What’s going on here?”

  “I know this is a surprise, Father,” she said, turning to him. Her whole demeanor exuded a calm, c
entered self-possession that Cam wished he could feel. He stayed on his feet, although all he wanted to do was sit and ignore what was happening around him.

  But he knew he couldn’t do that. This was their moment—the unveiling of their plans. Cam knew that if he wanted things to move forward as Galla suggested they might, he’d have to be strong in this moment.

  “Surprise?” he asked. “This is more than a surprise. You can’t just get betrothed to a man without my permission.” He smiled, bemused and light, like this was some kind of joke. “Much less to some small-town shaman. No offense meant, Camrus.”

  Cam inclined his head but kept his eyes hard.

  “Father,” Galla said. “This isn’t a joke. It’s not some kind of jest. I knew you wouldn’t approve of this marriage, so I went to the Elders and received their blessing. I know you’re going to be angry—”

  “You went behind my back?” he asked. “Galla, I don’t understand what you think you’re doing, but we will speak of this later. The council’s time is more important.”

  Galla shook her head. “No, Father. You need to understand now, in front of everyone gathered here. I’m going to marry Cam.”

  “You will not.” His bemused smile vanished; his hands dropped down. He leaned toward his daughter, an angry spark in his eyes. “You’ve overstepped yourself, Daughter. We will speak of this later.”

  “My Lord,” Cam said. “If I may address the council?”

  Everyone stared at him. Miuri gave him an encouraging nod and smile, and he could tell she was enjoying herself. He took a deep breath and steeled himself as Lord Remorn stared at him, a mixture of loathing and anger etched into his features.

  “I don’t think we need to hear from you, Camrus,” he said.

  “Let the boy speak,” Elder Frew said.

  “This is foolish,” Lord Remorn said. “There’s an army of wolves bearing down on us and we’re discussing marriages.”

  “We’re discussing the marriage of your daughter to an important shaman,” Frew said. “Let him speak.”