Read Online Queen of the Sylphs by L. J. McDonald - Free Book Online Page B

streets by battle sylphs. Did the many thousands of men and women who’d been locked in cages as feeders with their tongues cut out justify that? These were the new sylph masters in Meridal, and she wondered how many of them were even sane.
    No, she truly didn’t envy Eapha, forced to come out of a harem where she’d been a slave and become queen. At least the girl was safe, what with all those battle sylphs to protect her. Solie glanced at Heyou, who gave her a strained smile in return.
    “She must be lonely.”
    All three present battlers stared at her in bafflement.
    “She has Tooie,” Ril said. “What more does she need?”
    Airi giggled, pressing a hand to her mouth. Her master watched her out of the corner of one eye.
    “Maybe . . . someone who knows how to run a kingdom?” Solie pointed out.
    “Precisely,” Leon agreed. “I thought about staying there myself to help her.”
    Very slowly, Ril straightened in his chair. He turned his entire torso to stare at his master, his hands gripping the chair arm until the wood creaked. “Pardon me?” he said with tremendous indignation. “You thought about what? ”
    Solie saw Leon fighting not to smile and had to bite down on a laugh herself. Leon lost his battle, but he suppressed the grin just as quickly. “I won’t do that to you,” he promised. “We’re not going anywhere.”
    “Good.” Ril glared a moment longer and then returned to his slouched position. Behind his back, Leon chuckled.
    “Who are you sending?” Mace asked. “I assume you plan to send someone.”
    “Yes.” Leon’s eyes sought the end of the table. “I want to send Devon.”
    Devon, who’d been in the process of putting more ink on his quill, started and knocked the bottle over. That led to a frantic scramble to try and sop up the spill with parchment, but he finally gave up and stared at Leon, his stained fingers crushing the pages.
    “Me?” he squeaked.
    “You have the experience Eapha needs,” Leon said, and Solie found herself agreeing. From the emotions of the others, they agreed, too, but Devon felt terrified. Airi stared at him in shared fear, shimmering back and forth to invisibility.
    “You can guide her through this and make sure that she remembers us as her friends,” Leon continued.
    “But . . . but . . .”
    “I’ve trained you for six years,” Leon said. “You can do this.”
    “But, I can’t! I wouldn’t know where to start!”
    “At the beginning. You’ll see what needs to be done when you get there, and you’ll be able to tell her.”
    “No, I won’t!”
    “Devon,” Leon growled. “There’s no one else. I gave that woman my word, and it has to be you. I’m sorry, but you are the best choice, whether you believe it or not. You and Airi both.”
    Devon glanced at his air sylph as though he’d never seen her before. She gaped back at him, and Solie felt both her trepidation and intrigue.
    Leon was right. Devon was the only one left in the Valley with the experience to help create a new society. Neither Leon or Galway could go without splitting or relocating their families. Their battle sylphs couldn’t go without angering the battlers of the other hive. While the battlers could be ordered not to attack, the tension would make the whole situation next to impossible. Ril had likely needed to leave Meridal as fast as he could.
    Solie would have liked to meet Eapha, but she already knew that was impossible. She’d never be able to leave the Valley. Nor could Eapha leave her home.
    Devon could. Airi wasn’t of Eapha’s hive, but air sylphs didn’t stress battlers the way other battlers did; and she would give Devon the company he needed as well as the ability to know what others were feeling. Her insight would be valuable.
    “It won’t be forever,” Solie promised. When Devon turned, she added, “You just have to go long enough to help Eapha figure things out.”
    “It shouldn’t be more than a year,” Leon clarified. “We want her