A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

But Ankhur didn't think long. Almost immediately, he turned back to Erik and shook his head. "I have no secrets from my people, Erik, and I'm a little offended you think I'd spill any of yours. I'd never harm Runa's son."

He waved dismissively at the covenant stone, "Besides, if we're going to work together, I think trust is more important than an assurance like this."

Neither Erik nor Elora seemed surprised by Ankhur's stance, but it didn't change anything for them. "It's admirable you don't have any secrets from your people, Ankhur, but I do. From everyone, in fact, and I won't bank our secrets on something so fickle as your relationship with my mother."

Ankhur frowned, a little anger seeping into his voice. "Fickle, huh? You think my feelings for her are fickle?!"

Erik cocked his head, and looked at Ankhur like he was an idiot. 'Is it just pride, or idiocy?' he thought curiously to himself.

Regardless, he explained himself. "I don't yet know you well enough to judge the sincerity or consistency of your feelings. But I am, in fact, talking about my mother. Her memory is still returning to her, but you seem to assume your relationship will work out. What if it doesn't? What if she rejects you, rather bluntly, as she is prone to do. Will you still keep our secrets then?"

Ankhur flinched a little. Although their relationship never really got off the ground when they met before, he later figured that was due to her singular focus on vengeance and a reunion with her son. He wasn't truly so ignorant as to think there might be other reasons to refuse him, but in his heart of hearts, he didn't really think she would.

Ankhur opened his mouth to defend himself, but Erik cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Honestly, it doesn't matter. If you wish to have these discussions with us, the covenant is a must. And believe me… you want to have these talks."

Breathing deeply to get the anger he felt under control, Ankhur slowly nodded. "Fine… But since you don't trust me, should we just add a guarantee of safety within my domain?"

A sly grin spread on both Erik and Elora's lips. "Why, you just read our minds…"

* * *

A few moments later, Ankhur cautiously inspected the green mark on his hand, then looked over at the covenant stone curiously. "I must say, you two truly have some fascinating methods at your disposal. How many of these stones do you have? Are they single use?"

Erik was now leaning into his chair, sipping some local beverage he tried at the festival with Emma, which he quite enjoyed. With the covenant signed, he now felt a lot more comfortable. Although he was sure enough Ankhur wouldn't betray them, he always remained on alert, just to be sure. Now, he could relax… a little.

Erik smiled and nodded. "They are single use, and we have only a few of them, but we can make plenty more… which is just one of the advantages we can offer you."

Ankhur looked at him solemnly, with a knowing gaze. "I'm sure you two have a lot to offer… I'm just not sure the price is worth it."

Erik raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you would give anything for the safety and prosperity of your people."

"Is that what you are offering me?" the king asked pointedly.

"Perhaps," Erik smiled mysteriously, sipping his drink. "We can certainly increase your chances, but nothing is guaranteed…"

Ankhur nodded thoughtfully. The fact Erik wasn't giving him any guarantees actually made him feel a little more confident about this. Slowly, he drummed his fingers on the arms of his chair. "Can I assume you're not going to make my daughter a part of these negotiations?"

Next to him, Naeku rolled her eyes, but she still couldn't help but glance at Erik. She was 99% he wouldn't, but it couldn't hurt to be sure…

As expected, Erik chuckled and shook his head, "I don't need such tactics to make a woman mine…" he winked over at Naeku. "Eventually, they always come to me willingly."

Naeku immediately scoffed and looked away, yet the blush on her cheeks was unmistakable.

Ankhur's face twitched a little again, but he kept his cool. "In that case, I'd like to hear what you want in return for your help…" He had his suspicions, of course, but he needed to hear it.

But Erik waved his hand dismissively. "We'll get to that, my friend. First, let us talk about exactly what we can mean for you. I'd actually like to start with revealing a little secret about us, now that you've guaranteed our safety and cannot reveal our secrets anymore."

He took Elora's hand in his and lovingly kissed the back of it, his intense amber eyes, piercing into her cunning emerald ones. "I'm sure you've had your suspicions already, but… the truth is, battle is not one of my beautiful wife's many talents."

He turned back to look at Ankhur, still holding Elora's hand. "When the Humanitas Sangh invades, she'll be unable to fight on the front lines."

Ankhur nodded slowly. He felt disappointed and a little confused about the why of it, but he wasn't particularly surprised. "After hearing how none of Naeku's stories involved Elora's fighting, I did indeed have my suspicions. But… this makes our future confrontation that much harder, if not impossible."

He leaned forward solemnly, resting his one good arm on his knee. "We already know that even Enkai and I together cannot stand up to Lilith, and now I'm even down an arm. I don't doubt you somehow managed to wound her, but… I'm not sure your methods are reliable. Without thinking of a way to deal with Lilith, any other plans we make for their invasion are useless."

Erik didn't plan to deny those claims. He nodded without shame. "You are right, of course. The way I dealt with her last time is far too dangerous and unreliable. I don't plan on using that method again unless the situation is desperate."
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Of course, in his eyes, desperate meant his family was in danger. He certainly wouldn't take such a risk to save the people of Enkare Nkai, but he didn't see a reason to point that out.

"Fortunately, we won't need to," Erik continued with a mysterious smile. "I will reach the third rank before my mother recovers and the invasions starts, and, with a little luck, I won't be alone…"

Ankhur raised an eyebrow sceptically, "How can you—?"

"But that's not all," Erik interrupted him with a small smirk, before pointing at Ankhur's missing arm. "We can also help you with that… sort of."