The study door closed behind them with a soft thud, sealing the map and its grim possibilities away. Hans lingered in the hallway, adjusting the folds of his cloak like a man preparing for battle rather than a negotiation.
"I'll leave after handing my work to Elsa, I guess," he said quietly. "The Hyra estate is a two-day ride if the roads are kind. I'll speak first to the count's eldest son, Count Hyra himself is too proud to listen to reason right now. Then, if I can arrange it, to Neir then. If anyone can be swayed by talk of profit over pride, it's him."
Eon nodded, though the plan sat uneasily in his chest. "Be careful, Hans. They are the type of people who kidnap people openly on another noble's estate. They might not hesitate to burn a mediator."
Hans gave a tired smile. "Heh, I've talked my way out of worse. And if I don't return in a week…" He let the sentence hang, then bowed slightly. "My lord. My lady."
Teresa watched him go, then turned to Eon. "You think he'll succeed?"
"I think he'll try." Eon rubbed the back of his neck. "And if he fails, we'll have our answer."
The mansion felt quieter after Hans's departure, as if the weight of the coming week had already settled over it. Eon wandered the corridors, restless. The new workers moved with cautious efficiency, but he felt he was missing something from yesterday's chaos. He needed to find Verra.
He found Elsa first, folding linens in the guest wing. She looked up, her face softening when she saw him.
"Verra?" he asked.
Elsa's expression dimmed. "She's by the grave again. She spends most of her days there now."
Eon thanked her and headed out. The orchard was a quiet place, overgrown with wild apples and silver birch. A narrow path led to a clearing where the grass had been carefully trimmed. A single stone marker stood there, simple and unmarked except for a carved leaf at the top. It was Loreth's grave.
Verra knelt before it, her dark hair loose and tangled, her hands pressed to the earth as if she could reach through it. She didn't look up when Eon approached, but her shoulders tensed.
He sat beside her without speaking, legs crossed, letting the silence stretch. The wind rustled the leaves overhead them, carrying the faint scent of ripening fruit.
After a long time, Verra spoke, her voice was low and raw.
"She used to dream about home, you know. Not the way it is now, burned, broken, but the way it was before it was taken from us. Green forests that touched the sky, rivers so clear you could see the fish swimming in them. She'd wake up smiling, telling me how she'd run through the meadows with other girl's her age, laughing, free." Verra's fingers dug into the soil. "She never got to see it. Because she is now three feet under this filthy soil."
Eon stayed quiet, letting her words fill the space.
"I tried," she continued, voice cracking. "I tried so hard to keep her safe. I swallowed every insult, every abuse, every 'game' those human nobles wanted to play. I let them touch me, use me, because I thought if I stayed obedient, they'd let us be alive. And as long as we are alive, we can go back home again. I thought I was protecting her." A bitter laugh escaped her. "And after all this year of suffering, this is what she gets?! A hole in the ground. And I'm still here, still playing their games, hiding, mediating, pretending we can talk to the same creatures who killed my daughter."
Her hands trembled. She pressed them harder against the grave, as if anchoring herself.
"Why?" she whispered. "Why are you so quiet with them? Why do you let these nobles live? You could take this house, take the whole county, in a heartbeat. You could burn their castles, chain them like they chained us. Why don't you?"
Eon swallowed. "Because I already have them, just not in the way you are thinking. And I am still….."
"And the others," she cut in, voice rising. "The elves still in the Neighboring houses? At the Denares house? They are still chained, beaten, and getting used. You know they're there. Why aren't you going to get them? Why are we sitting here, waiting for Hans to beg for peace from the same people who profit from our suffering?"
Her eyes finally met his, red like blood, blazing with a grief that had hardened into something sharper, more dangerous.
"I want them to hurt," she said, the words trembling with rage. "I want every mercenary who touched her to scream. I want every noble who looked the other way to choke on their own blood. I want revenge, Eon. Anything to make this pain stop. But I can't do anything. I couldn't even save her. I just watched."
The last words broke her. She curled forward, forehead pressing to the stone, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Not loud, not dramatic, just deep, wrenching grief that had nowhere else to go.
Eon reached out slowly, resting a hand on her back. She flinched at first, then leaned into it, just a little.
"I don't have all the answers," he said quietly. "I don't know why the world is like this. But I do have plans for the others. I can't just storm the Denares estate, and the others, not yet. You know what happened yesterday. Right after the mercenary attack we got involved with these Hyra merchant guild's goons. I've barely had time to breathe, let alone prepare."
Verra didn't respond, but she was listening.
"Today and tomorrow," he continued, "I'm going to the forge. I'll work with Kaelen and Liam to craft some weapons, blades, bows, and some armor. You know that we need them. We need things suited for elves, light but deadly. Before Hans returns from Hyra, I'll go to the marquessate myself. I'll get our people out. I promise you that."
She lifted her head slightly, eyes searching his face. "You mean it?"
"I do."
Verra looked back at the grave. "And the ones who killed her?"
Eon's voice hardened. "Every mercenary involved in that attack, I'll find them. And every evil thing in this county that preys on the weak? I'll end it. I can't take back our homeland yet. That's a dream for another day. But I can make this place a safe haven for elves. I swear it."
He stood, offering his hand. Verra stared at it for a long moment, then took it. She rose slowly, brushing dirt from her knees.
"I'll hold you to that," she said, voice steady now, though the fire in her eyes hadn't dimmed.
Eon nodded. "I expect you to."
He left her there, the wind stirring her hair as she turned back to the grave. The walk to the forge felt heavier than it should for Eon.
Halfway across the courtyard, Teresa intercepted him. She stepped out from behind a stone arch, arms folded, expression troubled.
"Did you talk to Verra?" she asked quietly. "About Julius?"
Eon stopped. "Not directly. Why?"
"She's… angry. More than usual. And Julius is….. I'm worried she'll do something…" Teresa bit her lip. "I'm worried she'll do something. Her attitude towards us humans, especially him…"
Eon studied her. "Is her attitude justifiable to you? Given what Julius, your family, did to her and Loreth for years?"
Teresa flinched. Her mouth opened, then closed. She looked away, eyes glistening.
Eon softened his tone. "I'm still keeping Julius safe from the elves. Their rage is justified, you can't deny that. But you need to keep him in line from now on. He isn't a good man as you thought all this time, at least he wasn't. People don't change easily. If he does something stupid now, even I might not be able to protect him."
Teresa nodded slowly. "I'll make sure he behaves. I swear it."
Eon exhaled. Talking about her son right after last night felt… wrong. Like the intimacy they'd shared had been pushed aside by old wounds on his body. His mood darkened, a familiar tightness started in his chest.
But, strangely, the anger didn't linger. It rose, then faded, like smoke dissipating in the wind. No lingering bitterness, no spiral into frustration. Just… calm.
He'd noticed it more lately. The mood swings that used to plague him as Jin-Ho, the sudden drops into despair or rage, they were gone. Or at least muted. His emotions felt clearer, more controlled. Like his mind had sharpened along with his senses.
'Was it the elf body? Longevity bringing emotional stability? Or is it the world itself, mana, magic, something in the air that steadied the soul?' He didn't know. But it felt… good, to have control over himself, instead of the other way around.
Teresa touched his arm. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he said, surprised at how calm he felt even right after the heartfelt talk with Verra. "Just thinking."
She studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Go to the forge. Kaelen's been asking for you."
Eon squeezed her hand briefly, then continued on. The rhythmic clang of hammers already was echoing from inside.
He paused at the door, glancing back toward the orchard. Verra was still there, kneeling again.
He entered the forge.