Tiefling Boyfriend: Emory (special preview)

“You do realize, Giants aren’t your average men?” Albion shakes his head at him. “Sure, send three Orcs after each and see how that turns out. One Giant equals ten men. So lets say they have twenty? That’s two hundred men! Fifty? Five hundred. Gods forbid they have a thousand, we wouldn’t stand a chance.” Albion’s low glower makes the room rumble and Arlan take his seat.

I stand up and look over the room. “Isn’t there some other way we can communicate with the Scheers?” I ask. “Do we have to use military means to get our word across? Can’t we just talk to them and see what they want?” I motion to Delilah. “Chirayu did it for the Black Wolves, why can’t we do that for the Scheers? Can’t we listen? Can’t we hear them out and try to help them so no one has to die?”

Arlan points at me. “They tried to kill your brother, you know?” He then points to Emory. “They tried to kill this young man.” He narrows his eyes at me. “They started this war because they didn’t like the fact they weren’t getting the biggest piece of the pie. They don’t get to cry because they lost a fight they started. If they refuse to learn from their past mistakes, then they are going to make them again.”

“Lord Scheer is dead,” I scoff. “This is not the same beast that attacked before. This is something else. This is a patchwork quilt of the remains, scraps that have forged together to make something new, something we haven’t fought. Delilah knows exactly what people like this are capable of. They’re angry and they’re willing to fight because their reason might be just. There are new leaders out there who may feel they were treated wrongly because of the mistake of the man you just described. Let us hear them before we attack them.”

Arlan sighs and shakes his head. “Damn you Rakshasa and your cute faces.” He lays his palms on the table. “Fine. We’ll send out word. I only hope you’re right, Davya.”

As we leave the meeting Emory runs up beside me with a grin on his face. “That was amazing! I know that’s what you’re good at, but I always get chills when I see it.”

“I’m just tired of battles,” I scoff. “And Ophirin has seen enough in such a short amount of time. If we can get the Scheers to stand down, then maybe, just maybe, we can stop one more from happening.”

Emory looks ahead. “You have so much family here in Ophirin, I don’t blame you for wanting to fight for the most peaceful means.”

“Not just family, but there are people here whose lives depend upon us to keep it peaceful.” I stop by a window and look out. “The miners in the Elamont are the ones who will suffer most, not the Scheers, not my family. We will survive, but them?” I hang my hand as Emory takes hold of my hands.

“It’ll be ok,” he whispers. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”

“Thank you, Emory.” I look up at him and I feel a calm settle over me. “That means more than you’ll know.

Emory leans in and I close my eyes. He places a soft kiss on my cheek and then steps back. “Sorry,” he clears his throat.

My whole face feels warm and my heart has skipped a beat. “It’s ok, I liked it.”