He stepped out into the corridor and immediately ran into Marcus, who was pacing right outside the door. Marcus turned toward him, brows knitted, still annoyed that Leonie had been put in danger while she was under Dorian's protection.
"I shouldn't have let her use her magic. I only looked away for a moment," Marcus said, guilt and worry written all over his face. During their journey he had, quite against his will, grown fond of the girl who liked to throw punches—but more importantly, Dorian clearly had started to care about her too. He hadn't seen anything like this from his friend in 300 years, so for Dorian's mental well-being, they had to find a way to keep Leonie alive.
"It's not your fault," Dorian said with a sigh, his tone softening as he laid a hand on Marcus's shoulder. Marcus met his gaze, eyes serious.
"And I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean any of it, it's just this blight of a place… it's getting to me."
"I know what you mean. If it were up to me, I'd burn this whole land to the ground. But don't make a habit of questioning me in front of the others, or I'll have to beat you to a pulp in front of them to set an example," Dorian replied, patting his shoulder before walking past him toward the dining room.
Marcus snorted with laughter.
"Oh, please. Last time on the training grounds I had you flat on your back in no time."
They didn't have much time to debate which of them could take the other, because their companions were already seated in silence around the makeshift dining table, clearly waiting for them. Dorian and Marcus joined them.
"It's about time you told us what exactly you're planning, Dorian," Xav said in his hard, ringing voice, fingers laced together in front of him. "It seems you've rewritten your father's plan, and I think we're all curious about your reasons."
Dorian drew his brows together and looked at the elf nearly twice his age. He didn't like the interrogating tone, but he understood their concern.
"Seems to me we already know the reason," the light-brown-haired elf remarked, nodding toward the room where Leonie lay.
Xav snorted.
"Oh, come now, Aeson. Dorian and a woman? There is no way our friend would break his word to his father over some woman."
There was a trace of cynicism in his voice, but Filarion cut in with his calm, deep tone.
"It looks to me like Leonie is hardly an ordinary girl."
At that, the youngest-looking elf shot to his feet and started waving his hands as he joined the conversation.
"Did you see what she did? I've never seen anything like it! She brought the trees to life! I didn't even want to believe Marcus when he said you'd found an elf among humans—"
"We all saw her skewer that man, Nir," Aeson interrupted, shutting down the over-eager youngster. "Xav was lucky she only punched him." He flashed the grey-haired elf a grin, earning himself a grimace in return.
"I'll be happy to punch you next if you don't shut up," Xav growled.
Aeson just laughed at the empty threat.
"I have no doubt Leonie is a forest elf," Filarion said, breaking up the bickering with his usual composure.
His calm, however, had the opposite effect on the other three; all chaos broke loose as they started talking over one another.
"Ridiculous," Xav snapped.
"The forest elves all disappeared, it's impossible," Aeson continued.
"It's been a thousand years," Xav added.
"And you just happen to find one among humans?" Nir chimed in.
Dorian grew tired of the racket and raised a hand. It was enough to silence them all and turn every face toward him.
"Filarion is right. We believe she's a forest elf," he said.
He told them about their first meeting, how Leonie had stopped them in the forest, about the dinner, about how from the very beginning he'd felt his magic respond to her. He left out the more sensitive parts—he did not share what she'd told him about the baron's stomach-turning deeds, nor did he describe the state she'd been in when she came into his care.
"The baron is cruel and tyrannical, and Leonie is one of our own. We couldn't leave her there. And if we're right and she is a forest elf, then through her we may be able to find the book as well."
Marcus, who had been unusually quiet until now, finally spoke up.
"You all saw she had no idea what she'd done. She doesn't know anything about her heritage or her power."
"Or she just plays her role very well. We can't trust her. What if the book is in human hands and this is forbidden magic?" Xav cut in, and Dorian gave a low, dangerous growl.
"No, Dorian! You've lost control. We can all see how, in just a few days, you've let her rob you of your common sense," Xav pressed.
The conversation was starting to feel like a splinter under Dorian's nail. Maybe what stung most was that Xav was voicing exactly what he'd been wrestling with for days. Why was he defying his father's orders for the sake of a girl they knew nothing about?
But that wasn't true. Leonie was kind and brave, self-sacrificing and a fighter. And on top of that, she might be their people's only chance at survival. He, Dorian, had decided based solely on the latter. Pure logic.
And self-deception.
"Are you suggesting I'd endanger every elf in my kingdom by bringing someone there without making sure of the truth first?" he asked, leaning forward.
"I'm suggesting that innocent little face might have clouded your judgement. You've brought serious trouble down on us with her," Xav shot back, leaning in as well.
Maybe it was because there was some truth in Xav's words, but Dorian wanted nothing more than to break his nose just to shut him up. Before he could act on that urge, Marcus stepped in.
"As if you didn't know what Dorian is capable of, old friend. He's already pulled all the information out of her that we need. The girl is completely innocent and has no idea what's happening to her."
Even Marcus had no idea that the one time Dorian had truly used his power on her had been that one unfortunate morning.
"What do you mean, 'pulled everything out of me'?" a sleepy voice asked from the far end of the room.
Every head snapped in her direction at once. They had been so caught up in their argument they hadn't even noticed Leonie approaching. She'd awoken to the noise and felt she had to see what they were fighting about—because she was quite sure it had something to do with her. Now she stared at the circle of men in confusion.
"What did you mean, Marcus?" she asked again, stepping closer.
"Dorian's elven gift—he can…" Nir began to babble, but Dorian silenced him with a single look.
"You should be resting," Dorian said, jaw tightening. This was not how he wanted to tell her the truth, and definitely not in front of the others.
"No!" Leonie snapped, of course resisting him as she always did. Why did she have to make everything so difficult?
"I'm sick of you thinking your will matters more than anyone else's!"
Aeson let out a low, appreciative whistle.
"The little one's got a point," he said with a broad grin. "I'm starting to understand why you tore up your father's plan."
"Shut up," Dorian snarled at him, his gaze so thunderous that an average elf probably would've burst into tears. Aeson's grin didn't falter; he merely raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Believe me, this is not the right time to talk about this," Dorian tried again, attempting to sway Leonie.
Xavier, however, had had enough.
"This drama is pointless. The girl can surely understand that we can't bring someone to our lands whom we cannot trust. Dorian's talent lies in…"
"One of my abilities is that I can enter other people's minds and make them see things. And make them believe anything. For example, that they genuinely want to answer my questions honestly," Dorian said, cutting him off.
He paused, watching Leonie, waiting to see how long it would take her to piece together the events of the past few days. It took a while; she was already reeling from the fact that he could crawl into her head at all. How much of the last days had even been real then?
Of course she had suspected something—he had taken away her pain, and there had been that scene by the lake he'd shown her today—but she hadn't really thought through what it meant. Then she remembered how he had apologised more than once, and she'd never understood why. That morning… she hadn't even understood why she was telling him everything…
No. That couldn't be. She had trusted Dorian.
"You… you made me tell you everything!" she whispered, staggering back as if he had slapped her. Dorian stood still, rigid, looking at her with a blank expression.
"It was a mistake," Marcus rushed in, trying to salvage what could still be saved, since his friend clearly wasn't handling the situation—he wasn't handling it at all; he just stared at Leonie with that grim, closed-off face.
"Believe me, he didn't mean to. If we could undo it—"
Leonie's sharp, broken laughter cut him off.
"He'd do it again, wouldn't he?" she asked, blinking at Dorian. "Wouldn't you?"
He nodded once, slowly. Marcus ran a desperate hand through his hair. He would've loved to punch his friend right then.
The other elves reacted in different ways: Xav frowned in clear disapproval that Leonie dared to call their king to account; Nir stared at the two of them with his mouth hanging open; Aeson looked absolutely delighted by the whole mess; Filarion watched Dorian with a serious, measuring gaze.
"You're no better than he is!" Leonie jabbed a finger at Dorian, accusation burning in her voice. "I hate you!"
He didn't show it, but the words hit deep. It was true that he had forced her—without her knowledge—to do something she would never have chosen, but he'd never intended to hurt her. Yet here they were, and the fragile trust that had begun to form in Leonie was now shattered.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. She spun on her heel and stormed back to her room, throwing herself onto the bed and yanking the blanket over her head. The throbbing in her skull intensified.
She was devastated. She had thought—no, she had wanted to believe—that elves were different from humans. That Dorian was different from the baron. She had tried to convince herself that they would protect her, that she wouldn't have to be afraid anymore.
But now she felt more alone than ever.
With that hollow emptiness in her chest, she cried herself to sleep.