Unfortunately for Eldon, Hope had gathered his intent from his furtive manner during dinner, and she confronted him in blazing anger when the desserts came out. "If you do anything to my granddaughters, it will be the last thing you do this side of the wheel," she warned. "I'm in no mood for further manipulation and heartbreak; leave my granddaughters alone. I won't ask you again, and if I've found out you've gone behind my back, I'll come after you and rip your throat out."
Scarlett and the girls had gone white, and by the time Hope had finished, three pairs of eyes turned accusingly on Eldon, who raised his hands defensively. "It was a random whim," he said. "I didn't mean any harm behind it, and Ishan agreed--"
"Ishan agreed?" Scarlett rounded on her husband in a blaze of temper that mirrored Hope's still-burning anger. "What the hell, Ishan?"
"I didn't agree with his idea," Ishan said, glaring at Eldon, who looked very much as if he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. "All I said was that the idea had its merits, but Eldon was the one who ultimately scuttled the idea in the end."
Scarlett threw her napkin down and stormed out of the room. Ishan shot Eldon a poisonous glare full of hatred before getting up and hurrying after his wife, while Niniane and Nyneve found themselves wishing they were anywhere but here. It was Niniane who got up first, and Nyneve hurried out after her sister, leaving Hope and Eldon alone. 108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZA78cUNNzU
"Why?" Hope said harshly, glaring daggers at the man she'd once thought the soul of kindness. "Are you a double-double agent like Jhansi?"
"No," Eldon said hotly. "And I'll thank you not to link my name to hers; she's a traitor, and she's done worse than murder. I'm still smarting over her betrayal too, and it's bloody raw!"108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr97nn4b0ap
"Don't you go taking the moral high ground," Hope warned. "I've had a gutful of watching my children, grandchildren and possible great-grandchildren being maniuplated for the whims of a corrupt council. I don't want you anywhere near my granddaughters where I can't keep my eyes on you. Nor do I want you near my daughter or son-in-law either without me there. I won't have you influencing them and telling them that it's a good idea to breed up children who won't have a say in their future, just like their counterparts on the other side of the portal!"
Eldon opened his mouth, but no glib words or wisecracks could undo the horrendous hurt; Hope turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Eldon sitting at the table on his own, and suddenly regretting all of his life choices.
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It was well after midnight, but Niniane was in no mood for sleep as she swam in the cooling waters of the lake she'd discovered that afternoon. Like her oldest sister, she took solace in the calming effect the water had on her, and as she swam, she felt a bit better, though not much. Having learned her fate was just as tangled here as it had been on Pandora, Niniane wondered bitterly if there was anyone in the blighted universe who didn't see her as a walking uterus on legs! But as she took a deep breath and dived underwater, she already knew the answer; she had value for the children she would one day mother, not as herself, but for the benefits her future children would produce in order to get revenge on the Pandoran council for what they were planning to do with her older sister and nephews. She, as a person, didn't exist, not to the Pandoran council, and not to that crazy old man Eldon!
Out of air and out of patience with just about everyone, Niniane surfaced, spitting out water and a few curses, her mind made up. If anyone wanted her future children, they'd get them, but it would come back to bite them, hard. And Niniane knew the perfect place.
Pandora.
But not Isonor. It was the lands beyond Isonor that held Niniane's interest, and as she swam back to shore, she knew where she'd start; with her own forest elf kin. If they were half as stubborn and honourable as she, then they'd agree to her plan, and then the Pandoran council, Eldon, and anyone else who thought they could enslave her children would be in for one hell of a time.
Niniane smirked as she ran back to the castle, the warm night air raising gooesbumps on her wet skin and hair. Nyneve would cover for her, but she didn't need covering for. In fact, she hoped Nyneve would spill all the beans in the world to remind everyone she was not a toy, nor was she a tool. And too bad if it pisses anyone off! Niniane thought furiously. I'm going to take my own fate in my hands, and no one is going to tell me who to have sex with!
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END
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