Cheyenne clenched her jaw and couldn’t bring herself to say anything else about it. L’zar’s always looking out for number one, and that’s it. He seriously doesn’t care what he’s done.
“What about, like, trying to get vengeance or something?” Ember asked, staring blankly at the table as she tried to make sense of the situation. “For your dad. You didn’t even try to step in and fight against that?”
“It comes down to their respective feelings about me, little fae.”
“Watch it.” She pointed at him, the tip of her pink-tinged finger glowing with violet light.
“I’d listen to her, L’zar,” Maleshi said through a full-throated laugh. “Every magical in this room has seen what that one can do.”
The rebel leaders gathered around the table fell into another fit of laughter, raising their glasses toward Ember this time both in jest and as a sign of respect.
“Look at that,” Jara’ak roared. “A Nós Aní who has no issues taking a bite out of L’zar Verdys if she has to!”
“I’m assuming that’s meant to be an affront to my honor,” Corian muttered as the orc howled with renewed laughter. “Nice try.”
L’zar leaned toward Corian and clapped a hand on the nightstalker’s shoulder. “This one only bites in private.”
Corian scowled at the drow and shrugged L’zar’s hand away.
“And I’m pushing all the wrong buttons today. Damn, this does feel like home.” Chuckling, L’zar smoothed his hair away from his face again and turned back to Ember. “As I was saying, the rest of my royally obnoxious family did have one thing in common. They were finished with me long before I ever returned my marandúr to the Rahalma altar. The only difference is that my father never made his lack of love for me anywhere near concrete with an official banishment.”
“You banished yourself,” Foltr grunted.
“Yes, it was all voluntary. Until a few hours ago.” L’zar’s wide golden eyes roamed around the table, drinking in the reactions of his loyal followers as each of them realized what he was saying.
Cheyenne didn’t look away from him. He’s loving watching the truth sink in and ruining the mood for everyone. Dude’s got serious issues.
“L’zar.” Corian set down his tankard and shifted in his chair to face the drow squarely. “Did she really?”
“Cheyenne was there too, you know. This is her party, after all.”
The halfling closed her eyes in irritation. “I wouldn’t want to steal your spotlight.”
L’zar threw his head back and roared with laughter. “You are my daughter. Yes. Yes! Ba’rael banished me from Ambar’ogúl and made it official with her fancy little curse. That’s neither here nor there.”
“Of course it is.” Maleshi’s smile had vanished. “That’s an important piece of information we all deserved to know the second you stepped through those doors.”
The drow chugged the rest of his drink and slammed the tankard on the table, shaking his head. “This is a celebration. And no, I don’t feel bad about this, either. How you choose to feel about what’s happened is on each of you, not me. When I make the crossing again, I’ll be happy never to return. I fell in love with the other side on the very first trip, and since we’re all being honest and fucking open with each other, I despise what this side has become. I always have, and this has been a phenomenal reminder of why I stayed away as long as I did.”
With that, the drow prince lurched from his chair, sending it flying away behind him and clattering across the stone floor. He swayed a little and steadied himself by pressing the tips of his slender fingers on the black tabletop. “I’ll take this as being excused from the conversation.”
“Stop.” Foltr stretched a long, gnarled claw at L’zar.
“Say what you have to say, Grandfather, but make it quick.”
The wizened raug pushed himself to his feet with a grunt and peered into L’zar’s drunken eyes. Faster than his gnarled body seemed capable of moving, Foltr swung his walking stick back in both hands and cracked the hard knob against the side of L’zar Verdys’ head.
The deafening sound drowned out the noises of dozens of other conversations around the bunker as every magical turned to see what had happened. L’zar stumbled sideways, his white hair flying around his face beneath the force of the blow. When he finally caught his balance and straightened, he smoothed his hair back with both hands and took a deep breath through his nose.
Foltr thumped his cane on the floor. “Now you are excused.”
L’zar whirled and stalked across the chamber toward one of the dozen archways leading into branching tunnels. He waved a hand behind him and shouted, “Don’t even think about stopping now, you ingrates. I’m just takin’ a piss!”
Someone raised their drink in the air and cheered as L’zar opened the door with a motion of his hand and stumbled through.
Foltr groaned as he lowered himself into his chair and grabbed his drink. “He’s a fell-damn ingrate.”
Corian burst out laughing, that crazed, animalistic grin sharpening his features. Jara’ak, Elarit, and Maleshi joined him. The booming voice of the flickering dark magical rose above it all. Then he whisked away in a burst of black specks and materialized in front of the Bloodshine keg to refill his drink.
Cheyenne and Ember stared at each other. “That went well.”
Ember snorted. “You gotta admit neither of us has any idea of what a fucked-up family really is.”
“Can’t argue with you there, Em.” The halfling raised her goblet to her lips and took a small sip. “I’ll take Bianca Summerlin over this any day of the week.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Catching Corian’s gaze across the table, Cheyenne tilted her head. “He doesn’t hate this whole world, does he?”
The nightstalker kept laughing. “You mean, you can’t tell?”
“It’s not like he gives anyone or anything special treatment.”
Foltr laughed, propping his hands on his cane and shaking his head.
“L’zar had less to do with the way things turned out in our world
