Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter Forty-Five: Brilliant

""Cheep cheep,"" I inwardly winced and felt Eragon stiffen. A dark flush mottled Grimrr's neck and face, his nostrils flared, and he snarled silently at Angela. The other werecats settled into low crouches, ready to pounce, their ears pressed flat against their heads. Throughout the hall, I heard the slither of blades being partially drawn from their scabbards.

"Calm." I voiced out in my icy tone. The blades were then slid back into their scabbards. Grimrr hissed once more, then turned away from the herbalist and continued walking. As the last werecat in line passed Angela, he lifted a paw and took a surreptitious swipe at the strand of yarn that drooped from 'Angela's needles, just like a playful house cat might. Good lord that werecat really wants me to burst out laughing, doesn't he?

At last Grimrr arrived before Nasuada and I. He inclined his head ever so slightly, displaying with his bearing the supreme confidence, even arrogance, that was the sole province of cats, dragons, and certain highborn women.

"Lady Nasuada," Nasuada inclined her head in return.

"King Halfpaw. You are most welcome to the Varden, you and all your race. I must apologize for the absence of our ally, King Orrin of Surda; he could not be here to greet you, as he wished, for he and his horsemen are even now busy defending our western flank from a contingent of 'Galbatorix's troops. You have come at a time in which our queen is present, may I introduce our queen, Queen Khensamel." I gently rose to my feet and did a small bow.

"King Halfpaw, if you don't mind me asking. What do we owe the unexpected pleasure of this visit? Werecats have always been noted for their secrecy and their solitude, and for remaining apart from the conflicts of the age, especially since the fall of the Riders. One might even say that your kind has become more myth than fact over the past century. Why, then, do you now choose to reveal yourselves?"

Grimrr lifted his right arm and pointed at Eragon with a crooked finger topped by a claw-like nail.

""Because of him,"" The werecat growled. "One does not attack another hunter until he has shown his weakness, and Galbatorix has shown his: he will not kill Eragon Shadeslayer or Saphira Bjartskular. And now you have another rider as well. Long have we waited for this opportunity, and seize it we will. Galbatorix will learn to fear and hate us, and at the last, he will realize the extent of his mistake and know that we were the ones responsible for his undoing. And how sweet that revenge will taste, as sweet as the marrow of a tender young boar. Time has come, human, for every race, even werecats, to stand together and prove to Galbatorix that he has not broken our will to fight. We would join your army, Queen Khensamel, as free allies, and help you achieve this."

"I am honored to form an alliance between you and the Varden, King Halfpaw.""

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I quickly changed back into my armor and face scar before hurrying towards the courtyard where Saphira, Alethea, and Eragon were waiting. I ran into the yard and skid to a stop in front of Alethea who was blowing smoke rings out of her nostrils.

"I officially hate dresses!" I announced, dropping down next to Eragon and stretching my legs out. "Horrid things I tell you, be grateful you are a man." Saphira snorted and let out a plume of smoke.

"Oi!" Eragon and I looked up to see Roran walking toward us from the keep. Angela trailed a few steps behind, yarn flapping in the air as she half-ran to keep up with his longer stride.

"Where are you off to now?" Eragon asked as Roran stopped before us.

"To help secure the city and organize the prisoners."