"That's right. It's me."
Annan offered a smile that was three parts noble, three parts arrogant, three parts approachable, and one part perfectly measured.
Ellia didn't seem particularly shrewd. She would be easy to fool. The Dark Elf beside her, Moxi, was harder to read.
At least she wasn't one of his believers.
"You have news of the Matron!?" Ellia nearly lunged at Annan to demand answers.
"How dare you!"
Mora rebuked her. Lothermar's sister had no manners at all.
"It's all right. Little Ellia is just desperate for news of the Spider Queen."
Annan liked fools, provided they weren't as foolish as Martin.
His gaze passed over Moxi. Perhaps she had come along because she was a close friend of Ellia's. There was no harm in letting her know.
"Not long ago, the Spider... the Spider Queen left with another deity. It's a serious matter, so I can't tell you where they went. But I think they'll return once they're done there."
The human lord spoke as casually as if he were discussing what he'd eaten that day. Yet Moxi could tell he was telling the truth...
Spider Queen Lolth really had been in Free City, and she knew this human lord... More than knew him.
Could he really be some Holy Son? But how could the Spider Queen accept a male follower, let alone a human one...?
"You can't be the Holy Son! The Church doesn't allow men or foreign races, unless they're slaves!" Ellia shrieked, staring at Annan.
"Whether I'm the Holy Son, I couldn't tell you," Annan said calmly. "All I know is that the Spider Queen and I spent every day together. We lived together for two or three years. She stayed in my home. I cleaned up after her, fed her by hand, and