Bonds Eternal (Fae Hearted #4)

4. Res

4

REUNIONS

WYNSTELLE

I try to help fold the blankets we used during our rest, but Oakes won’t let me waste my energy.

“Let me do it.” He quickly folds them up with his long arms. “I can go days without rest. You, my sweet, cannot.”

Then Oakes picks me up by the waist and carries me over to his horse, my feet dangling.

I yelp with surprise at his gesture. “Oakes! Put me down.”

“No. I’m claiming you. You are coming with me.” Still holding me in his arms, he nuzzles his face into the hollow where my shoulder meets my neck. “And I won’t have you using up an ounce of your reserves by walking.”

“It’s only a few strides to the horses!” I protest with a bit of amusement as he tickles my neck with his nose.

His massive hand cups my entire ass and squeezes, which elicits another yelp.

My cheeks pinken. Nestled in his arms, I look around to see if Merlara or the guards are watching his naughty behavior.

“Oakes,” I hiss as he continues to massage my ass.

“What?” He smirks. “If I can’t pleasure my mate the way I wish, then I will enjoy a bit of your flesh whenever I can.”

“Be careful,” I say playfully. “You might get more than anticipated, provoking my sexual needs like that.”

Oakes tilts his head to capture my lips in an earth-shattering kiss. “I sure hope so.”

I tuck my face in the crook of his neck and whine when he shifts me in his arms to lift me up into his saddle. “I’m so tired of riding.”

“I know, my treasure.” He sighs, as he swings his leg up and settles behind me on the saddle. “Hopefully, we don’t have to run all over the realms much longer.”

“Do you really think we can stop a war?” I ask, leaning back into his arms and using his muscular chest as a pillow.

“I hope so.” Oakes flicks the reins, and his horse joins the others.

Eldrin stares back at me with longing in his eyes. Then he finally says, “Whatever happens, my princess, you need to stay safe. Promise me you won’t risk yourself for us.”

I shake my head slowly. “I can’t promise that. I would die for any of you.”

Eldrin’s head tilts up toward the sky as if gathering his composure before looking back at me again. Finally, he says in an overly calm voice, “I understand and appreciate the sentiment, but you cannot do such a thing. Your death would utterly destroy your surviving mates.”

“How about you just don’t do anything that would make me risk my life to save yours?” I rebuke, irritated. Why do I have to be the only one to be careful?

Eldrin ignores my insolence and gives the others in our group a glare, silently warning them they are to make sure that I don’t get hurt.

As we ride closer to the castle’s outlying village, smoke from the burning rooftops catches my eye.

How much has been destroyed by the ghouls’ attack? And what have the berserker Elven soldiers done to further fuel the chaos? How many lives on both sides have been lost?

Lives are being destroyed, and now I feel silly about worrying if my mates truly love me or if they are faking their emotions through our bond. Although I remind myself that if Eldrin has been corrupted somehow, it will be disastrous for our anti-war attempt, not just for my heart.

“Someone approaches,” Jaden hisses.

Merlara’s magic shield quickly surrounds us to conceal our presence from the approaching party.

Everyone in our group yanks on their horses’ reins to come to a stop, and we keep quiet to further hide ourselves.

Two people on horseback are headed in our direction. Then the riders pause, looking around, sensing something is odd about their surroundings.

Immediately, I recognize the flaming red hair of King Nathaniel’s commander. “Rhys!” I whisper, happy to see the man who risked his life to help save my mates from death in my father’s dungeons. He’s alive, and hopefully the person with him is an ally.

The second person is dressed in a nondescript brown cloak with a hood shrouding their face, making them more difficult to identify.

I can feel Oakes tense at my back as the duo continues to trot in our direction.

When the hood falls back to reveal Princess Twyla, I gasp.

My changeling sister is alive!

Still under Merlara’s concealment spell, our group watches her with distrust. We’d assumed Twyla had died because her changeling magic must have been what broke my mate bonds with my elves.

Now I wonder if it was Twyla who sabotaged my mate bond for a strategic advantage.

Eldrin waves at Merlara to let her magic shield drop.

When it does, Rhys’ eyes go wide. Though he isn’t as shocked as he should be to see a group of people suddenly appearing before him. Twyla doesn’t look surprised at all and seems to have sensed that something was amiss.

When nobody speaks, I blurt out at Twyla, “I thought you were dead!”

Twyla presses her lips together as if ashamed. “I feared you were.”

“How did you know we were here?” Jaden asks, glancing around for any human soldiers.

“I didn’t know… not exactly. I have been in communication with the animals.” Twyla explains. “They alerted me to unusual activity in this area.”

My eyes dart back and forth between Rhys and Twyla. Has she confessed to Rhys’ suspicions?

“Yes. He knows that I’m a changeling.” Twyla smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

“How wonderful for you,” Eldrin says dismissively and with a biting edge. “We’re here to stop a war. If you’re in favor of war and working with King Magnus, then we’re going to have a problem.”

“What do you need?” Twyla and Rhys ask in unison.

My prince glares at her, then demands, “I need an audience with your father.” Eldrin waits for her response, clearly expecting her refusal.

“What will you do if you meet with him?” Twyla asks, swallowing hard.

“Change his mind,” Eldrin states simply.

Suspicion fills her expression and Twyla asks the prince, “How will you accomplish this? With violence?”

“Not necessarily.” Eldrin shrugs. “I wish to parlay for an armistice.”

“I assumed you would still be upset that he almost killed you,” Twyla says, airing her misgivings in allowing an audience with her father.

“Yes, the reason he threw me into the dungeon to die was absurd. After all, I was only acting in his best interest, reminding him of your potentially traitorous origins. I was also trying to protect Wyn.” Eldrin tightens his hold on the horse’s reins. “He never should have thrown another royal in prison for a mere conversation.”

“King Nathaniel might continue to not be very accommodating, considering that several Elven troops are currently surrounding his castle, threatening to attack,” Rhys says. His horse shifts, mimicking his agitation, likely picking up on the hostility brewing amongst the humans and elves in the clearing. “Besides, we haven’t been able to get back inside the castle walls because of their blockade.”

Jaden clears his throat and nudges his horse forward, creating a barrier between Eldrin and Twyla as the two royals face off. “We saw Turgon’s troops come through the portal just before we found the prince. I believe a mage enchanted them to have a thirst for blood. I could almost smell the magic working on them.”

“The Weaver Mage?” Twyla asks in a cautious whisper, sounding afraid to summon the mage.

“We think so,” Eldrin answers.

Jaden rubs his hair, thinking. “Eldrin, do you think you can stop them?”

“I can try.” Eldrin glances over at me. “With Wynstelle’s help, I might be able to break the spell on the soldiers.”

“So you are the one with influencer magic!” Twyla exclaims with an edge of hostility.

“Yes, but my magic unlocked for me only after the mate bond shattered,” Eldrin admits.

Twyla looks confused by the source of the influencer magic she sensed around her king when Eldrin was arrested. “That’s odd.”

“Do you know what happened to our changeling mark? Why my mate bonds were broken?” I ask Twyla.

“The Mage Weaver.” Twyla flattens her lips in anger. “She found me when I was on my way to assist with the ghouls. She performed a spell on me. I swear I didn’t know what she was going to do to us. She sliced through my mark, knocking me unconscious. When I woke and didn’t sense our link, I feared that she might have used our magical bond to kill you.”

“No. But it felt like she had, since it broke my mate bonds,” I say, the pain still fresh in my memory. “Fortunately, we were able to perform the mating ceremony again, and I re-bonded with Eldrin, Jaden, and Oakes.”

Twyla nods. “It makes sense that destroying the mark would break your mate bonds, since you used our changeling magic to create a psychic mating link. But I don’t understand why she cut our bonds.” The changeling princess turns to speak with Eldrin. “Are you sure you couldn’t use influencer magic before your mate bonds broke? Because Wyn had access to that sort of magic before you did,” Twyla inquires timidly, since she knows by his glare that he still isn’t fond of her.

“I don’t believe that I could use it.” Eldrin narrows his eyes. “Are you certain that you don’t have a talent for it? Maybe Wynstelle was drawing from your magic?”

Twyla shakes her head. “No. Not me.”

“But there is a powerful magic influencing King Nathaniel,” Eldrin says, accusation thick in his tone. “Oakes believes it was the reason that he threw us in his dungeon.”

“Do you think the mage could use her power from afar?” Twyla gazes into the distance, trying to solve the riddle. “Maybe it was the mage and her power alone? She must be the one influencing the ghouls, right?”

“Maybe,” Eldrin says with little conviction. “Speaking of ghouls, we need to send them back to Elfhame.”

“Agreed,” Rhys says. “It will go a long way toward showing the humans that you want peace.”

On our way to the village to deal with the ghouls, I eye Twyla riding next to me. Since I’ve doubted Eldrin’s loyalties, shouldn’t I also question Twyla’s motivations?

Is the princess on our side? What if she is working for King Magnus and Commander Turgon? Or maybe she is aligned with the Weaver Mage, and the mage is directing Twyla’s actions?

Twyla catches me staring at her. “You’re questioning my loyalties.”

I shrug. “It’s hard not to wonder about everyone’s intentions at the moment.”

“Understandable.” Twyla grimaces as all eyes fall on her.

The most intense stare belongs to her potential suitor, Rhys. Even I can feel his uncertainty about what to make of this strange situation—riding with a group of elves into his hometown.

“Do you know what the mage or King Magnus might want you to do now?” I ask.

“Unfortunately, no.” Twyla shakes her head. “The Mage Weaver never let me in on her grand plans.”

“But Mage Idril told you to encourage me to use the changeling mark to bond with Wyn?” Eldrin asks, his voice tight with anger.

Twyla’s eyes widen when she hears the name of the Weaver. She didn’t expect us to know the name of our attacker. “Yes, Idril told me years ago to tell you of the bonding ceremony. I did as she said because I was afraid for my life, and I didn’t see how the bond could be a bad thing for you. I wasn’t expecting Mage Idril to break the changeling bond. It makes no sense to fracture the bonds if she wanted to use them.”

My mates glare at her, but seem to understand she couldn’t have done much against such a powerful mage. Even I realize she’d likely be dead if she had refused to inform Eldrin of the unique way to mate bond with me.

“Perhaps she wanted to cripple us with emotional pain at the start of their campaign,” Eldrin says. “Then it makes sense to use that distraction, since we are the biggest threat to stopping the war.”

“I suppose,” Twyla agrees. “Perhaps she wanted to rile my father into a rage if Wynstelle was hurt.”

“Someone seems to do a pretty good job of riling him already.” Rhys looks like his entire existence is in question. “I’ve never seen my king so irrational.”

“I thought it was just my delightful personality,” Eldrin jokes dryly. “I’m sure he wasn’t the first person who wanted to throw me into a dungeon.”

“He probably won’t be the last either,” Jaden replies with a smirk.

I glower at them for their flippancy. My mates are trying to make light of the horrible trauma they all went through, chained with poisonous iron, and left to die in the human dungeon. I’m not ready to laugh about the terrifying scene that will always haunt me. All I can think of is that I almost wasn’t able to rescue them.

Sensing my unease, Oakes squeezes me tighter, shifting me toward him on the saddle. “We know it isn’t humorous. But we are attempting to calm our nerves before we charge back into danger.”

As we near the village, Jaden draws his horse up next to me. “Wyn, whatever happens here, do your best to stay out of the fray.” He calls back to Baelen and Daylor, “Keep your eyes on her when we can’t. Corwin, protect the prince at all costs.”

The guards say in unison, “Yes, sir.”

“No. Don’t be distracted by me,” I argue.

“Sweetness, it’s a precaution against us losing our minds,” Oakes reminds me. “If we lose you, our efforts to stop the war are doomed. We might go insane and murder everyone.”

“Oh.” I shiver with that image. Would they really go on a rampage if I were dead? I hate to believe that, but then I remember how none of us could think straight when our bonds were severed. If I were to die now, they would fall back into that chaotic despair. And this time, they wouldn’t even have a desperate hope that I might still be alive.

“I can shield Wyn’s presence from those outside of my bubble, as long as she remains close to me,” Merlara offers.

“That is probably wise.” Eldrin nods. “What about our bond? Will we be able to sense her through your shield?”

“You should still be able to feel your bond. It will only prevent others from registering her presence.” Merlara suggests, “Maybe Wyn should ride on my horse.”

Unwilling to let me go, Oakes pulls me against his chest in response. But then, slowly, he releases his grip. “I guess that makes sense. If I have to wield my sword, I’d rather not have Wyn in the middle of that.”

The group stops so I can change horses.

As I let go of Oakes’ hand to walk over to my former keeper, a sense of foreboding fills me.

Will I lose one of my mates in the madness of this war?