Bonds Eternal (Fae Hearted #4)

14. Fallen

14

FALLEN

WYNSTELLE

“ C ommander Rhys! What did they do to Princess Twyla?” the captain of the human soldiers encircling our group demands.

I want to race to see to Twyla myself, but Jaden holds me to him, preventing me from sliding off our saddle. I understand his need to protect me, but I want to help if I can. Perhaps I can use my healing touch to help with whatever ails her.

Leaning over Twyla to check on her, Rhys sighs with relief when he finds that she’s still alive. “She’s alive, but unconscious. And I don’t think it was the elves who did this, Captain Oliver.”

“You don’t think ?” Eldrin asks, affronted by the accusation. “I would never harm her!”

“No matter,” Oliver says. “We are under orders to bring the Elven Prince and his entourage to our king if we find you.”

Commander Rhys glances up at Eldrin, then me, looking conflicted about how to proceed with his men.

Eldrin gives him an almost imperceptible nod.

“They will go peacefully,” Rhys says as he picks up Twyla’s unconscious body. “Princess Twyla and I had just secured their return to the castle before you arrived.”

When Captain Oliver notes that it would have been only Rhys and Twyla confronting Eldrin’s group of eight, he blinks. “How so?”

Rhys inclines his head for the captain to come forward and help him place Twyla on his horse. After they lay her across the saddle, Rhys explains, “The Elven Prince doesn’t want this war. He just risked his life and the lives of his people to force the ghouls back to Elfhame.” When the captain is about to protest, Rhys cuts him off. “I saw this with my own eyes. We helped them. The prince wants to broker an armistice with our king so he can stop his father.”

I don’t appreciate being forced into confronting the spelled elves. I had hoped we could have rested before Eldrin tried to approach them again. He’s at his limit, exhausted physically and magically. My gut tells me that our next meeting won’t go our way.

Captain Oliver studies my group of elves with suspicion.

Turning his head to look at all the soldiers with a sweep of his gaze, Eldrin says to them, “I mean you no harm. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the magically possessed elves surrounding the castle.”

Captain Oliver asks with a snarling lip. “Are you really trying to convince us they aren’t your soldiers?”

“They are not mine,” Eldrin says with conviction. “In fact, I believe they might kill me if they see me again.”

The human soldiers look at each other, obviously wondering if what he says is true.

“Then what do you suggest we do, Commander?” the captain asks.

“We try to get back inside. But if the Elven soldiers attack, we fight for our lives,” Rhys orders.

As our combined group approaches the castle, the humans cast uncertain glances at the elves amongst them.

I shift uncomfortably under their scrutiny. I now ride with Merlara, as my mates want to keep me in the center of their configuration for protection.

Inside the circle of Elven protectors, Eldrin rides alongside me with a somber expression, gazing out toward the looming castle.

“Do you have enough energy to get us past the elves?” I whisper to Eldrin.

“I don’t know, but it is our only hope,” he answers through clenched teeth.

I follow his gaze to my father’s castle. I stare at the place I would have called home all these years if our fathers hadn’t traded my life for a peace treaty. Now that peace is falling apart, I feel like I’ve caused this war by my spilt blood. If I had only run away when Eldrin originally summoned me from Merlara’s, this might not have come to pass. “Why does this feel like it’s all my fault?”

Eldrin whips his head to look at me. “How can you think that?”

“If I had left Ryven earlier, or if I hadn’t survived my childhood, then maybe this could have been avoided.”

The prince reaches out his hand and grasps mine. “Silly princess, this war has nothing to do with you. My father planned this for years. And none of your choices would have changed the outcome of him attacking. If it hadn’t happened with your involvement, it would have happened eventually. I doubt it would have been delayed more than a year. End of story. You are not the cause, the reason, or the trigger. You are a victim of this mess, just like we all are.”

“I don’t want to be a victim anymore.” I set my jaw, trying to rally my energy, but find I have long ago exhausted my reserves.

“I don’t want to be a victim, either. So we will confront your…” Eldrin catches himself before outing King Nathaniel’s secret. “ Uncle . Then we deal with my father, Turgon, and the mage.”

“But how?” I close my eyes, feeling overwhelmed and trying to block it all out. “We just got our abilities, and we can barely use them properly. And I’m so tired, I’m surprised I haven’t passed out.”

Eldrin hums his agreement. “Yes, but never underestimate the desperate.” He catches my attention with his stormy eyes. “And I am desperate to fix both cursed realms for you.”

I swallow down the raw emotion churning inside me. I’ve observed desperate creatures fighting for their lives before. They make crazed decisions, and they often lose the battle even if they put up a good fight. Will that be the case with my mates? My father? Will everyone involved make poor choices until their lives have crumbled to nothing but ruins?

Merlara hugs me as we ride. “I know it feels hopeless, but keep your wits about you. This is no time to let sorrow and worry cloud your good sense. You are smart and resourceful. We just need to keep ourselves aware of any opportunities to shift the tide of war.”

My heart aches with fear. Everything that matters to me—my mates and the people I care about—are poised to be taken from me.

I curse myself for not being stronger—physically and magically. I never trained with my sword with the seriousness needed to prepare for a coming war. Growing up, using a sword was only for play—nothing more than the silly, senseless rebellion of a human servant. And I didn’t have time to push the bounds of my magic once I discovered I had the ability. Now, I’m the weak link in our group.

Oakes’ mental voice says to me through our connection, “I can practically hear you beating yourself up over there.”

I turn my head to look at my healer-mate and into his kind, amber eyes. “I should have trained more.”

“We didn’t know how fast this was going to escalate. You had only a few days knowing that you even had a gift. Stop being so hard on yourself. You progressed faster with the blocking techniques than I expected. You will be a master of the skill within no time.”

“I’m not as good as you are. And I need to be.”

“I’ve had a century to hone my abilities. Besides, you outshined me today using my healing magic, and that was with no training.”

I sigh, feeling obnoxiously self-absorbed. It’s true I only had days to figure out what I could do before I fell into my bespelled sleepwalking. Shaking off my guilt, I realize that the fault for this awful mess is all on King Magnus’ head. He is the monarch who set this whole conflict into play.

Eldrin is correct. Even if I failed to show up at Ryven Castle and never met Eldrin, Oakes, or Jaden, it wouldn’t have changed what Magnus’ goals are. He wants to wipe out the human population.

The sound of males shouting jolts my focus back to my surroundings.

My father’s castle looms like a horrible nightmare, with the memory of my mates almost dying under his orders still fresh in my mind. Death will likely be the end of this mission if we actually find a way inside.

Eldrin clears his throat to gain everyone’s attention. Once all the human soldiers, his guards, and his advisors are looking at him, he speaks to the humans, “I will try to persuade the soldiers to let us pass. If they attack instead, we will draw them away from you, and hopefully, you can make it safely inside.”

“No,” Rhys says bluntly.

“No?” Eldrin asks, surprised.

“We need to get you inside.” Rhys glances down at Twyla. “You must talk to King Nathaniel about your planned efforts to prevent this war.”

Jaden nudges his horse forward and eyes Rhys. “That is the idea, but if things go sideways, then take Princess Twyla to safety. She is your priority.”

“I know my priorities!” Rhys snaps, then takes a calming breath before continuing. “I expect that King Nathaniel is planning a full attack on Elfhame. If that happens, we are all done for.”

“We will do our best to get all of us inside safely,” Eldrin promises.

Satisfied with that statement, Rhys turns to Jaden. “As an Elven military advisor, do you have any suggestions for getting past your people?”

“Not my people, per se,” Jaden remarks with a grimace. “However, I’d rather not engage with them if we can avoid it. They are faster and stronger than most of your men and have no conscience at the moment to make them hesitate.”

“I will relay that to my men,” Rhys says, running his fingers through his red hair in frustration.

“Your Highness, do you feel up to confronting these elves?” Jaden is careful to not reveal Eldrin’s power in front of the humans if we don’t have to. Although, they might soon sense his influencer magic at work. Hopefully, they will assume that it’s just Eldrin’s princely authority in action.

Eldrin peers over at Princess Twyla, still unconscious, and says, “We need to get her somewhere safer than out here in the wilds. She needs a protected place to rest while she is under this spell.” Eldrin squares his shoulders. “So I will have to be strong enough.” He looks at me, finding encouragement in my loving gaze. “Let’s do this.”