Bonds Eternal (Fae Hearted #4)

24. Sacrifice

24

SACRIFICE

WYNSTELLE

S eeing my mates so severely hurt and non-responsive, my head drops back and presses against Eldrin’s chest in agony.

“What if they don’t wake up?” I ask him. “Are they under a spell, too?”

“They must be.” Eldrin stands up abruptly behind me and paces the room. “Twyla isn’t pulling out of her spell, either. What if it isn’t the same as what was done to you? It might not be. The symptoms aren’t exactly the same. You could respond to questions a few times. However detached your mind was from your surroundings, some part of you was still able to engage with our reality.”

“Could it be because I’m human?” I ask, trying to figure out why the spells would be different.

“Perhaps.” Eldrin waves off the idea as if the theory isn’t worth considering. “Whatever the reason for the difference, they are not coming out of it.”

“Are you saying there is no hope for them to recover?” I ask, turning to watch Eldrin pace.

After hovering in the doorway this entire time, Merlara finally steps inside the cell and crouches down to give my shoulder a comforting squeeze. “They’re alive. That’s something. We will figure it out.”

“We don’t know that!” Eldrin rages, his anger echoing off the stone walls.

I flinch, hating to see Eldrin so distraught and defeated.

“My father is at the heart of this,” Eldrin says to no one in particular. “I must… deal with my sire. Now.”

I leap up and step closer, blocking his path to the door. “What do you mean by that?”

“I have to do what is necessary to end this turmoil.”

I know Eldrin means that he might have to kill King Magnus. I catch him in an embrace, tucking my head against his chest, wanting to stop him from running off right this second.

His heart pounds with the anticipation of what he’s about to do. Previously, through our link, I felt his uneasiness at the thought of patricide and regicide. Now his hatred for his father has annihilated any of his prior reservations.

“He tried to have you killed—more than once! Before that, he kept you hidden away as a slave!” Eldrin snarls, pulling away from me and storming back and forth in the cell.

Merlara winces at the slave comment, but he’s not wrong. While I was Merlara’s well-treated servant, I was a slave nonetheless.

“Then he won’t allow you to be my rightfully acknowledged mate. After that insult, he wages war, going against the pact that he created twenty years ago—a pact written in your blood, your suffering, and your sacrifice. He was behind all the threats against you, the ghouls attacking humans, and the spell placed upon your mind. And now this ?” Eldrin points a finger at Jaden and Oakes. The fierceness of the gesture feels as if he could cut someone down with a swipe of his hand. “He takes yet another thing from me! My best friends. My companions. My mate’s mates.”

“But Merlara has a point.” I try to calm him. “They are alive.”

“For now!” Eldrin hollers at the ceiling. “And Twyla is as good as lost. That alone will cause King Nathaniel to try to kill us all! I can’t stand for this insanity to continue. This is all too much. How many others must die or suffer by that elf’s will?”

“What can we do?” I ask. “He’s protected by his station. We only have eight people with us. Thus far, the castle is empty, but he will have his guards. You said you weren’t ready to face him in a fight.”

“It sometimes only takes one strike with a blade to kill someone.” Eldrin stares at me with a crazed look in his eyes.

I rush forward and hold on to him by the waist again. “Don’t. Not yet,” I plead.

“If not now, then when? If not me, then who?” Eldrin demands. Then his resolve grows steely, and he holds my arms, slowly drawing me closer. “No. I must stop him.”

“I understand, but I can’t lose you, too.”

His voice drops to a softer tone. “I love you. Always remember that, my sweet princess.”

“It sounds as if you’re saying goodbye.”

He slowly removes my hold on him, unable to look me in the eye.

“Eldrin, no!” I cry out when I understand he truly expects not to return to me.

“Wyn, take care of them if I do not survive this.” Eldrin finally stares deep into my eyes. “Promise me.”

“Of course, I will take care of them. But I need you too!” I refuse to let go, gripping his sleeves as he gently holds my hands at bay.

Eldrin’s mouth crashes down on mine. He consumes my thoughts and soul completely with his kiss. My mind is dizzy with all the love that he tries to communicate. Love pours down inside my body, filling me up.

When Eldrin breaks away, he’s already out the door before I’m aware of my surroundings again.

I rush after him, but Merlara blocks my path.

“Get out of my fucking way!” I order.

Her eyes widen with my uncharacteristically demanding nature.

“He needs to do this for himself, if not for the entire realm,” Merlara argues.

I look at our guards for assistance. Instead of removing Merlara, Corwin and Baelen nod to me, then run after their prince. At least they will have his back. I’m almost consoled by that thought. Almost.

“I need to go with him.” I glare at my former keeper.

“No. You need to see if you can wake your other mates.” Merlara stands her ground.

I sway with the pull I feel, tugging me in two different directions. I need to assist Eldrin, but I’m also compelled to take care of Jaden and Oakes.

The brownie peers inside the cell, looking apprehensive. I realize we haven’t gotten what we should have out of the tiny female yet. She knows more about the castle than anyone alive. The elves mostly ignored brownies, like they do with the tiny faeries. But brownies are invited in, conscripted to clean and maintain the castle. They see all and are never seen.

“Come here,” I ask gently. “What’s your name?”