24. Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
Bratan
I t was harder than I thought it’d be leaving Leena at the house. Even after checking it for anything suspicious and recruiting Theodora, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy. I wanted to be there—to be the one watching over her—but I couldn’t. I was the only one who could put an end to what was happening and to stop another looming threat giving me grief. I’d have to trust she’d be okay with Theodora and come back as soon as I could.
When she waved goodbye, my chest ached. Protecting her was my top priority, a feeling so intense I couldn’t think of anything else. It was incomprehensible how she’d already captured my heart so completely, but she had, and I couldn’t deny that I was falling deeply in love with her. It had to be because we were mates and that we were always meant to be one, and with that came the intense desire to protect her and an overwhelming passion that made me blind to anything else. It drove me half-insane, especially when I thought of anyone hurting her, like that bastard from the other day .
It was a good thing I’d rid the world of the disgusting vermin. That blasted man could never hurt anyone again. He could never touch Leena.
I had to protect her at all costs, which was why I had to take care of this.
I strode into the woods near the entrance to the human world. The sky was darkening, now a deep shade of lavender. The birds were fast asleep, and the insects were starting to sing. I had to get to my friend. Fast.
It was as if he’d heard me coming because Damir soon appeared with my other two right-hand men. The three couldn’t be more different, but they all shared the same hardened face of those who’d seen war. They’d been with me for years and had proved their loyalty many times over. Though Damir was fae, the other two were elves—two of only a few in these woods. The first of the other two was Andre, a half-elf warrior who’d been born about a hundred years after my mother’s death. He was almost as tall as I was in my human form but about half the size in muscle and weight. His skin was a shade of evergreen, and his hair was a thin black strip on the middle of his otherwise bald head. His eyes were just as dark and sharp as his teeth and complemented his pointed ears.
The second was Bialas, an elf with pale skin and ice-colored hair that fell down his back in one slick sheet. His irises were gray, and he never smiled, whether wicked or pleasant; his expression hardly changed, even in the thick of battle. He was a little brawnier than Andre, but he was twice as strong .
“I spoke with the village matron,” Damir said. “She wouldn’t tell me anything other than that she’d already spoken with you and settled things.”
My jaw tightened. “We spoke, but we certainly didn’t settle anything.” My fists tightened just thinking of the conversation with the wretched bat. The matron of Leena’s old village cared nothing for my wife, refusing to refer to her by anything other than ‘that girl’ and the occasional ‘your new bride’ when we’d spoken. “They refuse to cooperate.”
A beat of silence passed.
“What did she say?” Bialas asked.
My fists clenched tighter at the memory.
“I don’t care what happened to that girl or what happens to her next,” the old wretch had said. “She’s your problem now.” My teeth grated, and my form grew, casting a shadow over the woman and bleeding darkness through the room. But she didn’t so much as flinch; she remained the same, staring up at me, unfazed. “A deal was struck. I gave you a bride, and now the forest should be balanced, hm?”
My eyes still blazed. “I never asked for you to pluck someone against her will. Whatever Melora told you was a lie.”
“You’ve had no complaints thus far, and look at you. You’re all twisted up in knots for the girl.” She said ‘the girl’ like it was a curse. My blood boiled. “You have your wife, so we deserve our peace. Now,” she laced her fingers behind her back, “I’ll let this incident slide so long as another deal is struck. I expect more food and gold, and you are not to step foot in Woodsmeadow again. I’ll contact Melora if you do, and all deals will be off.”
“It’s not that simple,” I growled, the bass of the sound shaking the matron’s glass trinkets adorning her tables and shelves. “If you let your filthy vermin into my woods and harm my bride, even if we’re halfway across the world, I will kill them. That human garbage you called Casimir ventured into my woods and hurt my wife. You cannot retaliate.”
Slowly, I forced myself back to my regular size, which was still large enough to be intimidating for most, but not this woman.
“You killed one of my people, so our deal of peace has been broken. However, if you choose to strike another deal, I’ll turn a blind eye this once.”
“He tried raping my wife! I won’t let a filthy sack of shit like that stay breathing!”
The woman stepped closer, baring her teeth. “There were no conditions on our bargain. We offered you a bride for peace. You got your bride and have been doing who knows what with her. How do I know you aren’t just mad that someone else tried to play with your toy?”
My vision went white. My body no longer remained human. Roaring in rage, I tore myself from my human form and grew into my true self, destroying the matron’s disgustingly curated home. I wished I could watch her die the way Casimir had, but I knew that would only make things worse for Leena.
Instead, I grabbed the heap of wood that had been the matron’s house and threw it into the forest with a war cry that shook the village and surrounding trees.
The woman coughed up at me, stumbling out from the rubble. “You’ll regret this, Leshy.”
“You have no power in my forest,” I bellowed. “Leave these woods. NOW. Next time, I won’t spare you.”
“Your Majesty?” Damir tore me from my thoughts, noticing when the worry turned to fear. “What happened?”
I knew what he really wanted to ask was what did you do? But my right-hand man would never speak like that to his king. Although he was the closest thing I had to family, there was a line no one seemed to cross. I wasn’t sure why it had never bothered me before, but I’d never wanted anyone too close to me. After what happened to my mother, I didn’t want to ever care so deeply again. Until Leena.
The thought of her twinged something in my chest.
The matron’s home was destroyed just before Leena’s party. I’d left that damned village, changed into the proper attire, and then saw her dancing in a way that made nothing else matter. I’d never known anyone who was starlight incarnate, but I was sure it was her. She was too good to be human and too good to be mine. But I couldn’t let her go. As long as she desired to be here, I would keep her. I wasn’t sure if I could breathe if I lost her .
But now, I may have inadvertently put her in danger while trying to keep the danger away. Guilt built into a lump in my throat.
“They wouldn’t cooperate, so I’m not sure what she thinks we’ve settled. The only thing I wish is for them to leave my forest at once. If they don’t, we’ll have to take matters into our own hands.”
“What should we do now then?” Damir asked.
“We’ll give them a week. If they’re not out by then, we’ll infiltrate, or at least regroup, find out what’s going on, and act accordingly.” The darkness thickened around us—too dark even for the night. Cold panic settled on our small group. “Go home. Only come to me with pertinent information.” I started to turn when I remembered Leena’s words. “Oh, and find out how Leena’s grandmother is doing. Make sure she’s being cared for and fed well. Then report to me.” I awaited no reply before striding home, desperate to evade my men’s suspicions.
“You’ve done well,” a voice hissed through the trees.
“You’re not welcome here. Not after what you pulled. You better leave, or there’ll be hell to pay.”
“But I’ve only just started having fun with her,” the woman croaked. I froze, whipping around to face her, but all I saw was a mist of darkness fading away with the echo of her laugh. Blood pounded in my ears. Did she just admit to what I thought she did?
I chased where the mist had been, scanning the trees for any sign of her, but there was nothing. My heart pounded hard against my chest, and my mind was frenzied. I would find out exactly what happened between Melora and the matron of Woodsmeadow. And I would find out why and how she was hurting Leena.
Things were already coming together, but my mother’s old friend was getting harder to deal with. It was difficult reconciling that she was the same person who’d once been like family to me. Ever since my mother’s death, Melora had slowly changed, but she hadn’t been malicious until now. Odd and unpredictable, yes. But this?
The lights were off in the house; Leena must have gone to sleep early. Slowly, I made it up the stairs, heart still pounding, but stopped when I saw her sleeping soundly in our bed. She was innocent in all of this. She’d never asked to be wed. That wench in the village essentially sold her off, with Melora’s aid. If I had known…
Guilt twisted my insides. Melora had told me she’d arranged a potential bride for me to keep peace with the humans and for me to have a suitable companion. I’d needed one for some time, so I agreed to meet Leena and make a choice. If I’d known how far gone Melora was, I never would have entrusted her with such a task. It was reckless for me to believe her, and it was na?ve to think she was the same person I’d known all those years ago. I think a part of me had known something was off about Melora for a while; I just didn’t want to see it.
But now Leena was suffering because of it—all because of my bad judgment and skewed sentimentality .
My wife made a noise as she nestled into her pillow, and my heart sank. How did I ever think she’d come willingly? I was the monster of the woods. No maiden would willingly come to me. Much less someone like Leena.
I often tried reminding myself that she’d been starving in the human part of the forest back in her old village, but nothing shook the guilt. I was also starting to realize just how much I didn’t deserve her, and when I destroyed the matron’s house, I only further proved that fact.
Sitting on the bed beside her, I gently stroked her hair. She looked even more innocent when she slept. My love for her was once again overpowering but accompanied by guilt. I could still hear the splintering wood as the matron’s house came crashing down, the gasps of the villagers, and the bark of the old woman herself.
You’ll regret this, Leshy.
As always, I’d made a mess of everything, and the future was murkier now than it had ever been before.