Chapter Twenty-Five
“You know, I’ve never actually had the chance to do that.
It truly is so dull being a Realm Guard.
This is the most fun I’ve had in ages.” He spoke with delight as he grabbed my arm and pulled me deeper into the forest. “I’ve never had the opportunity to kill anyone.
Oh, I should have liked to, but you know…
Can’t just do it whenever I please. I’ve got to really mean it. ”
Aleixo was gone. He was well and truly gone. My body had lost every desire to fight, and all I could do was stumble after Nilsorn in a grief-filled stupor as I poured my energy into breathing.
“Come along, Calista, we have a binding ceremony to attend.”
“But…but…” I sputtered. “The laws of mourning are clear. I must abide by them for at least six months.”
“It wasn’t as though anyone witnessed his death. It doesn’t really count.”
“It counted to me,” I whispered.
“You will get over this little crush you had in time, and one day, it will pale in comparison to what you’ll experience.
Trust me. He’s of no consequence, no value.
” His voice had an edge that shouldn’t be questioned, but something in me still wanted to make my point.
I wanted to honour everything Aleixo had been to me, despite the short time we had spent together.
“It wasn’t a little crush. I love him…loved… I found value in him.”
“His own realm rejected him, and you are just a silly love-struck girl, blinded by delusions of adoration,” Nilsorn snapped with venom as he stopped abruptly, and I crashed into him.
“Recognizing his value doesn’t make me silly or blind!” I fought back. “However, devaluing him and making him out to be worthless does make you the villain of his story…of our story!”
He yanked me closer to him, and I felt my body shiver with fear once more.
“Listen here, you stupid elf. If I didn’t need you so badly right now, I would have ended you long ago, just for attempting to run from me.
But since I have need of you, you’ll remain alive.
One more word out of your mouth that is contrary to my demands, and you’ll be sorry. ”
“I already am sorry, although for many more things than you’d imagine,” I whispered, staring into his eyes. There was a flash of surprise, and I fell to the ground as he released me. “If you knew what love felt like…”
“If I knew?” he spat out bitterly, his honey sweet voice long gone. “Love is exactly why I’ve been on this quest.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. Surely… Surely, Nilsorn, the great and grand realm guard, hadn’t fallen for an elf. Surely, he hadn’t fallen for me.
“Not you. No, not someone as common and flawed as you.”
I would almost be offended at his words, except I remained quiet in hopes he would continue.
He looked past me and a wistful expression filled his gaze.
He sighed, almost as though he was a forlorn lover, missing someone in days gone by, and if he hadn’t done all the cruel things he had done in his reign, I would have felt sorry for him.
If I hadn’t felt such complete and utter hatred, such contempt, I might.
“What happened?” I dared to ask, almost frightened of what his response would be. He could lose himself in a heartbeat, and then I would pay for prying into his heart.
“She died.”
There was no bitterness, no anger. There was nothing in his voice but tragic and heartbreaking loss.
And that sweet voice Nilsorn possessed that could hold such power over anyone he spoke to gripped me so deeply, it should have made me sick.
I should have turned away in disgust. I should have taken that moment of weakness and dug the dagger that was sheathed in my bag so far into his soul that even the afterlife would not find him.
Instead, it intrigued me. Instead, I yearned to know more. Instead, I sat there and waited for the words I knew he would speak, because I could see he was lost in a world of his own making.
What could have possibly happened to transform a love-sick Nilsorn into a sable that wreaked havoc and led the realms with such destruction and chaos? What could have turned Nilsorn into a creature who haunted the very places he ruled?
“She was sick,” he whispered. “She had the dark shroud.”
I froze. The very same sickness that took hold of my mother, so evil, so cruel, that it released none of its victims. It was a cruel servant of death seeking to take any life it deemed worthy.
“She was perfect. She was everything someone ought to be…” He took a deep breath, and I could hear the agony in his voice. “And then, she was not.”
I remained silent, wanting to see if he would say more, but all that was around us were the sounds of the forest. I didn’t want to offer condolences; I didn’t want to pity this sable. I didn’t want to feel anything about his situation…yet, I did.
“I understand how you feel.” It was the best I could offer.
His head whipped in my direction as he glared. “You don’t. You barely knew that human.”
“I didn’t mean that,” I continued. “My mother died of the dark shroud.”
He watched me for some time, as though pondering where we would go from here. “We must continue walking.”
“Tell me.” It wasn’t that I wanted this conversation to continue, I just wanted to delay the inevitable. I just wanted to belong to myself for a few moments longer before I became his for the rest of my days. “Was she perfect for you because she brought out the best in you?”
He met my gaze, his eyes more sorrowful than I’d ever seen in a soul. “She was the best in me.”