Chapter eleven
Chapter eleven
The suns were high in the sky, beating down against my neck. I’d been walking alone for a few hours now. Loki and Enyo were keeping a good pace with me, but the silence was crippling. Being out here alone, not having the security of Darce by my side, was an unsettling feeling.
My eyes focused in the distance, widening in shock at the sight of Xavier and seven of his guards rushing towards me on their light leapers.
Of course, it made sense. Uri would be able to see me now that I wasn’t around Darce and his shadow power.
The light leapers were moving at some serious speed. They’d reach me in a matter of minutes.
Xavier jumped off Soleil while he was still moving, and landed effortlessly beside me.
“Alora! Praise Holy Ether.” He pulled me into his embrace, making me drop my bag with the sword and the last of my rations.
“Uri saw Raiden’s death before you were plunged into darkness.
Are you hurt? What happened? It’s been weeks! How have you survived?”
He was asking too many questions all at once for me to answer. “I’m fine,” I muttered, trying to break free from his hold. When he finally took a step back, Xavier looked me over before noticing the light sword and two hell dryads around my feet.
“You carried Raiden’s sword back? And I see you have two new pets.”
“What? Did you think I would be unable to carry the sword because I’m female or because I’m nobility? Maybe it’s both?” I questioned, leaning down to pick Loki and Enyo up. I’d be travelling the rest of the way on Xavier’s light leaper, and knew the pups wouldn’t keep up with Soleil.
“Alora, you’ve proven your point. Somehow, you’ve survived on your own.
All I want to do is get you back to the palace safely.
Your father is awaiting your return.” With no further warning, he scooped me up and placed me onto his beast. Loki and Enyo whelped a little, but I soothed them and held them closer to my chest. Xavier jumped on behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist. The warmth of his body against mine made me recoil.
“You’ll have a lot of explaining to do when we get home,” he muttered against my ear.
“We’ve all been going out of our minds with worry. We’ve been blind to your whereabouts.”
“Uri couldn’t see me at all?” One of the guards collected my bag and Raiden’s light sword off the ground as I spoke.
“He could sense you were alive, but he’s been blocked by darkness for weeks.
He was finally able to see you this morning.
” That must have been when Darce left. Just how powerful were his dark powers?
I had the feeling he’d been holding out on me.
“Were you with someone?” I had to get my story straight before I told anyone about my encounter with a Noxlin.
I couldn’t tell any of my kind that I had allied with Darce out in the wilderness, but I could tell the truth about him taking the noc beast down and saving me.
“The only questions I’ll answer will be my father’s.” Xaiver sighed deeply behind me. We rode in silence the rest of the way, which gave me more time to gather my thoughts.
****
“Alora!” The moment I stepped foot in the palace, Noor, Nell, and Luz were waiting for me. Noor’s eyes were wet with tears. “Praise Holy Ether! We thought we’d lost you!” She pulled me in for a tight hug. “What happened?”
“Take these to my chamber,” I instructed, putting Loki and Enyo into her arms.
“Where did you get them?” she cooed. “They are so tiny!”
“Alora doesn’t have time to talk, Noor. I’m under strict instructions to take her to the king!” Xavier grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me along with him.
“The princess is able to walk!” Nell seethed, but Xavier didn’t respond. The tension radiating off him was thick. He was like a coiled spring, ready to explode at any moment. “Xavier!”
“If you have an issue, take it up with Zohar,” he called behind him, gazing down at me.
“You can talk to your friends later.” It seemed I didn’t have a choice.
I gave them an apologetic expression over my shoulder before Xavier dragged me around the corner and out of sight.
“Your time in the Barren Lands hasn’t cured your stubbornness, I see. ”
“Your need to control everything I do hasn’t changed, either,” I snapped, trying to pull out of his hold. It was impossible. Xavier was pure strength.
“It’s not control, Alora. You...”
“I don’t want to hear it, Xavier!” I interrupted. “I’m tired! All I want is to speak to my father and then go to my chamber to rest.” Nodding, he loosened his grip on me a little.
My father was bathing in one of the outdoor pools with Elin. The white marble, encrusted with gold, reflected the suns’ beams directly into the pool, enriching it with their powerful light.
“Daughter! Praise Holy Ether! You are unharmed!” My father made no attempt to get out of the pool. “Come bathe with us. You look in need of nourishment and sunlight.”
“I would rather bathe in my chambers, Father. It has been a very challenging month.”
“Yes, of course. Come sit next to me.” As I knelt down beside the pool, he took my hand in his.
“Where have you been? Uri saw that Raiden’s light force died before you were plunged into darkness.
Our enemy didn’t get their hands on you, did they?
I will go to war if they harmed you.” My father, Elin, and Xavier were motionless, waiting for me to answer.
“Raiden and I were attacked by a noc beast,” I began, hearing the gasps around me. My father’s eyes widened with pure shock. “The beast killed Raiden, but before it could kill me, a Noxlin foot soldier took it down.”
“Xavier! Get the army ready! We march at dawn!” my father commanded, the power of the light stirred in his eyes. “They’ve held my daughter prisoner for over a month. Alora, tell me, are you still pure?” No! He had to listen to me!
“Father, there is no need! Allow me to finish my story. I am untouched. I can assure you, I am still pure.” The fire raging in his eyes calmed a little, as did Xavier, who was standing near one of the pillars that overlooked Dallethas.
“The Noxlin saved me and then let me go after explaining the way to the sacred mountain.”
“He saved you?” my father gasped. “That cannot be. They are bloodthirsty murderers. If he had known you were the princess, there would have been a different outcome. They would have kept you and taken your virtue! How hideous was the creature?”
“He was beastly and old,” I lied. “He didn’t learn of my true identity. I kept it hidden. I am unharmed, Father.”
“Alora,” Elin finally spoke, breaking the eye contact between my father and me, “are you telling us that you completed the pilgrimage alone? Without any help?”
“Yes, I am.” Squaring my shoulders, I stared her and my father down. I already knew the answer to the request I was about to make, but I was going to challenge them as much as I could. “I am now worthy of my own light sword! I wish to begin my battle training immediately!”
“Alora!” Xavier bellowed. “Now isn’t the time. You’ve just returned home.”
“Xavier, can you excuse us for a few moments? I wish to speak to my daughter alone.” The general did as my father asked.
Elin stayed in the pool, watching me suspiciously.
When the grand oak doors closed, my father turned his attention back to me.
“I was hoping this pilgrimage would make a leader out of you.”
“Father, I...”
“NO! I’m talking now, Alora, and you will listen!
” he interrupted, giving me a stern look.
“If you were alone all this time, tell me why Uri couldn’t see you until this afternoon?
You were surrounded by darkness. Do you think I’m a fool?
If I find out you are protecting this Noxlin, I will make you both pay.
If you’ve been touched and defiled by this creature, I will destroy you both myself.
I will not have my bloodline tarnished by that filth!
” Tears trickled down my face at his outburst. Was that what my father thought of me?
That I would so willingly give myself to a Noxlin?
“Now! Tell me the truth! What happened in the Barren Lands.”
“I have told you the truth! I have no idea why I was surrounded by darkness. Perhaps the Noxlin kept close by, but I can assure you, I completed the pilgrimage alone. I am pure, Father. Your bloodline hasn’t been infected.
I did everything you asked of me. You know I would never allow a Noxlin to touch me! I hate every single one of them!”
“I want to believe you, but how can I trust something Uri hasn’t seen?” This was his get out clause. The wisp was right: my father was never going to allow me to train. “You still have much to prove to me, Alora.”
“Me telling you the truth will never be enough.” Standing up, I brushed my clothes down.
“You do not wish for me to become a warrior. I understand that now. Even after I’ve proven myself, you’ve chosen not to believe me.
I won’t ask for battle training again, Father.
You have my word. You wish for me to be a weak, helpless princess.
I’ll take my fate with no further argument.
” Light sparked from my father at my words, making me jump and take a step back from the bathing pool.
“When you bond with Xavier, he will be your strength. With your power, he’ll be unstoppable...the most powerful general our race has ever seen. That is your fate!”
“And what about my choice?”
“Oh, Alora,” Elin chuckled darkly, running her hands through her pure white hair, “we are female. We do not get a choice. You, Princess, need to fall back in line.”
“None of this concerns you, Elin,” I seethed. “All you do is keep my father’s bed warm. Do not think for a second that you can replace my mother!”