Chapter 22 Myelas
MYELAS
When I returned to the shifter barracks after completing my afternoon patrol, I quickly popped into my old room to make sure it was undisturbed before heading to Safir’s room to report in. The room was as I’d left it, except… someone had slipped a letter under my door.
I picked up the red envelope with a sinking sense of despair. I’d heard of red envelopes before but never seen one myself. Tearing it open I took out the note inside and read it quickly.
“Fuck,” I breathed. Then instantly shadow-stepped to Safir’s room, where he was talking quietly with Zora.
I threw the letter and envelope down on his table, interrupting them.
“I’ve been summoned to a punitive deathmatch,” I hissed and the other two instantly went silent. Given how they usually dismissed what I had to say, their silence spoke volumes.
Safir picked up the paper and quickly read it.
“Fuck, this has to be a trap, but… how would she know?”
Zora read over his shoulder. “It could be coincidence.” She looked over at me. “There was a bit of a hubbub around the barracks when I arrived, about you nearly killing a wolf shifter? Maybe this is a reward?”
Punitive deathmatches were meant to be a reward for shifters, despite how it sounded.
It wasn’t the shifter who was being punished or put to death.
These sick spectacles had been going on for ages, a tradition here at the academy.
When a shifter distinguished themselves, they were sometimes given a chance to show “the world” their skill by killing a condemned criminal.
The criminal usually wore a binding collar, which limited their magic and strength, so the fights were often one-sided, but that didn’t mean they were safe.
More than once, it had been the shifter who’d died…
since the reward for the criminal was not only their life…
but their freedom, so they had a lot to fight for.
And as much as this might be a reward for defeating Artol, I had a strong suspicion it wasn’t. It didn’t sit right with me. I hadn’t done that much by defeating him, even if my cohort leader had praised me. No, I was still a nobody as far as most people were concerned, far from a standout.
“No, I don’t think so,” Safir countered Zora. “The timing is a little too conspicuous. Just after Izzy wins her freedom against Saldrea, Myel gets a summons? No… this is a trap, I feel it in my bones.”
Though we hadn’t seen eye to eye on much lately, I fully agreed with Safir.
“What do I do?” I asked. I’d been ready to run with Izzy for days now, yet we were both still here. “Run? Fight?”
“We don’t even know who your opponent is,” Zora said. “And if this is a trap, there’s no guarantee their binding collar will be working properly or at all.”
“So… run?” I asked.
Safir growled and began pacing. “No,” he hissed. “I’ve learned the hard way that our princess can’t be too far away from you, not yet anyway. And I’ve also learned she doesn’t run. Which means you stay… unless we can get Lhorine to break your bond.”
My heart broke.
Had it come to that already?
I remained stoic. If this was what I had to do, then I’d do it.
“I need to talk to Izzy,” Safir mumbled, then growled again. He was slowly getting used to the fact that Izzy was in charge, but at times like this, I don’t think he liked it much. He wanted to be able to make this call on his own, but he couldn’t.
He came to me. “Go… get Izzy, bring everyone to the training compound, we’ll talk there.”
I nodded and shadow-stepped away.
When I got to Izzy’s room, I found her asleep with the angel wrapped around her, the dragon guarding them both. Koar raised his brows in question.
“I need to wake her, there’s news.”
Koar grunted. “That didn’t take long.” He nodded.
I gently shook Izzy, and she groggily opened her eyes.
“Just five more minutes,” she mumbled.
The angel woke quicker, however. “What’s up?” he asked, gently stroking Izzy’s side, soothing her. Izzy had others to comfort her now, she didn’t need me. Maybe it would be better if Lhorine broke our bond… before I got too attached. Oh, who was I kidding, I was attached like a leech.
Olinara came out from the bathroom. “I heard voices…”
Good, she should hear this too.
“I’ve been summoned to partake in a punitive deathmatch this Sulnari. The timing’s suspicious, we think it’s a trap.”
Vyns nodded. “It is. I don’t know how Saldrea found out about you, but she vowed to go after Izzy’s friends. This has to be her first move.” He cocked his head. “But… she probably doesn’t know you two are bonded, or she’d just kill you. So… she knows about you, but not much more. Curious.”
Curious? This was my life!
“What’s that?” Izzy mumbled waking a bit more. Her eyes blinked open again and this time focused on me. “Myel?” Her beautiful brow furrowed as she registered trouble. “What’s up?”
“We need to talk, all of us, at the training compound,” I said. “I’ll explain everything once we’re there.”
She sat up and Vyns rose with her.
“Sure,” she said, wiping her eyes. Then she gave a harsh little laugh. “I guess I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
All three of us men in the room stiffened at that comment. Izzy didn’t notice, still waking up. Death wasn’t something to joke about in this world.
All the shadow-stepping I’d been doing recently had improved my range and proficiency with the ability. I could jump much farther than I used to and with more people. Something good had come of all this chaos. I got everyone to the training compound in record time.
Once we were all assembled — except for Rook — I explained the situation.
Everyone agreed Saldrea was behind this, but we couldn’t agree what to do about it. The easiest option was for me to run and avoid it, but I’d be a fugitive… and Izzy and I couldn’t be that far apart.
“Can you remove the bond between them?” Safir asked Lhorine.
Izzy glared at him, jaw tight, but didn’t stop the line of questioning.
Lhorine blew out a long breath. “I’m decent with bindings, but I’ve never tried breaking a mating bond. I’ve heard of them being broken in the past, but I can’t recall details. It certainly hasn’t been done often. Can I… inspect the bond?”
Izzy and I stepped forward, and the elf put a hand on both of us. I went cold at how final this felt. If Lhorine could do this… my time with Izzy would end far sooner than I’d hoped. Still, I put on a brave face. I’d accept whatever happened.
Lhorine blew out a breath. “Your bond is deep, solid. There’s no way anyone but the strongest elf could break it.”
What?
Really?
“What if Izzy tried it?” Safir suggested. Izzy sent another furious look his way and he held up a hand. “We need to know all our options.”
“She probably has the raw power, but bonds are not something a novice can work with easily,” Lhorine said. “We’d need to train hard. We might be able to get Izzy to a level where she could do this before Sulnari, but it would be tight.”
“Then let’s focus on other options,” Izzy said, giving me a reassuring smile.
My heart leaped with joy.
Did she not want to break the bond? Did she truly want to be with me?
I tempered my elation. Even if that’s what she wanted now… once she was queen… she’d not want someone like me weighing her down. Still, I couldn’t help but smile at her. And her smile in return warmed my heart.
“I’d fight off the world for you,” I said to her. “You worked hard to win your fight. I can do the same now.”
She nodded.
“Then it’s set,” she said. “Let’s find out what we can and help Myel train…” A twinkle came to her eye. “And I have an idea that might help him win.”