Chapter 27 - Myelas
MYELAS
I opened my eyes in the darkness and sighed heavily.
Izzy truly was a miracle.
Only she could have breached the metaphysical barrier between us and somehow come to me in spirit to sate our bond.
That had been… there were no words to describe our ultimate joining and the bliss which had flowed out of it. Pure emotion had somehow translated into raw sensation beyond anything I could ever imagine.
I shouldn’t smile, but I couldn’t help it.
I rolled over to hide my joy from the guards outside my cell, in case they checked in on me through the small sliding grate in the door.
I hated those men, there to make sure I didn’t sleep, didn’t rest, was always in pain.
They’d soon come again, to beat on me, ensuring I didn’t sleep.
I’d try not to let on that I was healed and whole when they did.
And until then, I held my miraculous moment with Izzy in my heart and reveled in this stillness and peace.
Yet the stink of this cell, the cold and damp and bare stone beneath me, all slowly ate away at my joy, till doubts crept back in.
During our time together in spirit, I’d felt the full extent of Izzy’s feelings for me… and though there had been so much passion and joy, she still didn’t love me. I tried to tell myself she simply didn’t love me yet, that it would come… but could she? Would she?
Because the other thing I couldn’t get over was how powerful Izzy had become in such a short time. She’d changed so much. Yesterday, after only one day of training, she’d bested Saldrea and Golana with earth magic. And now she’d used her ability with bonds to join with me.
She was an elf. There was no denying it. She had proven her power.
And she was royalty.
Would she come to know her own kind and relate to them? Would she see her own power and realize how far beneath her I truly was? Because I’d never known an elf who was kind to a shifter.
What if, despite how much she cared for me, she didn’t grow to love me? She was becoming more like an elf every day… what if her feelings for me changed completely?
Given what she’d done with our bond I had no doubt that she could also break that bond if she wished.
Would she?
Given what I’d felt from her… no.
But… if she changed even more…?
People knew of our bond now. I had no doubt others would tell her to be rid of me, that shifters weren’t worth it, that I was dead weight pulling her down.
She wouldn’t listen to them… not at first. But since she’d changed so much so quickly, I had to wonder how much more she might change after a month… or a year.
And even if she didn’t grow to despise me… if she remained loyal… I’d always be a target, a weak spot for her. I’d been taken hostage so easily. What if it happened again? What if, instead of drawing things out, they just killed me?
Perhaps it would be best if Izzy broke the bond. Then I wouldn’t be a liability to her.
The longer I lay there, in the fetid stench of that cell, the more my thoughts twisted in on themselves, sinking me deeper into despair, until I desperately clung to my last shred of hope…
Izzy had promised to save me, to help me, and I had no doubt that she’d do that.
She hadn’t changed yet. I wasn’t dead yet.
I had to have faith that she’d keep her word, that she’d live up to her promises, but it was so hard to hope in this horrid place.
Leather rustled; low voices mumbled outside.
A key in the lock.
I tensed as the door opened.
“Time to wake up, little bat. You need a few more bruises, I think.” The head guard was an ogre, big and heavy of limb with fists like anvils. The other two were both hobgoblins, not nearly as strong, but just as fervent in their administration of injury.
I rolled away from the guards and tried as best I could to smear the grime and dirt and filth of this place over me, hiding the fact that my wounds had healed.
Then I huddled against the wall, not needing to feign fear.
If I hadn’t been collared, I could have shadow-stepped away from this horrid place, the cell was certainly dark enough, but all my magic was restrained and I was helpless against these brutes.
They closed in, I couldn’t see the grins on their faces in the dark, but I heard their chuckles. They enjoyed this nearly as much as I feared it.
Then the blows began to fall and all I could do was take it, steeling my will to survive, crying out in pain to give them what they wanted.
And when they left, I huddled in on myself and wept.
And I prayed.
Shifters had no gods, the elves were meant to be our gods, so I’d never prayed before.
But that night, I prayed to Izzy. I prayed she’d come for me, help me, heal me, save me.
I prayed she’d stay with me, even if it was unlikely.
I prayed she’d become the woman I knew she could be, and change this wretched world, even if she had to abandon me to do it.
I’d sacrifice myself for the greater good, for all the shifters who came after me, that they might live in peace.
If Izzy had to give up her bond with me to rule, to gain the respect of the elves and change thousands of years of tradition, then I’d gladly give up my love and my life for that cause.
That was my only solace that night.