Chapter 36 Myelas
MYELAS
As I drank from Izzy, the delirium in which I’d floated, a place of weariness and pain and confusion, slowly dissipated as my body regained strength, feeling whole again.
I was still exhausted, not having slept more than an hour or so at a time — and probably not more than five or six hours total — over the last few days.
And I’d only gotten that much sleep because of the laziness of my three captors.
They’d taken a few too many breaks. A tiny blessing.
But now Izzy was here, looking like something from my fevered dreams in that lacy black “dress.”
Once I’d had my fill, which was a lot — and Izzy was somehow still standing strong — I backed off and let her do what she’d come to do. We sat, and she got to work remaking me, enhancing me, making it so I could fight and win tomorrow.
“Why not… take me away, hide me from the world?” I asked now that my mind had cleared of the heavy fog which had bogged it down for so long. “Why remake me?”
“Huh…?” Izzy said, stopping the work she’d just started to give a confused little laugh. “I hadn’t even thought of that.” She seemed to consider the option. “Is that what you want? I’d figured you’d be free if you won this fight, and it’s better to be free than hidden away.”
She said it so matter-of-factly that I almost missed the significance of it.
She didn’t want to hide me from the world. She wanted me free, to be out in the world, even with everyone knowing we were bonded. I shouldn’t have been surprised, knowing Izzy, but I still was. I’d convinced myself, during my delirium, that Izzy had no more need of me, that I was useless, a burden.
And here she was, reminding me yet again that that wasn’t the case.
Why did I always fall back on my fears so quickly, so easily?
It took Izzy time, and it was damned uncomfortable — sometimes downright painful — as she changed me.
I hissed and grunted and she apologized a lot, apparently she hadn’t fully mastered doing this yet and was learning as she went, but I didn’t mind.
I would endure any pain for her, especially to get stronger.
And frankly it was nothing compared to what I’d been put through these last two days.
To distract me from the pain and my dark thoughts, Izzy and I talked. It was an awkward conversation, happening in fits and starts. She was often too busy concentrating on her work, and I slid easily back into my own thoughts, trying to understand why my fears always returned to haunt me.
“I’m so sorry you have to endure all of this,” Izzy whispered. “This cell, those guards, the pain of this transformation… all for me.”
“I’d do anything for you,” I breathed, gasping as Izzy ran her hands over my wings, changing flesh and bone to strengthened steel.
Izzy sat back with a huff, perhaps needing a break.
I flashed away my wings, since it hurt to have them partially transformed and exposed.
When I vanished them, they didn’t bother me at all.
That had been Izzy’s solution to the problem of joining steel to flesh.
If she only transformed my wings, I’d be able to use them as shields or even weapons — since she was putting a razors edge on them — then put them away to avoid the pain.
I’d also lose my ability to fly in my human or hybrid forms, but that wasn’t a huge loss, since I had other ways to travel.
Also, it seemed my wings returned to normal as a bat, so I could still fly that way if needed.
“Are you sure it’s okay?” Izzy probed. “You’ve seemed so… distant lately.”
She’d noticed.
I sighed heavily. Here and now, in this disgusting dungeon, with both of us tired and our future hanging in the balance, didn’t seem like the best time to discuss this. But then, if I didn’t survive tomorrow, this might be our last and only time to talk.
Time to be strong: be honest.
“I’m worried that you’ll discard me, that you won’t need me once you’ve come into your power, once you’re queen.”
“What?” She sounded completely taken aback and shifted around to kneel on the grimy floor in front of me. “Why would you think that?” She grimaced. “Is this because of Safir?”
My mentor had mentioned — more than a few times — how much better off Izzy would be if she broke our bond.
I shook my head. “I’ve… always worried.” A faint, sad smile lifted my lips.
“You’ve been such a blessing upon my life.
But you have to understand, I’ve never had anything solid to hold on to.
My life has always been a struggle. No one has ever given a shit about me.
Well, that’s not true, Safir cared… but only insofar as I was useful to him.
To everyone else… I’m an expendable pawn.
I’ve never had any hope for a bright future… until you came along.”
She smiled softly, but I could see the sadness behind it. My words hit her hard. She hadn’t known the depths of despair I’d suffered before I’d met her.
“You give me hope, but… you’re an elf.” I didn’t mean to say the word with as much contempt as I did.
“A royal.” I hung my head. “I’m nothing.
I know you keep saying you want me in your life and you’ll keep me around, but…
you’ve changed so much this past week. What if this world changes you too much and you don’t see me the same anymore?
You will always have the power to break our bond and there’s nothing I can do about that. ”
She raised a hand to cup my cheek.
“I’m so sorry you’ve had to endure what you have,” she whispered, then leaned in and kissed me softly. My lips tingled, the bond thrumming contentedly between us. When she drew back, she continued, her face close, her scent of apples and cinnamon filling my senses.
“But you know I want to change this world, break down the power structure the elves have built and make sure everyone can live free and love who they want. You… know that, right?”
I nodded, but my lips were tight. “I know that’s what you want now… but what if you get a taste for power and…” I shrugged.
“Do you trust me that little? Do you really not know me?” She seemed hurt.
“I… want to trust you, want to believe you, but you have to understand the weight of this world and thousands of years of oppression.”
She nodded and sighed heavily. “Yes, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to question your faith in me. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been, living with the horrible traditions of this place.” Her gaze locked onto mine. “Which is why I need you in my life, Myel.”
I raised a brow.
“I need you to keep reminding me of your previous pain and my purpose. I…” She pursed her lips and blew out a breath through her nose.
“I know I’ve changed, and frankly I have no clue what I’ll do if I become queen.
I want to change things, but I have no clue how to do that.
Hopefully, with you by my side — with all my friends, my new family — helping me, and keeping me in line, then we all can change this world. ”
I wanted to believe her so damned much, but it was hard to have faith in this dark, dank cell. Even with Izzy here, helping me, altering me so I’d be able to win my freedom tomorrow, I still had doubts.
She must have seen it.
“Let’s take it one day at a time, one horrible misadventure at a time, okay?” she said with a half-smile. “I care for you now… that’s what matters. And once you’ve survived this… we can talk more, check in again, communicate as often as we need to. That’s what people in relationships do, right?”
I nodded, giving my own wary smile.
She gave another breathy little laugh. “I thought so, but I haven’t had a stable relationship in…
ever. So, you’re my first.” It was meant to be a joke, but I couldn’t appreciate it.
“Just… keep letting me know what you’re thinking, what you’re worried about, and I’ll keep being there for you, like you’ve been there for me,” she finished.
I smiled truly at that. “As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be there for whatever you need. I’ve made up my mind to serve you every way I can, for as long as I can, be that a few days or the rest of our lives.”
She nodded. “Let’s hope it’s that second option.”
By the spirits, I hoped so.
“Who knows,” she said wistfully. “Maybe our love will change the world!”
Maybe.
I couldn’t quite imagine what that looked like, but I loved that she believed it was possible.
“Now, are you ready to fight for your freedom?” she asked, sitting up on her knees a bit more. “I’m ready to get back to work.”
I turned, giving her my back and flashing out my wings again.
“I’m ready,” I said, wincing and hissing at the pain.
Even just having my partially transformed wings out hurt like hell.
Once they were fully converted, I didn’t know whether that would hurt more or less.
Whichever it was, I’d get used to it. Because Izzy was doing all of this to help me, and I’d endure any hardship or pain to win my freedom and extend our lives together.
Izzy worked through the night, turning my wings to steel, filling me with strength and speed and fortitude as only an elf could, then binding it all in place. She also broke the binding on the collar that restrained my abilities.
A couple times during the night, she left the cell to ensure the guards remained asleep.
And when she was done transforming me, I felt like a whole new me. I’d thrash Artol if I fought him now.
“There’s one last thing I’d like to do before I go,” she breathed as we both stood.
She doused us both in water, sluicing off the filth we’d acquired as she’d worked.
That plastered her dress to her form. Spirits, she was stunning.
Even more so than her beauty, her entire aura and demeanor was sexy as hell, strong and determined and kind.
The bond tugged and… since I had no clothes to hide it — and Izzy had given me the strength and vitality to fuel it — I couldn’t conceal my arousal.
She looked at my rising cock and smiled.
“Oh… I see you had the same thought.” She slipped off that barely-there dress and came to me. Her sexy-as-sin body pressed against me, fulfilling all my dreams and desires, as her needful lips found mine.
Our bond wasn’t demanding it, but with the pressure and expectation of the fight to come, we both needed this.