Chapter 34 #2
It took everything in me to will each breath. To not choke. To not let the tears drown me.
His promise gave my heart strength in the darkness—it was everything I needed. The Grove had taken my strength, almost taken my will to continue, but in this moment my heart felt free. Sadness tugged at his lips, but I was desperate to see him smile.
“Our children better not all look like you…” I muttered.
His eyes watered and a weary grin formed. “You’d like it if they did.”
He was right, I would.
I needed to hold that joy, even if only for a moment longer.
“I think I remember this from my vision. We should scout ahead.” Cora pointed to a twisted black tree marking a fork in the path.
“Which way?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Cora tightened her grip on her reins.
“We will go to the left and you and Lady Cora can go to the right,” Lord Mavik said. Lord Orion and Lord Mavik proceeded without us.
“Fyn, stay with Aelira. Do not leave her,” Lioran pleaded.
Fyn nodded.
Lioran and Cora rode their horses further in the fog until only darkness loomed. My eyes scanned leafless brush as I led Gaia forward. No signs of them remained.
“Lioran!” I screamed. “Cora!”
My voice came thundering back at me through the dense fog.
“Fyn?” I pivoted in my saddle. Fyn nervously shifted in his. “Thank the stars you’re still here. How do we find them?”
“They have to still be there—the fog has only separated us.” Fyn’s hands trembled on the reins. “You’re here with me. I’m not going anywhere.”
A lump lodged in my throat. The mist was too thick to inhale.
I jumped down from Gaia, clinging to her side as we inched forward—hoping I would have a better vantage point closer to the ground, but still I saw nothing.
Fyn climbed down off his horse. “Should we be walking through here?”
The ground came alive, pulsing and trembling beneath my feet. White haze engulfed me, until even Fyn faded from view.
“Fyn?” I waited for his response, but it never came.
Something shifted.
The haze wouldn’t fade.
I tried to take another step forward, but my feet wouldn’t obey. Each breath I drew was shallow. My heart drummed in my ears.
Something was wrong—terribly wrong.
My hands gripped for anything around me, any indication of what was real and what wasn’t. Something that told me I was still alive.
I felt the ashy soil in my fingers as I crouched down.
A shadowy figure approached from behind a tree.
“I’m crushed, Aelira.” Pyrran pushed his crimson tunic sleeves up over his elbows. “You didn’t even invite me to the bonding ceremony.”
He wouldn’t come all this way. Pyrran would never willingly enter the Grove.
It had to be an illusion.
He stood inches from me, glaring at me. “I bet it was lovely.”
“You’re not real,” I murmured, my voice so low I didn’t know if he could hear me.
Pyrran cackled. “Do I not look real to you?” His eyes were wild. His hand clenched around my wrist, pressing deep into my skin.
My free hand trailed the embroidered sleeve of his tunic, feeling the raised threads, the buttons on the cinched-up fabric. It was all real. I felt it all.
I trembled, reaching for the quiver. It was still on my back.
“Don’t be a fool,” he said as he seized my free hand in his—he pressed firmly on my fingers until I feared they would break. His breath was hot on my cheeks. The onyx chilled against my skin, pulsating with each word he spoke.
“You don’t belong with my brother—you don’t belong here at all. You are nothing…not human, not fae. Neither realm wants you.”
His words couldn’t undo me.
I belonged in Lythira, I would guard it beside my husband.
“Lythira is my home,” I said.
“Then why is no one here to protect you? Look around. You are entirely alone.”
“You will release me.”
“I will do nothing of the sort. He has lied to you—left you delusional. Every promise he made is fleeting.”
“You’re lying.”
“Tell me…how did you get to be so na?ve?” He released his grip on me. Pyrran pulled the arrows from my quiver and flung them into the thicket. “Don’t try me again. You’ll regret it.”
I darted. The minute I did, he tackled me to the ground.
“I can’t let you go just yet.” Pyrran hissed. “Your bond must be reversed.”
Lioran said it was irreversible, only death dissolved a bond. A bitter bile burned in my stomach.
He meant to kill me. I would die. Lioran wasn’t here to save me.
“This is not real,” I said, hoping there was truth to my words. The Grove wanted me confident so it could break me.
What if this was real and I played along like it wasn’t?
“You can keep telling yourself that.” Pyrran shook his head as he stood, his hands released from me. “Run again, and I will kill you myself.” A dagger hung at his waist.
I couldn’t outrun him, couldn’t fight him.
“Why haven’t you already?” I bit my lip.
If he wanted me dead, he could have taken my life in an instant.
“If you’re dead, you don’t get to watch it all unfold,” he scoffed.
I swallowed hard. My stomach clenched tighter. Footsteps sounded behind me.
“Aelira.” Lioran’s voice cracked. My gaze set on his—panic gripped him.
“Don’t,” King Thalorys warned, his hands held the hilt of Lioran’s sword. “This mess will be discretely handled. And you will not defy me again.”
“If you harm her, I will never do what you want,” Lioran pleaded. “We are bonded. If you wish for me to rule, she rules beside me.”
“You will sit on the throne, Lioran, but not with her. The bond will be reversed.”
“No, I will not allow it,” Lioran protested reaching for me, but he froze in his spot, gripping at his chest. King Thalorys held his hand on his son, compelling him. Lioran’s chest heaved under the strain.
As I stepped toward him, Pyrran’s hand pressed firmly against my chest. The leather armor chafed my skin under his grip. I had made the bargain. Told them where we would be. Lioran shared the news of our marriage and now they would do anything to stop us.
The visions of our future were fading faster than I could grip them. I closed my eyes, trying to recall everything I once saw, but it was lost.
Pyrran pulled the dagger out his sheath. The blade scraped at my flesh—it pricked my skin, until drops of blood ran down with it. “Would you rather we kill her, brother? It can be arranged.”
“Release her, Pyrran. Now!” Lioran screamed.
“Enough! You will bond with another, or I will kill her myself,” Thalorys warned. Beads of sweat collected at my brow. Tears streamed down my face.
“I will—if you let her go. Take her back to the divide if you must.”
My death. Cora, saw it.
No matter what he agreed to, I wouldn’t walk free.
My body trembled as my knees sank further into ash. Shades of black and grey spun around me.
“The bond will be undone, by magic—and you will bond with another, here today. Aelira, will leave unharmed if you agree.” King Thalorys waved his hand, releasing Lioran.
“Who?” Lioran gasped for air.
“Turns out there’s was a suitable match already amongst you. She came with you,” Thalen said as he dragged Cora into view. Her hands bound behind her back.
No. She wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
“She’s fully fae, with magic too. I believe you two used to have feelings for each other. It shouldn’t be hard to rekindle the spark.” Pyrran crouched beside me.
My sobs rang through the Grove.
“I won’t bond with him,” Cora pushed at Thalen, ripping her bound hands from his.
“Your king commands it.” King Thalorys held his hand up in warning.
She flinched with his words as her shoulders drooped.
A golden glow trailed out of the king’s hands. It gripped us both. The light ran through my veins, tearing away what little remained of my heart. Something popped and twisted inside me.
Memories sped through my mind. Each one was being ripped from me, until my heart was severed. Crushed until only lifeless shards remained. Pain ricocheted through me.
Crumpled and lifeless I lay on the ground. Nausea surged through my core. I tried to rise, but tumbled to the ground again.
We were broken.
“I would have given you everything.” Thalen wrapped his arms behind me and pulled me to stand. My back collided with his chest—he felt unnaturally warm, he felt wrong.
I needed Lioran’s arms around me for one last time.
Thalen pinned my arms behind my back. The weight of him dug into me. My shoulder popped. A wave of pain overtook me. “Watch.” He freed his hand and lifting my chin. “I have given you what you asked, your majesty. Honor our agreement—make her mine,” Thalen sneered.
“I will never bond with you,” I cried.
“Aelira will live out her days in my castle walls. She will no longer be your burden to bear.” Thalen tightened his grip on me, ignoring my claim.
“It will be done,” the king said.
It no longer mattered what I wanted, what I chose—my life was no longer my own. My words would never matter.
Lioran couldn’t protect me any longer.
The King released Cora. Her hands pressed against my husband’s, just as we had during our bonding ceremony. A ribbon tied tightly around their hands.
Lioran’s gaze never parted from mine, even as I screamed.
I sucked in air, quicker than it would come, collapsing back into Thalen.
Darkness loomed over me—I let it take me.
There was nothing left.
A firm grip tugged at my shoulder, its force repeated—steady and urgent.
Fyn’s face came into view, hovering over mine. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.” He stilled my body with his—his weight grounding me as I convulsed. “Aelira, please,” Fyn cried. “Stay with me.”
I didn’t know if the choice was even mine to make.