A Kingdom Scorched

by Linn Tesli

  “I do. We have hidden in this cave long enough. The spirit born’s arrival is enough for me to decide. It is time to leave.” Ormhug’s tail whisked across the back wall and circled in a crescent to fall to the floor behind Ayva. “But I will not interfere with matters in Lycobris either. You’ve made your own nest, Elemental. Now you have to care for it.”

  “I understand,” Ayva said. “I think you should know that Miro, your king, is in Sonûdor right now, to be there for Thyri’s coronation. The earth born.”

  “Thank you, but we can find our Elementals wherever they are. I already knew where my king was.” Ormhug winked.

  “Thyri,” Lyndora sighed. “She has the heart of an earth born, as well as the spirit.”

  Ayva smiled. “She does.”

  The azurite dragon nudged Lyndora on the shoulder and, together, the two dragons leaped past Ayva and Sesha before they jumped out of the cave and took to the sky.

  Ayva studied Sesha. Their bond was undeniable, yet the link felt fragile, as if there were too many scars to carry between the two of them. “What was done to you is awful. Will you please consider returning to Êvina with me?”

  Sesha’s head fell. “I will fly you back, but I will not stay. I will return to the water elves for a while.”

  “You are always welcome if you change your mind.” Ayva found she wanted Sesha around. There was a surge of energy that tied the two of them together, and Ayva could feel Sesha’s power seep beneath her skin. Despite all her powers, the dragon provided Ayva with a strength she had never felt before, while at the same time imprinting upon her all the fear and sorrow that pestered the proud dragon’s heart. Ayva understood why the Elementals had done what they did, and even though it had been necessary, it had been a cruel thing to do.

  “Perhaps,” Sesha said, finally. She bent her body to the ground, inviting Ayva to climb onto her back.

  The wound between them was deep, but Ayva decided right then that she would do all she could to mend it. She would tell Sesha everything about her life, and what had happened over the past year, then Sesha could do with the information as she liked. Ayva trusted her, and perhaps, even if Sesha didn’t stay, she would be able to offer her advice.

  Ayva closed her eyes as the wind surged over her and they left Nayanairi behind. Ayva would have liked to get to know the water elves more, but there was no time for that now. It was just another thing she would have to add to her growing list of things to do. Between the challenge of Zarcos in Lycobris with the Nhêoryn, and Berg’s strange powers, not to mention ruling her land, and now Sesha, she had enough to concern herself with.

  Her hands slid over Sesha’s scales. The spikes on her back served well to keep her from tumbling off the dragon’s back, though they were immense and sharp at the edge. Her entire body was like armor. How could anyone fight a creature like this? It was more than a little terrifying to think that Fyrax shared these same strengths and that the rest of his kin would not help fight him if it came to that. Ayva bit down on her lip, leaning forward on Sesha’s back. They had a while to fly yet, and Ayva decided to enjoy the flight. She could worry again once they were back on the ground.

  20

  PREY

  - Niila -

  Niila sauntered down the path, taking her time. Elfen Lyconis didn’t have the vibrancy she recalled from Sonûdor forest. Also, with Kenith gone it felt even less vibrant. He had to go, but a part of her resented him for leaving her alone with a bunch of elves who didn’t care for her. A veil of fog moved through the trees, gently hovering above beds of moss and wilting flowers. The smell of resin and wet soil followed her, and she yearned for the salty air from the ocean. She veered into the line of trees and eventually found herself in a small meadow. A wild elf, perhaps only a child, sat huddled against a single willow in the middle of the meadow. The willow was massive compared to other trees Niila had seen in this forest. Large branches reached out to fold over the elf underneath, casting a deep, circular shadow. The elf wasn’t moving.

  Niila hurried over to the elf. The girl was bigger than Niila, though she was clearly very young by elven standards, perhaps only a few decades young. Her dark skin looked dry and had a grayish hue, her cheeks sinking into her face. What could have happened to her? Niila put her hand on the elf’s shoulder. The girl reacted by huddling together even more in the slowest way possible. She needed help. Above all, Niila thought, she needed water. Niila hesitated. The elves had been very clear about not interfering with their lives. However, she could not leave the poor elf to die. Sucking the heavy air into her lungs, Niila reached for her belt and realized she hadn’t brought her flask. No matter. The willow the elf was leaning on held enough water to sate the thirst of the entire elven village if needed.

  “Don’t worry,” Niila whispered. “I’ll help you.”

  The elf tilted her head upward only a smidgen, and her lips parted, but no words came out.

  There was no time to waste. Niila placed one hand on the trunk and held her other hand over the elf’s mouth, then closed her eyes to summon her element. It started as a trickle, like droplets falling from the branches, then came the waterfall, rushing down the trunk, spilling into Niila’s hands. The water splashed, and she could feel the waves building before rushing out of her fingers on the other side. The elf gulped down the oncoming stream. Niila finally let go, thanked her element and sat in front of the elf. The girl was drenched, but her eyes were open.

  “You should not have done that,” the elf croaked.

  “A thank you would have been just fine.” Niila crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Thank you, but you really shouldn’t have.”

  Niila didn’t understand. Not one bit. She was sure that what she had done had saved the elf’s life. Why was she not happy about that?

  “Did you wish to die?” Niila asked.

  “Not at all.”

  The ground shook. A team of six elves rode into the meadow, mounted on spectacular unicorns. The elf which Yarix had left in charge in his absence, Lathurien, was at the front. He pointed at Niila.

  “Seize her!”

  Two elves leaped from their unicorns and landed on top of Niila, pinning her to the ground. Before she could react, her hands were already tied behind her back, and the world was blocked out by the hood they pulled over her head. Her heart raced, screaming silently for Kenith. There was no point in yelling, however. Kenith was off on some stupid quest, and here she was. Alone, and for some reason, captured as if she had committed a crime.

  Someone threw her over the back of a unicorn. The soft fur did little to stop the unpleasantness of the ride. The team of unicorns galloped through the forest, no doubt headed back to the village. Kenith would not be happy when he heard how she had been treated.

  They finally came to a stop, and someone lifted her hood and placed her back on the ground.

  She glowered at the elf in front of her.

  Lathurien walked past and entered a large dwelling behind them.

  “Will you let me go?” Niila said sourly.

  The elf in front of her said nothing.

  Niila could feel the energy building in her bones. She wanted to free herself and run away from the Elfen Lyconis, never to return. She had always dreamed of meeting the elves, though this had not been part of that dream. The elves were nothing like she had imagined.

  Lathurien eventually stepped back outside with Haiz.

  “Haiz,” Niila called. “Will you tell them to release me?”

  Haiz waved a hand, and the silent elf escorted Niila into what had to be Haiz’s dwelling.

  The inside was gloomy, lit only by a small fire in a pit hole in the center. A large cauldron hung above it from thick chains on a tripod, the content bubbling fiercely. The walls were mounted with a variety of animal remains, wooden shelves held bowls and vials of Aradria knew what. Niila narrowed her eyes. A unicorn’s horn glowed gently on one of the shelves, and a Mermian trident was mounted to a stick on the wall next
to it. A bright ball of light caught her eye. A firebird flapped his wings wildly from within a cage, sending flickers of light shimmering on the walls. Who would do such a thing? There were objects from all over Aradria collected in this one space.

  “What is this?” Niila was distraught. She wanted to leave.

  Haiz released all the braids in her hair, allowing her thick tresses to dance freely around her. Fresh markings adorned her shoulders and feet. Niila thought they looked like different creatures from all over Aradria and was sure she could spot both a unicorn, a griffin, a Mermian, and even a Jotter. On the center of her chest was a depiction of a dragon, but that had been there before.

  “Why am I here?” Niila asked.

  “Lathurien tells me you have broken one of our laws. Also, as you’re staying with us, and as has been explained, you are bound by those laws as much as an elf is. Punishment must be dealt.”

  “What law? I only tried to help. An elf was dying.”

  “She might have been, but it was her choice. The tree would have saved her if she was worthy. However, you took that chance away from her by forcing our sacred tree to spill water regardless. Now, Cixela can never be a true elven huntress. It’s an ancient wild elf tradition, and anyone who interferes will have to join the hunt. Such is our law. Not even Cixela’s parents would have meddled to try to save her. It would be as it was meant to be. Now, instead, it is as you made it.”

  Niila had no idea what to say. It sounded like madness to her ears. “What do you mean by joining the hunt?”

  “You’ll see. But first, you have an unfair advantage that we need to take care of.”

  Haiz snapped her fingers, and two elves stepped inside with a stool. They grabbed Niila’s shoulders, forcing her to sit. They proceeded to tie her feet and hands tighter, covering them in beds of moss. Niila tried summoning her element, but gagged as one of them stuck a handful of moss in front of her mouth, then tied it to her face with thick vines.

  Niila steadied her breathing; she was hardly getting any air through her nose, just enough to breath. What were they doing to her? The two elves left the dwelling again, and Haiz moved to the cauldron.

  “This will be difficult, but trust me, it’s necessary.”

  Necessary? Niila remembered Gaija’s words when she had left. The elves could not be trusted. She should have known better than to interfere in elven matters, though how could she have known? Tradition or not, Cixela had been dying, and Niila had saved her life.

  Haiz raised her voice. It was dark and ominous in a way she had not sounded before. The words were ancient, and Niila only understood parts of what she was chanting. She proceeded to retrieve the unicorn horn, scraping parts of it into the cooking liquid. It shimmered in the air before the brew swallowed it. Then Haiz went for the trident and repeated the process. Next, she went for the firebird.

  Niila screamed inside. She tried to summon her element again, but she was bound so tight, all she could do was feel the restraint of her powers as the water built inside. She would only drown herself.

  Haiz carefully opened the cage and grabbed the bird before snapping its neck. In two quick motions, she ripped the poor bird’s wings away from its body and let them fall into the cauldron, then put the remains of the dead bird back in the cage.

  “What am I missing?” Haiz said to herself. “Ah, a griffin’s feather will do.”

  She picked up a blue feather from a basket full of them, cleaning the stem off and letting the strands fall into the brew with the rest of the items.

  “Only one more ingredient,” she whispered. She glanced at Niila “It’s the most important of them all. Dragon fire.”

  Dragon fire? Where would she get such a thing?

  “Since I don’t have an actual dragon’s flame, I borrowed Kenith’s necklace. He didn’t even register its absence as he left without it. I’ll only chip off a small piece of it. It should still work as intended when he needs it.”

  She unwrapped a cloth in her hands, never touching the pendant with her fingers, then used a large knife to cut away a chip of one of the wings of the dragon.

  “There.” She cackled as the chip hit the surface of the brew. A small explosion sent embers flying through the air, and a mirage of images floated through the room. The ghostlike image of a unicorn galloped in a circle under the light of a firebird, what looked like waves washed up the walls, and a Mermian appeared to swim inside. Last, the image of a dragon twisted out of the cauldron, releasing a burst of fire. Then the images reverted into the brew.

  Niila had counted four elements, air, water, earth, and fire. She figured there should be a fifth element added, though how did one add spirit to the mix.

  Haiz cocked her head at Niila as if she knew what she was thinking.

  “No need for spirit,” she said. “I will bind them to yours.”

  Niila trembled. She didn’t know what Haiz was about to do to her, but she knew it had to be something terrible. She wanted out. She wanted Kenith. But Kenith wasn’t there, and she was alone with the shaman. Alone and powerless.

  Haiz dipped a vial into the cauldron, filling it with whatever brew she had concocted. She approached Niila, pulled at her hair and forced her head back. The shaman dripped the contents into Niila’s nose. It was thick and salty. Niila coughed, struggling to breathe as the liquid moved slowly through her body. She could feel it sink into her skin, and then her bones, as if it grew to fill every last part of who she was.

  “There,” Haiz said and let go of her hair. ”Now.” Haiz unwound the moss from Niila’s face, followed by the constraints around her hands and feet. ”The hunt is about to begin. If you survive, you’ll be free to go, or stay and wait for your prince.”

  Niila staggered to her feet, massaging her wrists. What had the elf done to her? Her head was spinning and her mouth was dry, as though she had not had a drink for a week. It was the first time she had felt thirst in over a year. She stretched her fingertips, summoning her element; she wanted to drown the shaman’s home. The place was dreadful.

  Nothing happened.

  Closing her eyes, she tried to dig deeper. Again, she was at a loss. She could hardly sense her element.

  ”What did you do to me?” she cried.

  ”Bound your powers, of course.”

  ”You’re more mad than Fyrax!” Niila shook her head. She wanted to strangle the elf for her foolishness. ”I need my element.”

  ”You don’t. All that’s needed is for the prince to focus so that his element can rise to the surface, without you holding him back. This is the only way to ensure his reign. Waterborns don’t belong in our land.”

  Holding him back? She had been about the only thing that had held Kenith standing these last few months. Without her element, however, she was defenseless, not to mention extremely vulnerable. She knew in her heart that her vulnerability would be a disadvantage for the war yet to come.

  “I need my powers. I want to help Ken… the prince.”

  “You want to help, but you’re a liability. History can’t be allowed to repeat itself if the elves will ever bear full-blooded children again. This is what is best for the wild elves, and Lycobris. You have to let him go. If you do, then your powers will be restored. If not…” The shaman shoved Niila to the door and pushed her outside.

  History? Niila had read as many history books in the Êvinian library as she could get her hands on during their stay in the white castle. But she had no idea what the wild elf was referring to. She knew a couple of things, however. She wasn’t a liability, she wasn’t going to abandon Kenith when he needed her most, and she needed her powers back.

  The sound of a hunting horn issued through the forest. The hunt; this had to be what Haiz had been talking about. An arrow flew past her, embedding itself into a nearby tree. Were they shooting at her?

  Niila took to her heels and ran as another arrow whooshed past her shoulder. That had been too close. A rain of arrows followed, and Niila sprinted as fast as she could in
to the thicket.

  The tall grass and crude branches slapped against her skin as she kept running through the forest. She turned her head back and forth. There had to be a stream nearby. If only she could find it and replenish her strength before the hunters caught up with her.

  Someone whistled somewhere behind her. There wasn’t much time.

  She veered away from the path and slid down a slope, almost rolling into the stream. She splashed a few handfuls of water on her face, then chugged down what she could manage. The fresh taste of early autumn washed over her tongue.

  “Down there,” someone called. It was far too close.

  Niila reached for her element out of habit, but the usual bubbling sensation was but a slight trickle in her veins. So, it was there, somewhere inside. If only she could find a way to unbind it. She jumped over the stream and back into the thicket while she pulled forth every last bit of strength inside to keep moving.

  “This way,” another voice shouted, followed by several shrill war cries. They knew where she was, and they knew the forest much better than she did. Where could she hide? Could she fight them? Outsmart them?

  The wild elves were hunters, it was in their blood. Niila was excellent with a bow, too, though that was less than helpful when she was the prey. The only option was to hide. But where? She turned back for a quick look. At least five elves moved some distance behind her. A couple of them leaped between the crowns of the trees. The rest of the hunters, however many there were, could be anywhere. Niila sprang forward. The wild snakeweeds slapped against her face. It was tall enough to hide her, though the elves had to see it move. How she wished for the lap of waves against her skin.

  She stumbled out of the weeds and into a clearing. It was too open, making it easy to take her out.

  The war cries sounded again.

  There was no turning back into the weeds. Niila had to cross the clearing and hope they didn’t catch up with her while she was in it. She filled her lungs with air and started forward as fast as she could.