Soulbound (The Return of the Elves Book 1)

by Bethany Adams

  She squinted down at the paper on the desk, barely illuminated by the globe on the wall. She still didn’t know how to control the thing, so it stayed at the same level of light the healer had left it on after his last healing session with Kai. The elven text shimmered in her sight, the shadows highlighting its foreignness, though she’d written it herself not long before.

  A yawn slipped free, and Arlyn glanced at the bed. The speech she’d written would have to do for now. She’d spent hours on it, even taking dinner in her room. At least her Moranaian had improved after the day’s reading. The grammar had settled more easily in her mind, and none had looked her askance when she spoke.

  Arlyn moved over to the chair by the bed, but she didn’t sit. Her body was leaden with exhaustion, her mind fuzzy. She could not sleep an entire night slumped in that damned seat again. Her gaze skimmed Kai, still under Lial’s sleeping spell. Kai’s color was better after his latest healing, and the healer had told her he might wake him tomorrow. But he shouldn’t stir tonight.

  Besides, the bed was huge. Probably larger than a king size on Earth. She could slip into the far end and never even notice Kai was there. Arlyn pulled back the covers and glanced once more at Kai’s still form before sliding in. A groan escaped her lips as her head met the pillow. So much better than a chair.

  Kai woke instantly; there was no transition, no pleasant climb to awareness. One moment oblivious darkness, the next murky consciousness. His thoughts tumbled together like leaves in a storm. Where was he? Why was he in pain? Fighting panic, he lifted his head and looked around. A dim spell globe was the only source of light, the blue haze revealing little of the bedroom. A window. A desk. But not his own room. He was almost certain he had never been in this place before.

  Pain radiated from his side with an intensity too great to be mere muscle strain. And was that—he glanced down and confirmed that an arm was draped over his chest. Small, obviously female. Pain and female companionship did not go together for him. His breath came in shallow pants as Kai followed the arm to the figure sleeping against his side. Long hair streamed around her body, but he couldn’t quite make out the color. If only he could remember what had happened.

  She turned in her sleep, exposing her face to the hint of light that shaded the room, and Kai gasped. Arlyn! His mind went blank for a moment before the memories, more focused this time, rushed back in. Coming back from his mission, meeting her on the trail and fearing he would never see her again, giving her the necklace, facing Lyr and his father, getting attacked. And over it all, a kind of hazy exhaustion blended with pain that blurred the details. How had he even functioned? In fact, how had he survived? He should have died in those woods, as drained of energy and blood as he’d been. Nothing made sense.

  Had he really started the bond? Ignoring the pain moving caused, he shifted a lock of her hair aside. The necklace he’d worn for centuries tangled in the folds of her nightgown. He had. Bile surged into his throat, and he moved her arm to her side so he could sit. Kai gasped with the agony of his injury and his realizations. He pulled up his legs, his head dropping to his knees.

  He’d started the bonding without even asking her name. His mate. His best friend’s daughter. If Kai’d had any food in his stomach, he would have lost it. Unforgiveable. He couldn’t fathom why she rested beside him instead of pacing Meyanen’s temple until a priest could be found to break the bond.

  The memory of her in the clearing trickled through. If anyone or anything is going to kill you, it’ll be me. Maybe she’d decided to break the bond in another way. Kai pulled at his hair, not even noticing the sting of his scalp over the searing pain of his side. Maybe he would help her.

  Kai’s head jerked up at the soft click of the door opening. He tensed, ready to defend himself and Arlyn despite his injury, then relaxed when he recognized Lial’s face in the soft glow of the mage light floating in behind him. The healer stopped by the bed with a scowl. “Why are you sitting? You shouldn’t even be awake.”

  “You didn’t release the spell?”

  “No.” Lial pushed Kai’s shoulder until he lowered himself back onto the bed. “Perhaps your slight healing gift interfered. The wound is finally knit, but I would rather you not move around just yet.”

  Kai winced. “My body agrees.”

  “Then why?”

  “Just drop it.”

  Lial glanced at Arlyn, but he said nothing, only pulled power into himself for another healing. Kai let the blue glow sweep through him, easing his physical pain and even the nausea. The healer made no comment on that, either, much to Kai’s relief. When Lial finally stepped back, his brows rose in question.

  “Will you rest if I allow you to stay conscious?”

  Kai rolled his eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

  Some of the hardness Lial wore like armor slipped away, revealing the hint of compassion in his eyes. That, or it was a trick of the light. “All will be well. She has Lyr’s strength.”

  “Hopefully not his temper,” Kai muttered.

  Lial chuckled. “Ah, but Lyr usually forgives in the end.”

  “Usually being the key.”

  Lial shook his head, not bothering to argue. After a few more instructions, the healer left, and Kai drifted in the haze the healing had brought. What was he going to do about Arlyn? Nothing he could do or say would justify binding them without her permission. More, he had cheated her. It should have been a beautiful occasion, a memory they would both treasure. A proper mate would have spent much time and effort courting his intended.

  With a groan, he closed his eyes. His body grew so heavy with exhaustion that he half expected Lial to be standing over him casting another spell of sleep, but he knew the feeling was normal. Despite the hours of rest he’d already had, his body had suffered serious trauma on top of being perilously low on energy. Even as his mind raced, his exhausted body pulled him back down into sleep.

  Lyr signed off on the last paper in the most urgent stack and leaned back in his seat. He glanced at his water clock, then grimaced. He’d worked until the twenty-eighth hour, only two before dawn. At least estate business had kept him from sword work. Without the drain of his combat magic on his personal reserves, he could get by for a few days with little sleep.

  As he stood, the mirror beside his desk chimed. Lyr frowned. Who would call at this time of night? He walked around the chair and placed his hand on the mirror’s frame. With a resigned sigh, he activated the waiting connection. Might as well get the next crisis handled now. For what else could it be at this point but a crisis?

  Lyr winced against the sunlight that filtered through the windows on the other end of the connection and made the black-haired elf seem to glow. The man leaned against the frame of his own mirror, his face pale from the exertion of holding the connection.

  “Ralan?”

  “Hello, Lyr.”

  Because he knew it irritated Ralan, Lyr bowed. “Forgive me, Anderteriorn Ralantayan. I was too surprised to greet Your Highness properly.”

  Ralan laughed. “Stuff it, Lyr. You know I hate that crap.”

  Stuff it? Clearly he was behind on his slang. “Whatever you wish, Your Highness. I would not think to do aught but what my prince commands.”

  “Yeah, right.” Ralan frowned. “It is night there. I did not think to calculate the time. What are you doing in your father’s office so late?”

  The quick jolt of pain stole Lyr’s breath. He had not spoken to his friend since just before he had met Aimee, in large part because he had never returned to the human world. Ralan rarely called Moranaia. “My father is no longer alive. He was assassinated some twenty-two years ago. Not long after my last visit.”

  “I am sorry to hear that,” Ralan answered, his voice tinged with genuine regret. “I was beginning to wonder why I hadn’t seen you. I’ve never known you to go more than twenty years between missions.”

  “It was not only because of my father.” Lyr took a deep breath, forcing the pain down. “But yo
u did not expend the energy to call me across the Veil to discuss my personal life. I will not drain you by drawing this out, as I can only assume you need something significant.”

  Ralan’s expression tightened. “Yes. I need a guide. You have to send me Kai.”

  “What could you possibly need with a guide? You vowed never to return.”

  “I know perfectly well what I vowed. It is irrelevant.” Ralan’s jaw clenched, his eyes burning with anger. Then some of the tension left his expression. “Sorry. That wasn’t directed at you. The energy here is growing toxic. My daughter doesn’t have long to live.”

  “Daughter?”

  Ralan swayed on his feet. “I don’t have the energy to explain.”

  “Let me bolster the connection.”

  “Just send Kai. No more than three days from now.” The prince paused, his expression grave. “I have Seen it.”

  Lyr let out a curse. “Kai was just injured. I might have to send another.”

  “He’ll be ready,” Ralan said. “He has to be.”

  The prince closed the connection before Lyr could argue. His fists clenched, and he cursed again. Of all the things he needed at the moment, a self-exiled seer was low on the list. As soon as the king heard, there’d be trouble. Growling at fate, Lyr stalked from the room. Ralan’s timing was terrible. Though perhaps not coincidental. He paused in the middle of the hall as he recalled the prince’s words. Toxic energy. Was Earth affected by the same poison as the underhill?

  Miaran, he cursed to himself. Not good.

  With a smile, Arlyn burrowed closer to the warm, firm surface beneath her cheek and let herself drift in a haze of half-sleep. For the first time in longer than she could remember, everything seemed right. Her body was lax with contentment, the tension she’d carried gone. For a moment, she basked in it, unquestioning, and snuggled happily against the apparent source of her serenity. Then that source groaned.

  Her eyes snapped open as she tensed. She was tucked up tight against Kai’s side, her arm around his waist. His eyes were still closed, his breathing still rhythmic and heavy, but he was grimacing in his sleep. What was wrong? She started to move away from him, and he groaned again. With a gasp, she jerked her arm back. Her hand had shifted to his injured side while she slept.

  Arlyn darted up to kneel over him. The neat stitches, already faded to a dark pink, seemed undisturbed. Had she hurt him deep inside, where she couldn’t see? She cursed herself for rolling over to him in her sleep. So much for not even noticing she was there. Of their own volition, her fingers trailed across the firm muscles of his side before she pulled them back. So strong.

  Arlyn was about to try to call the healer when a hand closed over her wrist. She jumped, biting down hard enough to draw blood on the lip she had been worrying between her teeth, and yelped. Before she could process what had happened, she felt fingers on her lip, then a warm flood of energy similar to Lial’s when he had healed her headache. She looked down to find Kai’s eyes opened and focused on her face. Realizing what had just occurred, the warmth of her blush traveled all the way to her toes.

  The energy faded, and Kai pulled his fingers away to leave her lip unblemished. “I’m sorry I startled you.”

  “I thought you were asleep.” Her face grew hotter. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was about to call the healer.”

  Kai smiled at the breathless rush of her words. “I’m fine. The area is just sore to the touch still. It wasn’t even bad enough to fully wake me.”

  She couldn’t look away from his beautiful gray eyes, and the peace of waking beside him rushed through her, confusing her even more. Was she angry or happy? For the life of her, she couldn’t tell.

  With a shake of her head, she broke from his gaze. “You seem awake enough to me.”

  “After you jumped up, yes.”

  Silence stretched between them. There were so many things Arlyn needed to ask him. So many things to say. But the feelings he’d stirred in her still pounded through her blood like life. She had to get some distance. She needed a distraction.

  “You healed my lip. If you’re able to do that kind of magic, why didn’t you do something for yourself after you were attacked? It might have made the situation a little less dangerous.”

  “I couldn’t.” Kai rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes. “I’m not sure what you know about how magic works for us. We have our own personal reserves, our capacity to handle energy. We can convert natural energy from the world around us, but we have to sacrifice our own to do it. The only way to replenish that is sleep. By the time I was returning here from my father’s house, my reserves were gone. I couldn’t even convert natural energy, much less heal myself. Besides, my healing gift is slight. I could only have kept an injury that bad from worsening.”

  “So either you have a really low capacity for magic, or you hadn’t slept for a while.” Arlyn frowned. “Wait, I remember my father saying you were sleep-deprived, but I forgot for how long. Just how long had you been awake?”

  Kai shrugged. “About a human week.”

  “A week?” She considered shaking him. “Are you crazy?”

  “I hadn’t believed so, but now, who knows?” He ran a hand through his hair, frustration and pain tightening his face. “I was energy-crazed for certain though I didn’t realize it at the time. But it couldn’t be avoided. I had good reason for going so long without rest.”

  “Good reason? What could possibly—”

  The sharp knock on the door stopped her words mid-sentence. Frowning, Arlyn glanced at the pale trickle of light beyond the window. It was barely past dawn. Why would someone be at her door so early? Her heart gave a leap as she called for them to enter. When Lyr walked in, a smile on his face, she dropped back to her heels in surprise at the pleasure filling her.

  When had she begun to enjoy his presence?

  Lyr froze, and the smile dropped from his face. His hands tightened at his sides as he took in the scene. Arlyn reddened when she realized what was upsetting him. She knelt beside Kai on the bed with her nightgown bunched around her knees. And he wore no shirt. Mortified, she pulled the blanket over them both.

  “I was just checking his side.”

  “If he has caused you further distress…”

  Kai tensed beside her as she shook her head. “No. We were talking.”

  “You have a right to your anger,” Kai said, his voice colder than she’d ever heard it. “But imply that I would cause her physical harm again, and we will come to blows.”

  Lyr’s face went blank with shock. “I meant no such thing. But she looked upset.”

  Though a hiss of pain left him at the movement, Kai sat up. Arlyn scrambled back, her eyes narrowing on the two men. “Stop it. If anyone is going to defend my honor, it’s me.”

  They stared at her with wide eyes for a moment. Then Lyr let out a cough, and Kai’s lips twisted into a smile. Her father rubbed the back of his neck, his expression sheepish. “Indeed. I meant no offense.”

  Arlyn pushed Kai back. “Rest.”

  “I’m well enough to sit up.”

  “I’d rather not add being glared at by the healer to the morning’s entertainment.” Kai huffed out a laugh, but he sank back to the bed. Then she turned a glare on Lyr. “I’m assuming you didn’t come by to beat up Kai?”

  “As much merit as the idea holds, no.” Some of the tension eased from her father despite his words. “I wanted to let you know that I set your presentation to the household at the ninth hour, right before the midday meal. We will have a celebratory feast directly after.”

  Arlyn glanced at the window again with a frown. It was still fairly early in the morning, but not that early. “Nine o’clock? That can’t be far away.”

  “A while yet, as we’re only at the second hour.” At her blank look, he laughed. “I’m sorry, I forgot you count time differently. We start our day at dawn, not in the middle of the night like people in the human world.”

  “Oh. Logical, I
suppose.” She shook her head. “That gives me seven hours. What am I going to have to do for this? Do I need to do something special to prepare?”

  “Not a great deal. Telia should be by soon with new clothing for you, and she will show you what best to wear. Otherwise, most of the speaking at this event will be done by me. It will be in Moranaian, though. Since Kai is awake, he should be able to help you prepare what words you might need to say. Speaking of which…” A small frown pinched between his eyebrows. “Kai must be introduced as your soulbonded since he is now also part of our house.”

  “Great, now I will have others pressuring me about it.”

  “Arlyn,” Kai’s voice was soft, though his eyes were alive with harsh emotion. “Do not worry about the others. Do what you feel you must. If you end up deciding to go before a priest of Arneen to break our bond, I will not stop you, for what I did is hard to forgive. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”

  Her hand went to her throat at the guilt and sick grief that trickled to her along their bond. The echo of his emotions weren’t what she would expect from a man who had tried to trap her. No smugness or pride. Instead, she got such a strong wash of remorse that she was not sure what to do with it. She couldn’t yell at someone who felt like the proverbial kicked puppy.

  “I don’t even know what I think. If we have time after preparing for the presentation, you can explain to me what happened. Maybe that will help me understand it all.”

  “Don’t wear yourself out too much, Kai. You need to be there as well.” Lyr opened the door, then turned back. “I’ll need you fit to guide in a day or two. Try not to injure him more, Arlyn.”

  Kai’s brow rose. “To guide? Now?”

  “A new mission we were given last night.” Frowning, her father waved a hand. “I’ll tell you more after lunch. We have to get this presentation done before Arlyn’s teacher arrives.”