The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4

by Bailey Ardisone

  And then that was when I saw Mycah sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, staring at me. He had a leather-bound book on his lap. The pages looked old and wrinkled.

  As I stared into his captivating blue irises, a few bits and pieces of our conversation came back to me.

  He didn’t love me.

  The last standing sliver of my heart finally cracked, then crumbled into nothingness.

  “There’s food and tea on the table,” he announced.

  “No, thanks. I’m not hungry,” I murmured resentfully. I scrambled out of bed, surprised that I didn’t have a hangover.

  “We leave in an hour,” he told me.

  “Fine.” I walked out of the room, slamming the wooden door behind me. I couldn’t bear to be near him.

  I was angry now. My anger overtook every other feeling I might have had prior to this. I was angry about everything. About my situation—about being a prisoner and a slave to the Isil’Elda so they could use me against my people.

  Who does that?

  It all came bubbling forth. Cathar was right—Ohtar was wicked. Evil. An abomination. I hated anyone that was associated with him.

  I was done healing his minions.

  My stomach grumbled. I regretted not eating earlier when Mycah had offered. We were now miles away from Burrbein, making our way back to Aselaira on horseback. I had overheard Sarqua mention to Mycah that the Nianotts had had a few horses on hand that had belonged to Isil’Elda soldiers. They had been abandoned, so they had taken care of them. I couldn’t be happier about it.

  Until we came upon a familiar village—Destroyed. Smoke still rose from the charcoaled buildings.

  I jumped off my horse mid-gallop, running as fast and as hard as I could. Mycah appeared in front of me, stopping me.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked gruffly.

  “Let me go! Let me go!” I screamed, fighting out of his hold.

  “Stop this behavior this instant!” Sarqua ordered from atop his horse.

  “My friends! I have to make sure they’re okay!” I yelled in Mycah’s face and wrenched my arms away. Or he let me go. I didn’t have time to think about it, because I had already took off running again, and all that mattered was that he let me.

  I stopped within close proximity of the rubble, coughing from the stench of decaying bodies and smoke. I gagged.

  This was the village Cathar and I had come to. The people...the wonderful people that had cared for us.

  Kirtly and Marywane—I had to find them! I took off in a sprint calling their names down the main street.

  “Marywane!” No response.

  Burnt bodies littered the ground. Silent tears streamed down my chin. I tried to call Marywane’s name again, but I was too choked for any noise to escape.

  What was going on? Why did this happen? They were such happy people.

  I ran to Kirtly and Marywane’s house. Cathar and I had come here with them. They had invited us in so that they could give us extra food, water, blankets, and clothes. They had been so welcoming.

  The door was off the hinges. I pushed my way inside, but what I found within had me running back out in the opposite direction.

  I squeezed a hand over my mouth, eyes opened wide in shock.

  Kirtly and Marywane’s bodies; they were dead. From the short second I got to see what was inside, they looked to have been impaled, then their house ignited in flames. I choked out sobs.

  “What...what happened?!” I asked Mycah and Sarqua who had followed me.

  “Quit your blubbering! This is war. Did you expect lotes and cake everywhere you turned? We are wasting time. Make haste. We have a way to go yet!” Sarqua demanded with irritation, turning his horse around.

  “Must you insist on always making him angry?” Mycah scoffed in his British accent. But I had no words to give. No response came to mind. I was wholly stuck on the horrors I had just witnessed.

  “How can you be so callous? How can you be so unaffected by what is around us? Just look! Look at all of this death! Who did this? Who could do something like this? Tell me! Who?!”

  “I do not know,” he stated simply. “If we do not leave now, you will be punished.”

  “I don’t care.” I brushed past him, but not because I cared about getting punished for disobedience. It was because if I stayed around a second longer, I would vomit from the sickening stench saturating the air.

  When I reached my horse, I was once again numb. I climbed on in a foggy daze, and then commanded the animal to follow Sarqua and Mycah. I played with the stallion’s coarse mane between my fingers. I didn’t really need to watch where I was going. The horse followed the others automatically.

  I braided a few strands, trying to distract myself. I thought of Zaylie and the time she had taught me how to do different types of braids. I missed her so much. I missed her comforting hugs and support.

  I missed the simplicity of Kennebunkport. I missed the peace. There was too much death in this realm. Too much pain and suffering.

  Hope seemed like a distant dream.

  “My Lord Sarqua!” a male voice carried through the wind. Sarqua stopped his horse immediately and looked toward the spot it originated from.

  “What news, Finrod?” Sarqua called back once he spotted the soldier in the distance. Already the large convoy that Mycah and I had healed the other day made their way toward us, and we, too, made our way toward them.

  “We encountered a significant Tavas’Elda army just South of here. The Nianott village refused to give us aid. They assumed the side of our enemy!” Finrod explained patriotically.

  “Yes, I gathered as much. We have just come from Durdell. You have done the right thing. Let it bear witness to our neighboring lands who refuse to take a stance alongside us. Let it be an example of what is to come,” Sarqua said confidently. I had to hold back vomit.

  A tumult of emotions crashed into my gut. “Are you kidding? What is wrong with you? How can you possibly say something so...so...sick!” I yelled, anger bursting from me like a canon. “How dare you say something so cruel! How dare you murder an entire village!”

  Sarqua maneuvered his horse in my direction, kicking swiftly to gallop right next to me. I knew what he was doing. He wanted to strike me.

  As he got right up next to me, I ground out through clenched teeth, “Don’t you touch me!” And before I knew what was happening, the ground trembled beneath us. Our horses reared up, sending me falling to my backside.

  Ouch.

  Sarqua and Mycah managed to stay on their horses just fine, but every Isil’Elda present looked around in confusion. I heard whispering and murmuring behind me where the convoy stood.

  “You will pay for your treachery!” Sarqua barked, recalling that I had defied him.

  “I’m sick of this! I’m sick of every single one of you! I’m done helping you. I hope you lose this pathetic war!” My voice rang out, clear as a bell across the expanse of the mystical land. I had saved these soldiers. Kirtly and Marywane’s blood was now on my hands, all because I betrayed my people. All because I saved those wicked soldiers’ lives—I felt sick to my core.

  I started walking away with fists as tight as rocks down at my sides—but I did not go far.

  Sarqua was behind me in a flash, grabbing my wrists. He tied them together above my head with rope that felt more like iron handcuffs. He dragged me, screaming and fighting, toward a tree. He pushed me up against the trunk, hands above my head, facing the tree. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but the sound of a snapping branch caught my attention.

  “What are you doing?!” I questioned with a start.

  After he quickly cut the clothes off my back, he began whipping me.

  I did not make a sound. I was too shocked. Too stunned.

  The pain radiated through my extremities. My ears exploded with each hit across my bare skin; I thought they might be bleeding.

  A single tear made it out of me, but that was all I allowed.

/>   I could feel the blood dripping down my back. My eyes searched for Mycah, but he was not in my view.

  In that very moment, I hated him.

  I hated all of them. Curse every Isil’Elda ever born.

  Curse myself for ever helping them.

  A whizzing arrow flashed past my face, blowing my hair into a whirlwind. Sarqua dropped my wrists. The Isil’Elda convoy roared in disapproval as they ran closer to us. I slowly turned around, clutching my clothes against my body so that they wouldn’t slip off, and found Sarqua grasping at an arrow in his shoulder. He fumed with anger. He ripped it out silently, grinding his teeth together.

  All of a sudden, a mix of Tavas’Elda and Isil’Elda soldiers surrounded me. They collided in a mesh of clanging and hollering. The Tavas’Elda attacked the convoy that had been present with us, cutting Sarqua’s punishment for me off short. He immediately threw himself into battle.

  My eyes found Mycah.

  The second he thrust his sword into a Tavas’Elda, I lost all strands of sanity that I had left.

  “NO!” I screamed, running toward my fallen kin. “How could you?!”

  I bent over my dying brother and placed my tied hands over his wound. His eyes were on mine, pleading with me, clawing for his life.

  I was yanked away before I could do any mending. A snarl ripped out of my throat like a rabid animal. I sprung to my feet and threw my body weight into a backhanded hit to whoever was behind me.

  The back of my forearm crashed into Sarqua’s face. He grabbed my hair and pulled my head backward.

  “You are King Ohtar’s Healer! You will obey his command or you forfeit your life! Heal his soldiers now or prepare to be hung for treason!”

  “Never! Never again will I help one of you! You’re savages! Murderers!” I spit in his face. He slapped me across the cheek. With my wrists still bound, he easily dragged me back to a tree and tied my entire body up. I could not move.

  The battle raged on around me. I helplessly watched elda after elda being slaughtered. Few were Isil’Elda. Most were Tavas’Elda.

  And the majority of them were taken out by Mycah.

  Murderer.

  I shook with convulsions and clenched my eyes closed tight. I couldn’t take it. The sounds alone were devastating enough.

  Cries of pain carried through the wind.

  And then there was one voice. A voice I recognized. My eyes snapped to focus and landed on Cathar.

  “Save the Princess!” he hollered to his army, and then let out a battle cry as he engaged Mycah in combat.

  I was struck frozen as I watched him fight Mycah with all his might, and Mycah who looked completely unbothered by it all.

  Cathar didn’t stand a chance.

  “Cathar, no! Don’t!!” I yelled as loud as I could for him. “Stay away from him, Mycah!!”

  Every atom in my body pricked with anticipation and nervousness. I was wholly overtaken by fear and concern.

  Cathar was going to die. By Mycah’s hands.

  Wait...Princess?! Was he talking about me?!

  I had no time to dwell on it. As Cathar parried and swung his sword, making attack after attack, Mycah looked more and more at ease. Mycah blocked every blow effortlessly.

  I struggled against my restraints, thrashing back and forth.

  With a grunt, Cathar brought his sword up above his head and then brought it down as hard as he could. It was no use. He could not penetrate Mycah’s defenses.

  I wanted to scream my lungs out. I wanted to rip the rope right off my wrists and DO something, anything, to help.

  Yet, I was helpless. Again, I was helpless to save the ones I cared about.

  Once Mycah quit messing around with Cathar, I saw the change in him. I saw him get real. He was going to do it. He was going to kill Cathar. He moved his arm to slice Cathar’s throat the second Cathar brought his sword up—

  The ground fell from me. The world just...fell away. I was panic-stricken. Lost in despair. Helpless.

  No, you’re not helpless.

  A calming voice whispered in the corners of my mind.

  You’re not helpless.

  And then I felt it.

  Empowerment.

  Rage, confidence, defiance, justice, love, vengeance, loyalty—every emotion erupted my soul. My spirit.

  I cried out with such ferocity, for just a second, time stopped. Every soul within proximity halted momentarily.

  I leveled my head, matching my gaze to his.

  To Mycah.

  I screamed again, ripping the elven rope from my wrists, freeing myself. I sliced from the tree and tore off my half-coverings that were already ruined. I was left in only my black bra.

  But I didn’t care.

  I started running to Cathar, but an Isil’Elda soldier got in my way. I looked around him to notice Cathar no longer fought Mycah. I missed what had happened, but it looked like a few of them were ganging up on Mycah, and a different Isil’Elda engaged Cathar.

  It constantly changed depending on which soldier became available. I ducked from the soldier’s swing, just in time. I drew power from the land. I didn’t know how, but I could feel its energy feeding my own. I could feel it calling out to me.

  “Do not harm the girl! She is for Ohtar!” Sarqua called from across the battlefield. The soldier immediately dropped his attacks.

  So I jumped on my chance.

  I felt that familiar presence in my mind again. I didn’t know what it was, but it was comforting. It was guiding me on what to do.

  And I let it.

  Only a second went by, but it was enough for me to close my eyes and draw in that welcoming energy. I called upon the elements in the sky, and with a crack of thunder, lightning executed the Isil’Elda soldier in front of me.

  With no remorse, I moved on to the next one.

  Wind. With my heart, I asked for the land’s help, for the atmosphere’s help.

  Please, give me wind.

  With an icy gust, it whipped around several soldiers who had the upper-hand on my kin, knocking them to their butts. The Tavas’Elda recognized the advantage and quickly eliminated the threat.

  The ground rumbled and shook with each step I took toward my prey.

  I was done being pushed around. I was done.

  With a thrust of my hand, I sent a burst of built up energy through the air. It threw back Sarqua fifty-feet across the field, knocking him into a tree.

  I smirked.

  “Stop her!” he demanded with a cry of anger toward Mycah.

  Mycah immediately obeyed by finishing off the last three Tavas’Elda he had been battling at once.

  I cried out in pain and clutched my hair, falling to my knees. No! How could he—

  I was blind with rage. I jumped up and ran to the closest Isil’Elda soldiers, reaching toward the sun. I drew it down and scorched their skin with a blinding light.

  They screamed in anguish, covering their faces and dropping to their knees.

  The rest of the Isil’Elda convoy swarmed around me, all trying to take me out. But I was too full of emotion. Too full of rage. I was drunk with it. I was no longer myself—I was someone entirely different. I was raving mad.

  With fury, it only took one thrust. I propelled a shockwave of energy that spread around me like an atom bomb. In a split second, they fell to their backs like dead flies.

  Mycah flashed before me. He wrapped his arms around me. I fought against him.

  “Don’t you touch me! You’re not allowed to touch me ever again!” I yelled, shaking my head and hitting his chest.

  Sarqua stormed over, “It is over, Fallaner! You destroyed my men!”

  “You’re next!” I screamed in his face.

  “Tie her and the boy up. They are now our prisoners. I promise you this, Fallaner. We leave at once. The moment King Ohtar hears of this, you will be tortured and hung by your innards. Both of you!”

  My head spun in the direction his eyes stared at.

  Oh god. No.
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br />   My heart immediately sunk.

  Cathar—they got him. An Isil’Elda had Cathar’s hands tied behind his back and put a bag over his head.

  I looked at all the fallen bodies around the battlefield and felt completely broken. I somehow wiggled, or ripped, my way out of Mycah’s restraint.

  “No!” I cried, dropping to a dying Tavas’Elda. I placed my shaking hands over his chest with the intent of healing him. But he was dead.

  I moved to the next, in utter anguish, and tried to heal him too. But to no avail. He was dead.

  I ran as fast as I could to the next fallen body, sobbing—

  Mycah pulled me up by my arm. I instantly went to slap him across the face, but he grabbed my wrist in a flash too fast for my eyes to see. I stared into his empty eyes. Tears streamed down my cheeks, blurring his face, but I still did not look away. He kept my wrist locked in his grasp.

  With my other hand, I slapped his face as hard as I could, putting all of my strength into it.

  And this time he let me.

  I wasn’t strong enough to do any damage, or to even make his face budge. He kept his eyes on mine without even flinching.

  He let go of my wrist.

  I started punching him in the chest with all my might, over and over and over again. I screamed and cried.

  “How could you?! How could you?!” My voice cracked and was coarse. “You did this! I hate you! I hate you!”

  I flailed and flung my entire body into each punch I assaulted Mycah’s chest with. And he just let me do it.

  Because it was no use.

  I walked away sobbing. Then I realized I had killed, too.

  A lot.

  What...had I done?

  I grasped my head between my hands and screamed. The land shook violently around us, the trees swayed and cracked like thunder, rain broke out in showers, drenching us. I dropped to my knees, water dripping off me.

  I couldn’t stop. Was it too late to save me from this place?

  What have I done?!

  Mycah came up behind me and placed a hand on top of my head, his fingers overlapping with mine that were entangled in my messy hair.