“Forgive me. I’m sorry I keep hurting you. My only wish is to protect you. To keep you safe. It was the only way I knew how until I could defeat Ohtar. I had no opportunity to pull you out of his shackles without risking the survival of my kingdom. I did all I could because...if anything were to happen to you, I—” he caressed my cheek with the back of his fingers.
When he paused, searching for the right words to say, tears shone in his eyes. My insides twisted and my heart skipped a beat. The revelation of truth washed over me. I reached up on my tiptoes and crushed my mouth to his. I was done pretending.
He tasted so heavenly.
I kissed Mycah with every sweet emotion I had in me, and he returned those feelings ten-fold.
Laying his forehead against mine, he whispered with his eyes closed, “I’d exterminate every living thing on this planet, just so I would be left in misery alone. Because I would deserve nothing less, I would deserve an eternity of suffering if I should fail to protect you.”
“Don’t say that. You wouldn’t deserve that. And I wouldn’t deserve that kind of sacrifice.”
“No, you, my love, deserve to be worshipped. You deserve to have every entity that breathes falling at your feet. It takes each single molecule of energy contained inside my body to not give in to the power that you claim over me, because Nariella darling, you are the only creature that can bring me to my knees. You own my soul.”
I gasped at his words, and my mouth took on a life of its own, spilling contents I had kept locked away buried within—Words that had been desperate to be set free since I realized my feelings for him.
“I love you. So deeply, with every breath I take my very being screams with love for you, Mycah.” The words I had never spoken before tumbled out of my mouth with ease, but I barely had the time to get them out, because Mycah had instantly pulled me against him. He kissed me so hard, so passionately, it brought a new wave of tears crashing down my face.
There could be no greater happiness than this. As his tongue found mine, I reveled in the way it felt to have our lips come together. To have his muscular arms wrapped around my body. I had almost forgotten what it felt like.
I had never truly hated him like I had tried to convince myself to feel when I had thought he was killing my people. I just had been overwhelmed by what I had thought he was doing—but even though I had truly believed he had been killing my kin, the deep love I felt for him could not be buried. It could not be suppressed another second—not even by my raging Tavas blood.
Every negative feeling I had tried to force myself to feel toward him vanished the second he admitted to not murdering those Wood Elves.
The only problem was, as he continued to ravish my mouth with his, I had to struggle to not let the despair over all his people—our people—that I myself really did kill, overwhelm me. He might not have been taking innocent lives, but I had been.
What worried me in that moment was not knowing if he resented me for hurting his people. I was afraid to ask.
I eventually, and very reluctantly, pulled away. I didn’t want to leave his embrace, but I was in desperate need of continuing our conversation. I took a steadying breath to clear the dizziness his closeness caused me. He was way too good at kissing.
“I’m serious, Mycah. No more secrets. We have to fight this thing together. That is the only way.” I kept my tone hard, hoping to portray that I didn’t want to argue this point.
“I understand you hate being left out of my plans, love. But I need you to understand that I will always do what I believe to be in your best interest. If it means your life, I will always do what I must. You do not know Ohtar. You do not know what he is capable of.” He took my hand and brought my fingers to his lips.
“I don’t care. I don’t care if it puts my life at risk, just by you sharing things with me. You did it with the Black Eagles and you do it with Ohtar, but it isn’t the right way to do this. I could have spared so many lives had I known better. I’m stronger than you think, Mycah. I can fight. We can fight Ohtar together. We are stronger together. Can’t you see that? You don’t have to do this alone.” My eyes stung from holding back my guilt-ridden remorse. But I could not let that take over right now.
“You can’t stay here and fight with me, Nariella. You can’t. You must return to the Earthly realm. At least until I am able to form a deeper bond with Dúlin. There is no way to defeat Ohtar as we are. This is the only way. And now is your only chance.”
“No! I can’t go back now!” I interrupted.
“You must! You are too vulnerable. I understand you can fight, but I do not want you to. I can see that you cannot control your power just yet, and I am afraid the lives you have mistakenly taken will crush you someday soon. I can already start to feel it in you. You are pushing it down, but I can feel it, Nariella. Do you really wish to stay here, killing my people?”
I stayed silent at his question, not wanting to dwell on the lives I took. I wanted to say that no, I didn’t want to. But there was a part of me that wondered if I could control it or not—the Tavas part of me.
When I didn’t respond, he continued, “I cannot have you here with me. Now that Ohtar knows I found my Fëa, he’ll be hunting us. He knows I betrayed him. I have to stay on the run. I need time to grow stronger. You will only be a distraction. It is something I must do alone,” he kissed my forehead.
“I’m not leaving without Rydan,” I threw out, trying to come up with an excuse to stay.
“I agree. He will go with you,” he appeased.
I sighed. Whatever. I was done arguing. I had another question already.
“What happened to your tattoo? Why does Ohtar have it?”
“His is fake,” he swiped his hand over his neck, and magically the Isil’Elda emblem reappeared along his skin. “He would only agree to spare both Rydan and Ender’s lives if I abdicated the throne to him. What he doesn’t know, is that I had no intention of actually doing it.”
“Ohtar thinks he’s king right now? But really you are still?” I was delighted with finally hearing some good news.
“Yes, and you mustn't tell anyone, love. You can never come in contact with Ohtar again, otherwise he’ll immediately know you devised some sort of tactic against him. He will be harder to defeat, harder to trick. I have been biding my time until I’ve grown strong enough to defeat him, but it takes all I have to suppress my deceit so that he cannot trace it.”
“How do you do it?” I asked with adoration.
“It is quite difficult. It takes all I have in me. I almost had to believe myself that I was truly on his side. Especially when you were so near, it was practically impossible,” he whispered toward the ground.
Rustling branches nearby made me jump, my scalp prickling to attention. Oh crap—Ohtar’s minions found us.
“It is only Ender,” Mycah said calmly.
“How do you know?” I asked, still frightened.
“I just know,” he replied seriously.
And he was right. Ender, Rydan, and Naminé, along with their Fëa, appeared through the thicket of forest-green bushes.
“Ry!” I bounded up to him and latched onto this neck. He was alive—thank goodness. “How did you know where to find us?”
Ender brushed my hair over my shoulder saying, “I will always know where my Óre’Dae flees to. I will always find Remycah. Rydan will soon learn this ability in time.”
As he said the words, he pulled Mycah into a warm embrace. They spoke to each other in Elvish, making me incredibly curious at what they were saying.
“I’m so glad you guys are okay,” I said, looking at each one of them in the eyes, including Naminé, who stayed quiet. “Where’s Cathar?”
“He chose to stay behind. He was determined to locate our parents and ensure their safety. I could not argue,” Naminé explained.
“I hope he finds them. Is the battle still going on? I can’t stand the thought of more death.” I held my stomach, feeling sick.
“It is over. Lord
Döron pulled back as much of his army as he could. Your little distraction with Remycah’s Fëa certainly helped with this,” Ender answered.
“So, Ohtar definitely saw that, then?” I asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer.
Ender laughed lightly. “There wasn’t a pair of eyes in the Kingdom who did not see that dragon. But I am pleased to know Remycah has finally fulfilled his Maranwe. Ohtar, however, is not.”
He placed a hand on Mycah’s shoulder. “Your Majesty,” he started as he dipped his head out of respect, “it is imperative that you flee at once. Ohtar has already conjured an army in your pursuit. It will not be long now before you are discovered. He is prepared to burn every village in Luïnil to find you and your Fëa. He may yet again call on Dae’Sûl, as I have learned from Naminé,” Ender pitched his voice low, but he stood firm in his opinion.
“Yes, I know this. But I will not leave until you lot escape. Ender, you must take them back to the Earthly realm. It is the only way. I cannot keep them safe here. I must train alone,” Mycah responded seriously.
“Yes, I understand. I will do as you say,” Ender conceded, but I could see that he didn’t like having to leave Mycah just after finally being reunited with him. “Come, let us procure a shelter for now. We must keep moving toward the Lassaira Ëlemmiire. We are a long way off yet.”
We all followed Mycah and Ender, trusting that they knew where they were going.
I took Ender’s hand as we walked, causing him to look at me. “Ender, don’t take this the wrong way, but why did Ohtar keep you alive for so long? Why didn’t he just kill you the instant you were captured?”
He exhaled slowly before answering. “I am a very powerful Guardian, dear Nariella. Only the highest can be entrusted with our most precious royal heirs. At the time, it was my brother Xavier and I. At Remycah and Rydan’s births, we were chosen for them. We made our oaths to always protect them no matter what, even at the sacrifice of our own lives. As chosen Guardians, our brains instantly surrendered to the protection of our entrusted Óre’Dae in their service. Our minds could no longer be penetrated by an outside source. From that moment onward, our souls had one purpose, and one purpose alone.
“I knew my brother Xavier did not make it far into the Earthly realm. He had been followed and killed. Rydan and he had traveled south with the intent of passing through the Lassaira Ëlemmiire, while Remycah and I fled through the Aselaira Ëlemmiire, which was closest. For our number one priority was our newly appointed King’s protection, but we also believed they had a better chance of survival being separated.
“Once passing through our sacred tree, we were thousands of miles apart from Xavier and Rydan. Yet I felt it. I felt my brother’s death, even all the way from England, which is where the Aselaira Ëlemmiire lived in the Earthly realm. When I felt Remycah was ready, I left him to locate Rydan. The soldiers were waiting for me there in Kennebunkport.
“Ohtar kept me alive for one reason. He was determined to find Remycah. And only I had the answer as to where he was located. But a Guardian’s mind does not give up his Óre’Dae so easily. Ohtar imprisoned me with the intent of weakening my mind until I would finally offer up Remycah’s whereabouts. Little did he know, a Guardian would first surrender his life before ever betraying his Óre’Dae.”
“Why wasn’t Xavier captured?” I asked, mulling the new information over.
“I cannot know for certain, but I assume he defended Prince Rydan to his death. Since Prince Rydan is still alive and breathing, he must have hidden him somewhere before drawing away their pursuers and done all he could to ensure his Óre’Dae’s safety. That is what any Guardian would have done.”
“Thank you for protecting them so well. And for saving all our lives.” I squeezed his hand, truly grateful that there was such a thing as goodhearted Isil’Elda out there, besides Mycah and Rydan.
He smiled at me, and then looked to Rydan. “Prince Rydan, can you recall any detail from that night?”
Rydan furrowed his eyebrow in thought. Naminé reached out and took his hand while we all continued to walk and talk at the same time.
“I honestly don’t remember a thing,” Rydan said with frustration.
“Hmm, it would seem Xavier put a block on your memories. Perhaps to assist in hiding you amongst the humans. He must have believed it was your only chance at blending in without him there to guide you. If you did not recall your true elda upbringing, you could keep secret. He...wanted you to grow up as a human. He knew he would not make it. Hiding in plain sight was his final plan to protect you. Ingenious idea, I must say.”
“My parents—I mean, Darren and Anna—not once did they make me feel like I wasn’t their son,” Rydan said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“We’ll ask them about it when we get back, okay?” I said softly to him. I was finally ready to go back. I didn’t want to leave Mycah, but I was worried about Zaylie, and Rydan needed his own answers about his life to gain some peace. And most of all, I needed to gain some distance from this war. I had a lot of reflecting to do myself and needed to figure out a way for my rivaling blood to join together in unison. I didn’t want to be here anymore, where I could so easily take another life. My soul had a lot of recuperating to do.
After some time had passed, it was well into the middle of the night. I was exhausted. Naminé had some water and bread for us all in a satchel, but we went through it fast. We needed to rest.
Ender surveyed the area and decided on a cave cloaked behind large trees. We all entered, and he put up some sort of protection charm to keep us safe. Both Lómë and Calen, who I learned was Naminé’s Fëa, stayed outside to keep watch.
“We’ll get a few hours rest, but then we leave at sunrise,” he said to us. Right away he moved down on the ground to get sleep. Naminé and Rydan followed suit.
I could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet. Mycah stared intensely into my eyes, and I could feel him not wanting to say good night like a pulse of heat emanating into the space between us. He gently took my hand and slowly pulled me further into the cave as he walked backward, never taking his fiery blue eyes from mine.
And that look he was giving me right there ignited a frenzy throughout my veins. I had no choice but to succumb to his gravity. I let him pull me deeper into the black hole and finally around a corner out of sight from the others.
I swore my heart had stopped somewhere back there. Butterflies instantly multiplied by a thousand and all did somersaults in my belly. His pupils, dark and infinitely piercing, focused on me through his smoky eyelashes as he licked his lips. He tangled his fingers through my hair, his palm just resting against my cheek.
His ocean eyes spun in different colors. Multi-facets of blue reflected back at me, and those sexy ribbons of purple danced with passion.
“Amin mela lle,” he whispered in Elvish.
I furrowed my eyebrows and slightly shook my head to show I didn’t understand what he said.
He softly grazed his thumb over my bottom lip before pulling his aqua eyes back into mine.
“I love you,” he breathed in his beautiful accent, emotion catching his throat. He didn’t wait for me to respond. He hungrily bent down to me, but stopped himself, hovering his lips just over my own. They lingered there longingly, savoringly, just barely touching. His whispering breath was sweeter than vanilla and honey. Gingerly, he achingly pressed his lips to mine. Cautiously, hesitantly.
Oh, heck no.
I pushed him back against the wall by his taut chest, never disconnecting my lips from his, and kissed him like I starved for this one thing. Starving for him.
And I so was.
I couldn’t breathe, and I didn’t care. There was nothing else in this world but him and me, and I soaked it up like a dry sponge. He nipped my lip at the same time his hand savored the bare skin at the small of my back under my shirt.
It sent a rush of blood to every nook and corner of my body, giving me a euphoric high. I pressed myself further ag
ainst him, but it wasn’t enough.
And I knew he felt the same when he slid his hands over my backside down to the inside of my thighs, picking me up off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his waist and let him lay me down along the cold, hard rock below.
I wanted him. So badly, I wanted him. Desire pooled in my gut, just for him. And I could feel he wanted me just as badly. I grinned against his hot lips and suppressed a giggle, knowing the others were just an earshot away.
It only made the whole thing more exciting. I broke away just for a second to pull his shirt over his head, and he moaned from the loss of contact. His mouth went right back to mine, as if trying to make up for that one-second we spent apart to take off his shirt.
I swept my hands over his breathtaking torso, feeling every ripple his muscles made. If there were one thing to make me cry out, it would be his body.
He slid his hand over every part of me, starting from my left foot, up my shin, over my knee, and along my thigh. He squeezed the flesh on the inside of my leg at the very top of my thigh and my body spasmed with pleasure. I kissed him so hard; I saw explosions behind my eyelids.
Oh god.
I was so in love with this creature, it made my head spin. I gushed with desire, and I couldn’t contain it any longer. There could never be anything better than this.
But it wasn’t until he brought his hand up to my stomach that I truly knew what pleasure was. Beneath my shirt, he swept his palm over my breast, teasing my hardened nipple. I had to pull away from our kiss just so I could bite my lip to keep from making a sound.
He kissed the hollow spot of my throat, leaving me panting. Mycah had to be performing some sort of voodoo on me—because I couldn’t give a care in the world about anything else right now.
He cupped my face in his hand and kissed my chin.
“Nariella...” he breathed. “We have to stop.”
“No,” I matched his breathless voice and continued to kiss his ear. I didn’t understand what he just said. He reluctantly pulled back, just slightly. “What? Come back...”
The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4 Page 60