“But I, on the other hand, keep to my promises. I do not go back on my word. And so, this girl shall die all because you did not care enough to save her life. Her blood is on your hands! You chose this! I told you what would happen if you should fail me, and so you have. There is only yourself to blame.”
“No, no, no! Stop!” I dropped to the ground in earnest desperation, my kneecaps hitting the cold, hard soil below. “Take me as your hostage instead! Kill me instead, okay? There’s no point in killing Zaylie, she had nothing to do with this! I was going to beg for you to trade her life for mine anyway since I have no way of finding the Sindora. If you take me, Mycah will for sure bring you the Sindora. I was the one who failed you, not her. I should be the one punished. She’s innocent!”
“Yes. Yes, you are the one who failed.” He looked at me, and for a second, hope sparked in my chest. Was he going to let her go? Was he going to let me trade my life for hers? “Unfortunately, that was not my offer.”
An ultra-deafening crack, like an explosion, ripped through my eardrums. The echo of the earsplitting gunshot lingered in the expanse of the forest—and my heart. Dead silence immediately began suffocating the space around us, as time seemed to have slowed to a complete stop. A rabid, rippling scream pierced the air, throwing time back into its normal speed, and I realized the agonizing sound came from me. My ice-cold, clammy hands covered my ringing ears from the instinctive effort to protect them, but it was no use. My cries of pain and anguish for my best friend couldn’t be unheard. Couldn’t be muted. Either way, it wasn’t my ears that needed protection. It was my eyes. And yet, I could not cover them. I couldn’t seem to turn away.
Zaylie’s once bright golden eyes now stared wide-eyed in a dark, lifeless brown. I watched in silent horror as her pupils expanded to giant black circles, dilating to inky holes of nothingness.
Dark, way too dark, burgundy liquid poured down the side of her face, onto her neck, pooling along the ground where her mutilated head lay. Blood.
The shredding of my howls pierced every atom contained in my physical makeup as the desire to run to her clutched at my heart desperately. But I couldn’t move.
I...was at a loss. A loss for words, a loss for actions, a loss for any type of coherent thoughts or ideas. I was just simply...lost.
“Do you understand now?” Nikolai’s voice sounded miles away. “Do you now understand what I am capable of? Let this serve as a warning to you. Do not fail me again, Nari.”
No, no I did not understand. I didn’t understand even a teeny, tiny bit. How? How could a person be so—so callous? Be such a monster? He didn’t deserve to live. He wasn’t worth one more breath of oxygen that he got to filter through his lungs. And his words were my undoing.
I slowly slid my heated eyes up to his. Loathing, murderous, dangerous.
What he was capable of? Oh, no. No.
Nikolai had no idea what I was capable of.
I lunged at him, growling and wicked mad, slamming him to the unforgiving ground, knocking the wind out of him. “What you’re capable of?! Who cares what you’re capable of! You don’t know what I’m capable of, you sick bastard!”
Before he could catch his breath, I punched his cheek as hard as I could, snapping his head to the side. Sticky blood from his lip smeared my newly-bruised knuckles. I wrapped my fingers around his hot, sweaty throat, where his fast pulse coursing through his veins pounded against my fingers.
But he was stronger than me. He dug his fingers into my arms and threw me up over his head, sending me flying into the ground, landing heavily right onto my face near the trunk of the Weeping Willow. Barely a moment later, the blaring crack of his gun wrecked my soul yet again. This time, it sliced right through Ender’s torso, who had been coming to my defense.
“No!” I shouted in pain, not able to bear the thought of losing another loved one.
Nikolai pointed the gun at me next, holding me in stunned shock at what to do. There was nothing I could do.
My eyes roamed around the space yet again, registering the terror. Ender clutched his gushing wound, Calen huddled off to the side near Naminé’s unmoving body, and I wasn’t sure, but Lómë looked to be dead. Rydan was completely still, his eyes locked onto my face and restrained by several men. Hope was gone as I stared down the barrel of a gun.
Suddenly, I was yanked backward from behind, a painful grip around the biceps of my arms. Looking up, I discovered it was an elf. A stranger. Within a second, I was getting pulled through the tree forcefully.
“Stop!” Rydan roared. “Nari!”
But it was too late. The elf had me restrained, and I found myself once again in Luïnil. Dozens of them surrounded me, all dressed in the same attire as Ohtar’s hunters. Oh, crap.
“Let me go!” I shouted, needing to go help Rydan and my father. I couldn’t be here; they needed me. I needed to heal them! And Zaylie…oh, God…Zaylie.
“I had a feeling you rats escaped through the Lassaira Ëlemmiire. Ohtar will be most pleased,” the one restraining me snickered. I couldn’t believe this. I had thought we’d be safe from them if we escaped through the tree.
“What about the rest of them?” another one asked.
“It appeared they were about to meet their demise by the hands of men,” he laughed. “Remycah is most important to King Ohtar. If we have her, he shall certainly stop running and come to her aid. We’ll take her onward, while you four see if you can fetch the other traitors before the humans kill them.”
Oh, no. Not when they’re injured and surrounded by the Black Eagles. My heart dropped. I couldn’t have that. And I couldn’t put Mycah in danger. I needed to get out of this…somehow. Maybe if I played dumb. “What makes you think Remycah would even care?”
They laughed heartily. “Do not pretend his affections were not made known to the entire kingdom yesterday. One does not jump from the edge of a cliff to save an enemy. Ohtar knows of Remycah’s forbidden fondness for you. The entire kingdom does, and it will not be tolerated, even if Remycah were to live out the day.”
I closed my eyes in despair. What had I done?
Chapter Two
~Naminé~
Oh dear stars, my head. It hurt with a pulsating harshness as I made effort to sit up. I instinctively reached upward toward the stinging area. A hot stickiness coated my fingers. Drawing my hand away, the sight of blood sent my heart convulsing with fear.
Rydan’s outcry of Nariella’s name drew my attention, for the pain and anguish in his voice was apparent. I searched for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Calen huddled against my body, her wing faring badly. I hugged her with all my might, grateful that she was at least alive. Then a gasp escaped me as my eyes beheld Ender’s bleeding torso. And Lómë, oh heavens, I could not look in her direction.
“Quickly, see if you can go after her!” the man Nariella had referred to as Nikolai demanded loudly. With immediate obedience, several men sprinted to our glorious Ëlemmiire, and yet, I knew with clarity that it would all be for naught. No human could pass through our sacred gateway.
Rydan managed to elude the two men that had seized his arms. He raced toward the Ëlemmiire with fierceness, yet was prevented by another set of men already at his side. They captured his biceps roughly; however, they could not contain him. He twisted his arms downward to then take hold of the men’s shoulders from behind and knocked their heads together. They fell to the ground unconscious.
In the same instant, the other group of men collided with the trunk of the Ëlemmiire, unable to pass through as I predicted. Once more Rydan sped in the direction of the tree, yet I did not understand why. I shivered violently from the cold air blowing around me.
“Dammit!” Nikolai cursed, aiming his metal weapon at Rydan. Fear seized my heart.
“Rydan!” I warned with a shout, pointing in the direction of the danger. The action sent a dizzying sensation throbbing in my head. I clutched the ground for support. Right then, a man nearby grabbed my hair and pulled me upwa
rd.
Thankfully, Rydan had heard me and turned just in time as Nikolai ordered, “Take us through that tree!”
“He can’t, you fool!” Ender managed to say through gritted teeth, still grasping his wound. He fell to the ground, his knees hitting hard.
I shrieked from the man roughly yanking my hair and elbowed him in the abdomen. The moment Rydan was steps from the tree, Nikolai set off the small weapon he carried in his hand, aimed at our prince’s back. I held my breath, unsure of what exactly that meant. A strange force cut through a branch of the Ëlemmiire only centimeters from Rydan, which I assumed was caused by the weapon. Determination was set on Rydan’s face as he whipped his eyes backward to Nikolai, and before the man could fire off another explosion from the iron item he grasped so tightly to, it suddenly vaporized into nothing.
Nikolai stared at his hand that had been gripping the weapon that was no longer there with wide, frightened eyes. I could not understand. Did Rydan do that? He resumed his march in the direction of the tree. Quickly, I crawled shakily to the area Ender had fallen, determined to be of some sort of assistance to him, if it were even possible.
The group of men that had been ordered to pass through the Ëlemmiire continued to pound their fists on the trunk, searching relentlessly for a way into Luïnil.
“Back the hell off,” Rydan growled with ferociousness. The men whirled around in his direction, ready to fight if need be. Oh, and there would definitely be a need. I could see the undiluted fury churn in Rydan’s glowing, fiery-orange eyes.
“Ender, are you all right?” I whispered to the powerful Elda Guardian once I finally reached him. He nodded, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead. I did not believe him, despite his affirmation. It was more than obvious he struggled, and there was not a thing to be done about it. I moved on to Lómë, and once I reached her, my unsteadiness caused me to fall overtop her large body. She whimpered ever so slightly, and I could not stop the tears welling in my eyes. She was alive. She was breathing. That was the most important factor.
Meanwhile, Rydan had broken into hand-to-hand combat with the men that prevented him from returning to Luïnil. I had yet to understand why he was so very determined to pass through the Ëlemmiire.
Unexpectedly, a violent cough erupted from my lungs, and I wheezed almost violently. The strange, polluted air that permeated the Earthly realm was overwhelming. It was immeasurably different than what my body had grown in. That was the moment I noticed the light-haired girl Nariella had been emotional over. She lay across the way from where I knelt, dead. Her eyes were left open in a haunting, wretched way. Dark crimson blood pooled on the ground next to where her head rested. Once more I searched for Nariella, but could not find her. Where was she? Was she all right?
My focus was drawn back to Rydan as he battled not only the men he had already been in combat with, but now a few others, as Nikolai scoured the surrounding grounds for something unbeknownst to me. Perhaps a new weapon? My pounding head made it difficult, but I refused to stand by and watch Rydan battle alone. Rising to my feet, I faltered momentarily and fell back to the ground. Ender put a hand over my wrist, his blood now smeared on my skin.
“No, do not intervene. Let him be. You will only be in his way,” the royal Guardian instructed, swallowing hard.
“I do not understand. I should help him,” I retaliated assuredly. “Why would you say such things?”
“Naminé, Rydan…” Ender struggled to speak, causing more blood to gush from his terrible injury. He took a few swallows before continuing, “Rydan is currently in protective-mode over his Óre’Dae Nariella. What you are witnessing is pure Guardian power and instincts that will stop at nothing to protect the one entrusted to him.”
Automatically my eyes were pulled with haste back to Rydan. “What happened to her? Where is she?”
“She has been taken through the Ëlemmiire by Ohtar’s hunters. We cannot help her now.” Ender’s already raspy voice was infinitely made worse by the mention of Nariella’s woeful capture. I understood completely. She was his daughter.
In that same moment, a blast of massive magnitude detonated from Rydan’s aura. Flame and smoke seared the group of men surrounding Rydan as they lay slain around him. My hand flew to my mouth in astonishment and horror. Nikolai gazed upon his fallen men with terror and fury, then to my satisfaction, ran hastily in the opposite direction of where we were.
Not but a second later, Isil hunters charged through the Ëlemmiire, flattening Rydan to the ground. He lay still on his back for a moment.
“Rydan!” Immediately I tried to reach him, yet I only drew attention to myself. A mighty hunter ran toward our direction. As quick as running water, Rydan pulled an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back and thrust it into the elda atop his body, then snatched his bow that had fallen next to him. With utmost quickness, he pressed the arrow he had withdrawn from the now-dead hunter at his side into the string of the bow and released it into the air. It sailed rapidly until it hit its mark—the back of the hunter who had been pursuing Ender and me.
However, there were already two other Isil hunters running after us in his stead. Rydan jumped to a standing position, and grabbing the fallen bodies at his feet, he picked them up as if they weighed nothing. With a vigorous throw, the perished went soaring into the two alive, battering them to their faces on the dried grass.
My heart palpitated wildly as Rydan sprinted to the last of his prey, and using another arrow, sliced one of their throats with the edge; the other he impaled with it.
The battle was finally over, and Rydan came out the victor entirely on his own.
Chapter Three
~Nari~
The Isil soldiers working for Ohtar corralled me farther from the tree—dead-set on handing me over to the evil monster to be used against Mycah—despite my efforts to twist my hands out of their restraints. I had to get free. Guilt from being so stupid and ruining Mycah’s plan resonated in my bones. I felt horrible. But more than that, they were after Rydan, Ender and Naminé, who were all injured and still fighting the Black Eagles.
And Zaylie was dead. How could that possibly be true? She couldn’t be dead. She was supposed to be safe-and-sound while snuggled warm in her bed as I battled monsters and crazy creatures of the night. She wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near danger. That was the reason I purposely kept her in the dark.
My feet felt like concrete blocks as I tried to wrap my head around her death. Zaylie was the first girl to ever show kindness toward me. My very first female friend. She taught me so many things that a mother should’ve taught me. She cared for me. Worried over me. Loved me. And I loved her. She was my best friend besides Rydan.
My heart disintegrated into a pile of nothingness. The pain was too much to bear. It hurt. Oh, it hurt. But there could be no crying while Ohtar’s warriors kept me in custody.
I scarcely noticed them laughing and jeering at each other. It didn’t even register when one of them pushed me forward to move faster, causing me to stumble. But my eyes refused to shed a tear—refused to believe it was true. Refused to say good-bye. They stayed wide-open and frozen, stinging with suppressed emotions.
The overwhelming sadness strangled the atmosphere around me. I started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t handle Zaylie dying. It was my fault. Everyone I loved ended up getting hurt or dead. I killed the only mother I had ever known, for goodness sake. My birth mother died because my existence gave proof to her betrayal.
I placed a hand over my mouth to keep back the tears, but it was impossible to stop thinking about the way Zaylie's lifeless body looked with her head tossed awkwardly to the side, her eyes left staring open. No, she wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be dead.
“Mani naa lle umien?” someone might’ve said to me, but I couldn’t be bothered by it. I felt like I was on the brink of passing out, or maybe a seizure. The blood had drained from my face, and my throat was drier than sandpaper. No, she couldn’t be dead.
A spark snapped in my chest, as if a tiny magnet plucked at my heartstrings. It was astonishing, really. A moment ago I was completely lost and disoriented, but like magic, those feelings were erased without a trace from my heart.
Something drew me to a specific location, so I used that clarity to fuel my desire for freedom. I began to gather as much energy as possible from the land beneath my feet; it slithered into my system and up through my wrists. I burst my hands free from their restraints and immediately wailed on the two soldiers walking closest to me with fury.
“Halt!” one of them shouted, as they all drew their swords. I ducked out of their reaches and swings as I ran, then slid across the grass on my knees. They were fast, and way more powerful than the men I had just been fighting. At least here I could use my elda abilities.
All the men wore black leather armor marked by the distinct Isil’Elda emblem—a beautiful sword with a weeping willow growing out of the hilt and a swirling crown around the blade. I tried to look for a weakness somewhere on any of them. But all I learned was their long, dark hair went well with their outfits.
I had no way to defend myself—no weapon to counter-attack with, but I didn’t let that deter me. My instincts guided me as I picked up rocks that lay nearby using my connection with the land and hurled them at each one of the soldiers' heads that crowded around me. I didn't even know I could do that until now. The soldiers dropped to the ground, but were quickly replaced by more.
The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4 Page 64