The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4

by Bailey Ardisone

“Good. Because I have to go after Nari. I have to,” Rydan announced as he made advancement toward the Ëlemmiire.

  “Rydan, you mustn’t!” Ender growled. “If you leave through that tree alone, you shall most certainly be captured, and then where would we be?”

  “I don’t care! You can’t expect me not to even try.” Rydan paced in front of the tree’s trunk. “Besides, I can apparently take care of myself. I mean, look at this!”

  He waved a hand at the deceased men and elda scattered about the land. Ender’s eyes followed the tragic pattern before returning to our prince. “Rydan, I understand you—”

  “I can’t believe I…killed all these—” Rydan interrupted Ender and covered his mouth with a trembling hand. “I killed people. I actually killed all these people.”

  “You had no choice. It was your life or theirs. Naminé’s life or theirs. Even mine. You did what you must, Rydan, and that is that. Understand that before this war is over, there shall be many more lives lost. It will be up to you which side the loss is on,” Ender said firmly.

  “Yeah, I know. I know. I get it, okay?” Rydan folded his arms over his chest. “I would do it again if it meant saving any one of your lives. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s hard as hell to accept afterwards.”

  “That is your human upbringing shining through. It is nothing to be ashamed of. You were not raised a warrior, despite being destined to become one.” Ender supported his weight against the trunk of a tree.

  “It was the strangest thing. At first, after we had stepped through into Kennebunkport, I couldn't connect to the other realm. I felt back to normal. I felt human again. Then, all of a sudden, when I saw Nari in trouble…something in me just…snapped. I couldn’t control myself. The one thing playing in my mind is that I needed to get to her above anything else. And now…now that I’ve calmed down, I’m back to feeling helpless and human again.” Rydan shoved his fists into the pockets of his trousers.

  “Your Guardian instincts can be overwhelming at times. It is natural to feel that way when you are pushed into a corner and your Óre’Dae needs protection. There is no use fighting it. It shall happen again, I am sure of it.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m going after her. You can’t stop me.”

  “Rydan—”

  Rydan’s eyes suddenly focused hard on a particular spot across his path. Without further delay, he sprinted to the young girl that had been killed sometime during my unconsciousness. “Zaylie…Oh, God, Zaylie. No, God, no.”

  Sympathy for his loss choked my vocal cords, and I could not speak or move as I gazed upon the prince of our kingdom lowering himself over the girl’s frozen corpse. He pushed the golden hair back away from her relaxed face and bowed his head. He whispered breathlessly, “I’m so sorry.”

  “It is indeed a tragedy,” Ender matched Rydan’s whisper.

  Rydan stood, and as he faced his royal brother’s Guardian, he slid his eyes into Ender’s. Peering intently without letup, he finally said, “I can’t leave Nari out there alone. She just witnessed one of her best friends get murdered right before her eyes. She’s probably terrified and sick with grief. I get that you don’t want me to risk myself, that it risks your kingdom along with it, but I’m sorry. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

  “What do you plan to do?” I asked, for I could not deny I was immeasurably frightened for his well-being. It would be so easy for him to be captured along with Nariella, and neither Ender nor I would have any indication of it. They could be executed long before we were to return to Luïnil in a fortnight, per our instruction to King Remycah. And if King Remycah were to learn of it…I shook my head. I feared it would not be tolerated.

  “I don’t know. But I have to try something. Anything. If I can sneak up on them, maybe while they sleep, I can get to her. I honestly don’t know, but I don’t care. I’ll figure it out when the time comes.” Rydan resumed his place at Lómë’s side and lowered his face into her neck. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  “We should remove her from view of the Ëlemmiire. A place hidden from unwanted eyes,” Ender advised.

  “Yeah, good idea.” Rydan and I helped Lómë move to a different spot into the tight clustered trees where none could find her easily.

  “Is she able to shift into an animal more customary to this realm?” I asked gently, wishing we could take her to some sort of animal healer here, if there were such a thing.

  “I wish, but she can’t. This is her true form, and it takes too much energy for her to shift into something else. I can feel she wants to, but she’s just too hurt.” Rydan continued to pet along the white fur of her head. “Hey, I’ll be back soon. Hang in there.”

  Calen stayed by Lómë’s side as Rydan and I returned to Ender, who had remained at the Ëlemmiire. “Rydan, you must proceed with extreme caution. Do not be foolish. Ohtar’s hunters are wise and skilled. If you do not come upon a clear opportunity to retrieve Nariella, do not force it. You will only pay with your life in the end. We can always wait until we meet up with Remycah once more—”

  “Alright, I got it. I’ll be careful.” Rydan interrupted what Ender had been suggesting. I could sense he did not care to involve Remycah in his affairs, despite knowing it would be for the better. I found it a bit strange, but I did not mention it.

  “Where should we go? What should we do?” I grasped my aching head, feeling though I could fall asleep at any moment. It was terribly difficult to keep awake.

  “Town isn’t far from here. Keep walking southwest until you come to a line of houses,” Rydan pointed in the direction we were to go, “just over those hills. Ask anyone you see for help. Ask them to take you to the doctor, or to the medical center outside of town. You’ll have to hitch a ride, because it’s like ten miles away. Are you good with that?”

  “Interact with humans?” I inquired skeptically. “What if they discover what we truly are? There must be another way.”

  “They won’t. No one will have any idea what you are, okay? They might find you a little weird, but no one will suspect you’re elves. The thought won’t even enter into their minds.” Rydan lifted the chain he had latched around his neck up over his head.

  “Will we not need some form of compensation to provide to any who assist us? Some form of payment or money?” Ender asked. “What if they do not help us without it?”

  “Then you go to my parents…or…whoever they are. The couple that raised me. They own an inn called O’Malley’s Bed and Breakfast, and their names are Anna and Darren. It’s a few blocks east down the main drag called Maine Street. It isn’t too far. Here, give my mom Anna this. Tell her I’m okay and that you’re close friends of mine. Tell her I’m begging her to help you with whatever it is you need. No matter if it’s money, a place to stay, food, anything and everything. She’ll know I sent you when you show her that.” He handed me the skeleton key he was given at birth and dropped it into my hand.

  “Rydan,” I forced myself to stand, though I was weak, and placed my hands on his shoulders, “are you certain you will be all right? What of Lómë? How are we to help her?”

  “Yes, I’ll be okay. I don’t know what you should do about Lómë or Calen. I’m going to hurry as fast as I can, but until then, there’s nowhere to take them. If anyone sees a tiger in these parts, they’ll seriously take her away, and I may never see her again. You have to keep her and Calen hidden from human eyes. You said something about elven medicine, right? Are you sure there’s nothing you can do?” Rydan switched his view back and forth between Ender and me.

  We hesitated. I could not bear to disappoint him; therefore Ender and I remained silent, unsure of how to respond. I was not skilled in elven medicine, nor was I an Animal Healer. I thought of my dear friend Falla and wished more than anything she were here to guide me. However, I could always give it a try on my own. If I could remember a few of her remedies, perhaps there would be a bit of good that I could do.

  I took Rydan by the shoulders once more until his e
yes were locked onto mine. “Leave her to me, Rydan. I will not fail you. I will ensure she lives until your return, and I will ease her pain. She will be comfortable whilst she waits for you, and if you do not come back before we are to reunite with Remycah in a fortnight, we shall find him ourselves without you. He will have the ability to heal her, and then we will find you, Rydan.”

  “I trust you,” he replied firmly. “Thank you. And thank you for understanding why I have to do this.”

  Softly, and with unbearable gentleness, he caressed my cheekbone with the back of his fingers. Slowly, he kissed the spot he had just touched, sending a shock of tingles to explode down my spine and into my toes. “I’ll be back.”

  Rydan gave a quick nod to Ender before advancing toward our beautiful Ëlemmiire. They said their good-byes, and before another word was uttered into the cold autumn evening, Rydan slipped through the gateway, leaving nothing behind in his wake but the breaking of my heart.

  The terrible fear of him being captured by Ohtar’s hunters could not be dismissed from my mind. He was literally walking straight into danger, and my soul simply could not bear the thought of it.

  “Naminé, come. We must build a fire and rest for the night. You are too weak to carry me through these unknown forests as you are, and I am afraid I would not be able to make it even a few feet without your support. We shall rest with Lómë and Calen.” Ender gathered a few fallen twigs near the place he had been lying and piled them together into his arms.

  I did as he asked and picked up as many dried sticks as I could. I knew he was right. Rest would be fully required before I could possibly be prepared to face human strangers. We took the twigs near the resting Fëa we had hid in the outlying forest.

  “Are you sure you can last the night?” I asked my friend once he lit the sticks ablaze.

  “I am much stronger than I look. It is best we wait until the new day. Come, let us rest our minds and bodies. We have much to face tomorrow and need all the strength we can conjure.”

  “Yes, sir.” I lowered myself onto the ground next to the warm fire with Lómë on one side and Calen on the other. Together, the four of us would endure our first night in the Earthly realm sharing any bit of warmth and strength we had. We would survive this. There was no doubt in my mind.

  Chapter Five

  ~Nari~

  Somehow, I was still alive. The realization that I had survived the night danced across my mind as I opened my eyes. The verdant forest looked different in the morning sunlight. At least, this particular spot did. It seemed to sparkle and glisten. I never would’ve imagined it like this from my impression last night, though it may have had something to do with my injuries and nightmare.

  I didn’t know why, but something told me the darkness in this forest was the reason for my haunted dreams. As if it made you face your worst nightmares about yourself. It was hard to believe, because during the daylight, it appeared to be beautiful without malice.

  Either way, I didn’t want to stay here another night to find out. My legs shook violently as I forced myself to stand on them. I had to keep moving, but it was getting harder to take a single step. It had to be some sort of miracle that I was still alive. A person wouldn’t normally last this long without food and water while sustaining this many bleeding wounds. The amount of blood I had to have lost by now must be deadly, and yet, I wasn’t dead.

  Huh. Strange.

  Not that I wasn’t grateful for it, because I most definitely was. Very grateful. I just didn’t understand it. It didn’t seem natural. Nonetheless, I put every ounce of strength I had left to keep my feet moving one after the other and did my best to ignore the pain. The gravity I was being drawn to, like a string wrapped around my heart valves, increased. I was getting closer to whatever it was that led me in its direction, and I refused to give up until I got to it. Curiosity more than anything fueled my desire to keep going.

  Concern and remorse spread through my heart. In my gut, I knew it was the right decision to follow the invisible force instead of trying to get back to the Ëlemmiire, and yes, I knew it had been my only chance of survival, but the guilt of not at least trying to go assist Rydan, plus heal my father, Naminé, Calen, and Lómë, nagged on my insides like a disease—just eating me up entirely. And yet, what could I have done differently? Despite knowing that, I couldn’t help worrying over them, it was almost overwhelming.

  Looking toward the grey sky, I could smell rain in the air. Warm wind stretched through the trees, breaking the silence as I continued on. Suddenly, a hot rain shower ruptured overhead, startling me. It trickled through the leaves of the trees in big, sopping drops. I had never experienced anything like it. The scalding hot water ran down my face like tears. Mycah popped into my head, remembering the way he would shield our bodies from getting wet.

  My feet sank in the mud, making it twice as hard to gain any distance. The water cascaded over my head, but I hardly noticed. All I saw was Mycah’s piercing, ocean-blue eyes gazing intently into mine. I could see so clearly their color, despite him not being in front of me. In slow-motion, he licked his lips before turning his mouth into a half-smirk.

  My imagination recalled every detail of his face, even down to his eyelashes that framed his exquisite eyes. I started to tremble from the way my soul mourned our separation. Thinking about him was painful when we weren’t together, and so I normally wouldn’t let myself do it. But I needed him right now more than I ever had before. If he were here, he would’ve healed all my injuries, taking away all my pain. Had he been with us when we went through the tree, I knew in my heart none of us would’ve died. We would’ve all made it out alive, because Mycah would ensure it to be so. Zaylie would still be alive.

  Oh, Zaylie.

  I swallowed hard. There was so much sadness; it choked me. I could hardly pick my foot up out of the mud and fell on my hands and knees. I bit the side of my wet wrist to keep from crying. It felt like the rain was seeping sorrow into my skin.

  My lungs heaved violently, and my eyes stung like a million tiny needles were crushing them. I couldn’t breathe; no matter how hard I tried, my lungs were locked the same way my throat was. There was so much emotion coursing through me right then, I thought any second I’d explode.

  I worked my mouth open and closed to try and release some of the tension, but nothing worked. Pain shot throughout every inch of me, whether it was from lack of oxygen or the force of pure emotion trying to break out, I didn’t know. I strained not to cry—Please don’t cry.

  Death was such a bittersweet concept. I once thought of it as being easier than life. Suffering couldn’t penetrate you if you were dead. But now that both my mothers were gone and Zaylie, the one person who looked past my awkwardness and saw me as a real person, was thrust into that darkness by the vileness known as Nikolai, I knew more than anything death could be nothing but bitter. Yes, life was harder, but that was what made it worth living. Worth fighting for. If life were easy, there wouldn’t need to be a fight against dying.

  A deep, haunting melody reverberated from some place unknown and into my heart, as if a lament for Zaylie. A vivid yellow flower caught my attention through the rain. I watched as a lick of pink spread through the petals right before my eyes. It reminded me so much of Zaylie. Bright. Golden. Pink. It was so her. A ray of sunshine broke from the clouds and illuminated the spraying rain. I closed my eyes and let the sound of the rich cello wash over me. It could’ve only been my imagination, but I used it to my advantage, whatever it was. I was more determined than ever to bring myself out of this sadness. I would not let death win. So there would be no shedding of tears.

  Time seemed to move way too slowly. I had to pull it together. Hope was not completely lost. There was yet a little somewhere inside of me, and I needed to be strong for everyone. No matter what happened, I would put everything I could into staying alive. Come what may, come what consequences, I would do it. Let this be my vow, that I, Nariella Ashwyn Woodlinn, would survive this wretchedness.


  Immediately, the rain stopped, as if I passed some kind of trial. The agony and despair retreated from my heart and mind like a vacuum the more the light of the sun increased through the trees. I shook my head at this insane realm. I didn’t understand a thing about it. It just kept getting crazier the longer I dwelled in it. The impulse to keep going and follow the invisible force that called me somewhere went off like an alarm in my gut.

  Quick to obey, I wrenched myself out of the sticky mud and willed my limbs to do what they were made to do—walk. I tried not to pay attention to the injury I had throbbing at my side, or the slits all across my skin that felt ten times worse than paper cuts, but it was difficult. The wind blew through my hair and licked the wounds like icy flames. My teeth clenched from the burning sensation it elicited, but I had to keep moving.

  There was a large, thick branch lying on the ground up ahead. Slowly, I bent down to grab it and decided to use it as a walking stick. I was certain any little thing would help by this point, and it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. I leaned on the branch like a crutch for balance, letting it support part of my weight. It didn’t help with my speed, but it did help my strength.

  Hours seemed to drag by slowly, but eventually I breached the edge of the forest. I inhaled the fresh, clean breeze that blew across my face. My dry mouth watered from its sweetness. There were a lot of scary things about Luïnil, but there was also so much beauty and magnificence.

  My stomach grumbled and ached, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten in a long time. It made me light-headed. I had no idea how I was going to find food or get water. I didn’t even know where the heck I was going. I forced my way up a large hill, hating every second of it. My legs burned, my injuries cried out to me, and all I wanted to do was growl and grumble louder than my stomach had done. I finally made it to the top and noticed a few tiny smoke stacks whirling toward the sky from a nearby town.

  The warm sun stirred my senses, welcoming me into its embrace. I reveled in its touch, letting it lighten my downtrodden spirits. Lifting my arms up into the air, I stretched, basking in the sparkling rays that slowly crept higher in the sky as I stepped closer to the ledge of the hill.