The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4

by Bailey Ardisone

  Despite Falla not having the ability to tell me exactly what to do next, I believed I could remember a few words she had spoken whilst healing the griffins during that night raid we had endured.

  Leaving the food for Lómë and Calen, I announced I would be back momentarily with a plan. First, I had to gather Ëlemmiire leaves. Taking off for the horses, I ran with all my might. The sight of a man had my chest tightening in a deadly force, and I quickly hid myself from view behind the side of the barn. It appeared he tended to the horses.

  This was silly. I did not need to hide. The O’Malleys themselves welcomed ender and me here. Perhaps I only had to ask to ride one of the horses and I would be allowed.

  I inhaled a deep breath for courage and walked right up to the man clothed in thick coverings. “Hello, sir.”

  “Good morning.” He tipped his head downward for a brief moment.

  “Might I trouble one of the horses for a quick ride? I will not be gone long. I am quite fond of riding and was raised well when it comes to horses. My father, too, tended to stables.” I tried my very best to give a good impression.

  “You must be…Naminé, is it? That’s a unique name.” He stared at me for a minute, and I nodded my head in affirmation. “Yes, Anna let me know they had visitors, in case I’d see you out and about. If you’re sure you’re comfortable riding, I think it’d be okay. Here, you can give Thunder a good work out. He’s young and needs it.”

  “Thank you, I would be pleased to.” I stepped over to the beautiful black horse.

  “I’m Michael Paul.” He then pointed behind to a woman who was just walking up. “That there is Cindy. She’ll help you if you need anything else.”

  I thanked the man again before climbing onto Thunder. We raced to the glorious Ëlemmiire with urgency. My first concern was bringing any sort of relief to Lómë. I feared she grew worse, not better. I did not loiter or even descend the horse once we arrived at the tree. I stayed on his back, and as we passed its hanging branches, I captured several of them to be used on both the Fëa and Ender. Perhaps he could use a bit of elven magic as well, in addition to what the humans had done.

  Not much later, I was back at Lómë’s side, and immediately I worked to mimic Falla. Crushing a couple leaves in between my palms, I rolled them onto Lómë’s wounds and chanted words of healing in my tongue of Elvish. She moaned and growled, but eventually, her breathing became more steady and her heartbeat strong. A tear rolled down my cheek and onto her fur. She would be all right. I felt deep within my heart that she would most certainly be all right.

  Chapter Eleven

  ~Nari~

  Mycah, my beautiful Mycah, stood several yards away, looking ravaged and raw. His black hair was stuck up in messy spots from under his dark hood, and his eyes burned blue right through the disoriented crowd. Was this a mirage? It couldn’t be real. He couldn’t really be here.

  Immediately, he pulled out his sword and began defending himself against the Tavas guard that flocked him. That was when I noticed Rydan, too, was there with him. I didn’t think my heart could take any more happiness.

  At the same time, I had reacted to this turn of events by standing up with the intention of running away, but I was taken by the arm abruptly.

  “You are not leaving, traitor,” the soldier promised harshly. He turned from me and signaled for more to assist him with my custody. “Here! We must remove her immediately. Take her to the prisons. Do not let her go.”

  I wrestled against their hold using all my strength, as they dragged me down the steps. No, they would not ruin this. They would not be taking me anywhere, not when Mycah and Rydan were so close. My veins throbbed from my pulse pounding brutally for so long. It was all too much.

  A stream of fire overhead had the guards ducking out of the way. Heavy gusts of wind and a roaring sound of a coal-furnace had me gazing upward into the sky. A large, black dragon soared through the pluming smoke that newly made its way into the air.

  It was Dúlin. Mycah’s Fëa.

  He reminded me of Lissë, trapped and rearing to break free. I had to get to her. The Wood Elves were not easily fought, however. The Maite’Ona, which were the special elves that had Fëa counterparts, had targeted the dragon with their stronger powers. They sent their eagles, hawks, and every other types of flying animals that lived in the kingdom after Dúlin. There were other elves without Fëa who could command the elements. They, too, sent wind and branches on a rampage toward Mycah, Rydan, and the dragon.

  There was so much commotion going on, I was able to wedge my arm out of the guard’s grasp. He was too distracted by the dragon coming back at his face to care. I sprinted toward the path I knew Lissë had been taken down yesterday when we had first arrived. Anxiousness buzzed in both our chests as I made my way to her as fast as I could, trying my best not to be seen or noticed by anyone.

  A stone pathway that sat nestled in between large trees led me to the stables, where I felt with certainty Lissë was being kept. I bent low to the ground, wishing I were invisible. Sneaking inside, I ran with speed right to her stall. She blew air out her nose and kicked her front hoof back and forth over the ground. Touching the locked door with my fingers, I was struck with horror—I had no idea what to do. How did I get her out?

  Turning in circles, I searched for keys or any sort of thing that would give her freedom. Once I spotted the large, iron ring of keys, I took no extra second to dwell on it. I was already racing for our lives in its direction. Snatching it without fully stopping, I looped back toward her cage and jammed the key into the lock of the door.

  Letting her out, I instantly hauled myself onto her back. She took us trotting through the stables and back out into the crowd. Mycah and Rydan were no longer where I had seen them before. Shoot. Where did they go? I looked around, trying to spot them once more.

  Suddenly, I was knocked off Lissë’s back with a heavy blow that stole my breath away as I fell hard to the ground. Lissë reared up in anger as hands took hold of my body roughly. I was again held hostage by several guards. As I worked to get my air back, I caught sight of an arrow being aimed at my Fëa, and just as I was about to yell in protest, the wooden dart was released into the air.

  There was no time for me to react, and I didn’t need to. Within half a second, the arrow was thrown off course and smashed to pieces mid-air. I turned to find Mycah with his arm outstretched in its direction. My shoulders sagged with relief.

  In one swift motion, he sent the elves that were guarding me flying backward. I couldn’t contain myself. I full out ran to him in seconds. Jumping in his arms, he caught me and held me tightly against his body, stroking the back of my hair. I nuzzled my face into his neck and cried. Cried from joy, cried from pain, cried from terror, I didn’t know which. Maybe all of the above.

  Kissing his neck over and over, I clung to the crown of his head, twisting my fingers through his hair. He was here. I couldn’t believe he was here. “Are you really here? Is this a dream?”

  “I’m really here,” his whispered voice tickled the tiny hairs that were now standing on end along my skin. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” The familiarity of his tenor stirred the shattered pieces of my soul, little by little. If possible, I trembled ten times more than I had been from the way something inside of me had craved his presence. I had been calling it my soul, but honestly, I didn’t know what it was. Something raw. Something feral. Something bigger and deeper than I was ready to comprehend. I shook my head no to answer his last question.

  But why was he here? He should be hidden deep within the realm, leagues away from any place Ohtar could find him. Climbing down from his body reluctantly, I let him sweetly kiss away the final tears that fell from my eyes. My entire body yearned to be wrapped up in his embrace for all eternity, as he protected me from what gruesomely waited only steps away. But we had to get the hell out of there.

  “Where’s Rydan?” I asked breathlessly as he pulled me along from behind. Lissë followed as we fought ou
r way through the onslaught of attacks. Mycah did all the work, of course, since I had no weapon or way of defending myself.

  “He’s close,” he answered. Easily, he switched between using his elven powers and his sword. No one could touch us as he sent elves soaring through the air, or blocked an oncoming assailment with his blade. The cacophony and uproar of people was deafening. Screams and chaos continued to ensue.

  My eyes searched for Rydan, but instead I found King Aglar and my grandparents fleeing up the opened staircases in a hurry with large groups of soldiers guarding them. I noticed, too, that Dúlin was no longer anywhere to be seen.

  “Come on, this way!” I heard Rydan’s voice then, and a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders once I spotted him across the other side of where we were. He waved us forward spastically, and we quickened our pace. Mycah delivered disabling blows to any who chased us, but he did not kill anyone. Despite them having every intention of murdering me only moments ago, I was grateful for it. This kingdom of elves might have disowned me as one of them, and in my mind, pride might have just wanted me to accept that as unchangeable, but deep in my heart I felt I was still one of them. They were still my kin, as much as it no longer appeared to be true.

  We ran through cramped foliage of ivy, vines, and branches with intertwined fingers, following Rydan. It seemed to be a back way of some sort. We ended up running into a monstrous wall blocking our exit, but Mycah blasted a hole right through it. We probably could’ve scaled it, but it was the only way Lissë could escape with us. The loud commotion quieted in the distance as we gained distance from the disrupted city.

  “Is Dúlin okay?” I inquired as we kept going, though there was no telling where we even were. More than that, I was worried for Mycah’s Fëa. Directions were never my strong suit, anyway.

  “He is. I had him leave before he did too much damage and before any of their Fëa were killed. He did what I needed him to do, and that was cause a distraction,” Mycah replied. It was a good idea, because it definitely worked.

  “Well, we may be on the complete opposite side of where we need to be, but at least we got away,” Rydan muttered as we continued running to safety.

  The instant we found a place of concealment and were out of harm’s way, I ran to him and hurled myself into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me tightly. I had been so distraught over leaving him in Kennebunkport with the Black Eagles, and then those Night Elves who went after them, but when I inhaled the smell of his skin, those worries evaporated.

  “How are Ender and Naminé? And Lómë and Calen?” I couldn’t stand not knowing a second longer. Lissë waited near us, swaying her tail.

  “Hurt. We need to get back there as quickly as we can,” he said into the top of my head. “But I couldn’t not come after you.”

  “I don’t know what to say. I’m so grateful. Thank you,” I said back, my voice getting muffled in his chest. “But I feel horrible you had to leave them for it. I agree; we need to hurry.”

  “First tell us what happened. Why was your head about to get chopped off?”

  I pulled away and immediately went to Mycah again before answering Rydan’s question. I had already thrown myself at Mycah while in the courtyard, but I desperately needed to feel his arms around my body any chance I could get. It ached to be separated from him, even if only a minute. Without hesitation, he embraced me like we hadn’t already done it not long ago.

  “The Tavas think of me as an abomination for being a mix. They don’t care that I have Tavas blood running in my veins, they can’t see past the Isil blood I have in me, too. They were going to execute me for it. I’ve been disowned by my people without them even knowing who I am,” I answered Rydan while in Mycah’s arms, speaking to them both. “You literally got to me in the nick of time. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you.”

  Rydan replied, “That’s just…sick. It was like a damn medieval movie back there.”

  I whispered into Mycah, “Thank you for coming for me.”

  “I told you before, I will always come for you. Even if it meant walking through the fires of Hell, I would give up Heaven for you,” his voice was just above a whisper, but the deepest parts of my soul could feel the emotion he slipped into the spaces of the consonants and syllables. The battering of my heart was kicked up a notch, and I struggled with a way to respond.

  “Sooo, yeah, uh, what’s this horse following us for?” Rydan asked suddenly, saving me from the embarrassment of trying to speak.

  “Horse?” Mycah lifted his head toward his brother. I was confused as well. What did he mean, “horse”?

  “Yeeaahh,” he stretched out the word with an obvious inflection, like he was restraining himself from saying “duh” after it, “the white mare standing right over there.” His tone remained snide, as if Mycah were silly for making him spell it out. Wait, could he not see that Lissë was a unicorn?

  “Look again, little brother.” Mycah jerked his chin in my Fëa’s direction. “She is no mare. Is that really what you see when you look upon her?”

  “What? Are you mental? I already said she’s a damn—” he stopped himself from finishing his sentence. He shook his head and pressed fingers into his eyes before looking at her again. “How the? She’s…a unicorn? Are you serious?”

  “Ry, she’s my Fëa,” I laughed. “Yes, she’s a unicorn. Her name is Erulissë Asëa.”

  “Huh?” Rydan shook his head some more, not knowing what I said or how to repeat it. Mycah chuckled at his newbie-elf brother as Rydan requested, “Say it again. That sounded insane.”

  I sounded it out for him, “Air-oo-lee-say ah-say-ah. We’ll just call her Lissë. Or Asëa. Whichever comes easiest, but so far I’ve just been calling her Lissë.”

  “How is this possible?” Rydan maneuvered himself to stand next to her, and I, too, joined him. “Weren’t you supposed to go on some journey to find her?”

  “I did, silly.” I shoved his shoulder playfully. “And a crazy one at that. I had forces messing with my mind, I tell you what. I didn’t like it. But it brought me to her, so I can’t complain.”

  “Oh. I can’t believe your Fëa is a freaking unicorn. How crazy is this?” Rydan chuckled lightly in disbelief, petting her back.

  Mycah joined us, reaching for her neck and stroking her gently. “She’s brilliant.”

  “Yeah, and guess what,” I voiced nonchalantly, but inside I was happy and at total peace. That hope I had kindled into a flame burned even brighter as I recalled it into my mind. I could hardly believe it was true, and at the same time, completely serene about it because it was.

  “What?” Rydan asked, taking the bait. I kept my focus glued to her striking, violet eyes that matched my own.

  “Lissë can bring Zaylie back,” I answered like it was no big deal, even though it was like…the biggest thing ever right then.

  “You’re joking,” Rydan argued, not believing me.

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Bloody hell.” Mycah wiped a hand over his face and then up through his hair.

  “I’m a Healer. And I don’t like death. My Fëa doesn’t either, and being the other half of my soul, that’s her gift—undoing death. She’s life. With her, I don’t have to be afraid of loss anymore.” My heart doubled in size, overjoyed and content unlike anything I had thought possible. “We’re death’s death.”

  “How’re we gonna bring a unicorn into Kennebunkport to revive Zaylie?” Rydan turned around, puzzled. “There’s no way. People will go spastic when they see her.”

  “Men will look upon her and see a white horse, nothing else. Only those that believe in unicorns with their whole heart can see what she truly is,” Mycah said. “But, perhaps Zaylie remains exactly where you said you left her. Lissë can go in and do what is needed, then return to Luïnil immediately afterwards.”

  “She doesn’t have to. Now that she and I are bonded, she’ll empower me no matter where I am.” I just knew that was true. I didn’t know how I knew, but I did
. She had been looking out for me since the first moment I stepped foot into Luïnil, and maybe even before that. But without actually finding each other, there had been only so much she could do, and only if I was in serious danger.

  “Wait, before we couldn’t even connect with Luïnil, remember? We had no abilities in the Earthly realm,” Rydan reminded me.

  “Oh, yeah. That’s true.” My shoulders sagged in defeat, my plan going bye-bye out the window. I knew Lissë didn’t belong in the Earthly realm. This was her home, and she wouldn’t be happy leaving it. But the simple idea that I could save Zaylie—that I could bring her to life again cemented itself deep in my heart. I couldn’t just let that go. It curled itself around the fibers of my sanity like a serpent, warm and slick, ready to devour any doubt that she could be saved. “But maybe it’ll work now that we’re bonded. I’m stronger with her than I was on my own. I might just be able to do it. I have to at least try.”

  Mycah explained, “You only need to train your abilities in the Earthly realm for them to be restored and strengthened. It is difficult to connect with Luïnil because our Ëlemmiire were crafted thousands of years ago from the purest source of grace our kind is capable of producing. They’re protected, enchanted, and injected with our realm’s lifeblood. The loss of connection you felt was solely the result of the powerful seal the Lassaira Ëlemmiire has on it.”

  “So, what are you saying?” My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, not able to fully grasp all that craziness he just informed us of.

  “I’m saying it is not a complete loss. Even if you find you can no longer connect with Luïnil at first, if you keep practicing and trying, you’ll have the ability to once again. You just need to exercise your power there,” he clarified for me, his British accent getting emphasized with the words.

  “Then it’s settled. We need to get back to Kennebunkport for not only Zaylie’s sake, but to heal Ender, Naminé, Calen, and Lómë.” I was more than ready to get going again. I seriously couldn’t wait to get out of this realm and take a nice, long, hot bubble bath. But then panic erupted in my gut at a sudden realization. “But wait. What about my grandparents? They were in cuffs. What if they’re set to be executed soon?”