The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4

by Bailey Ardisone

  With shaky fingers, I felt the left side of my neck for the evidence that I was indeed the new queen. It was strange to think I now had a similar tattoo to Mycah’s. Like him, I had the weight of an entire kingdom resting on my shoulders.

  Suddenly, I felt different about it. Happy, even. I wanted to take care of them and be what they needed me to be—a good queen. It pained me to think that they didn’t feel the same and were only going along with it because duty forced them to.

  “Hey, I get that you don’t want me ruling over you. I know you don’t like me. But I need you to know how sorry I am for everything that has happened. Please know I will do my best for you and this kingdom. I was scared at first, but I’m not going to let you down. And if you can look past my whole feeling-like-an-Isil-thing, I think we can use it to our advantage. I do have Tavas blood in me. That will never change. So let’s join together and restore Lassaira…restore Luïnil…to its full beauty. Let’s rid this realm of Ohtar’s disgusting curse!”

  A few crickets and a lot of grumbling followed what I had hoped to be a great little motivational speech. My heart continued to pound abnormally as I waited for their reaction. To my relief, they eventually all knelt before me and bowed their heads once more. With their right hands on their chest, they chanted a string of Elvish words, then quickly stood to attention, waiting for my first order.

  “Good,” I nodded my head enthusiastically as I smiled and psyched myself up. “Yeah, good, this is good. We can do this. Ender, where are we heading now? Whose lucky army do we get to check off our list next?”

  My grandmother spoke instead, “Nariella, come, we must coronate you before the entire kingdom so that they may know undoubtedly with whom their loyalties lie.” She gestured her arm outward in the direction of the castle, beseeching me to return there. However, I had other things on my mind—other places to be! I couldn’t just up and press pause on my mission.

  “But my loved ones…” I ran to my grandfather, grasping his arms tightly. “And all those Maite’Ona just waiting to be executed…we don’t have time for this! Don’t any of you understand? The ones we’re doing this for, the ones I’m fighting so hard to save will be killed in a week! We have other kingdoms to go to. We need a way bigger army than this! We don’t have time for formalities. Please, I beg you. Do something!”

  “What do you expect to happen, child? There are but a handful of the army present with you now. The rest are waiting back within the walls of the castle, waiting for their queen to be properly coronated. If you are to gain their support, you must go request it for yourself. Show them who their commander is.” Döron was the one to hold up his arm for me this time, pressing me to take it with one look in his eyes.

  Cílon and the rest of the guards present placed themselves on bended knee as he said, “With all due respect, My Queen, we must agree with Lord Döron. If you wish for the rest of your army, us included, to stand against Aselaira, you must officially take the crown. Only then will you truly be in command.”

  I turned to Ender, who nodded his sullen permission and seemed to agree we had to do this if we wanted the entire army. And that was the whole reason we came here in the first place.

  He said to Námoman who had been waiting on the sidelines, “I miscalculated the amount of time needed in Lassaira. Please, continue to Angador and explain our request.”

  The lofty elf nodded in agreement and immediately took off in the next kingdom’s direction. That made me feel a little better, knowing our mission wasn’t being put on hold completely.

  After directing Lissë to walk by my side with us, I sighed and took my grandfather’s arm begrudgingly. “Alright. I’ll do it.”

  Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck. This made the whole queen thing feel way too real. I worked to keep my breathing steady, but my gosh…I was only nineteen years old! I wasn’t ready for this! There had been no one around since my birth to prepare me for anything of this magnitude, like most royal heirs received. I wrung my hands and scrunched my nose, begging myself to calm down.

  The serene breeze that flew through the leaves helped, but barely. I lifted my face to the sun, craving for the rays to work their magic on my tired nerves like they used to do; yet, again, the sun felt different somehow.

  This time, I didn’t like it. I needed the land to comfort me, but it didn’t. I dropped my head onto my grandfather’s shoulder and closed my eyes, as the army marched in front and behind us ceremoniously with his wolf at his other side. My grandmother had stayed pretty quiet through this entire thing, but her warm presence could be felt undoubtedly in my soul. I let my grandparents’ comforting auras lead me back into Lassaira and did my best to let all of my troubles melt away.

  At least for the five minutes it took for us to arrive.

  We passed under the familiar, intricate archway, and it didn’t take long for us to have a crowd of eyes watching our every move like we were the most special things to ever appear before them. Whispering spread out among them like a ripple effect. Loud gasps and discreet finger-pointing at me increased with each step we took into the magnificent city—their astonishment over me walking side-by-side with Döron and their army consuming them. At least, I thought that was what it was. It, of course, made me extremely nervous, even more than I previously had been. I flexed my fingers back and forth over Lissë’s silky skin as she walked next to me. The pristine air that I drew into my lungs still did little to calm my nerves, but I wasn’t any less thankful for it. It was my favorite thing about Luïnil.

  The entire kingdom seemed to be outdoors. Singing could be heard in the distance. A sad, lament-type singing. A requiem, I presumed. A death song for their fallen king. Or maybe it was meant for their former queen Nariella, since they only recently learned the truth about her death. I really didn’t know when it came to this elfy stuff.

  As we drew deeper into the courtyard, we took to a set of stairs that led to a balcony overlooking the entire courtyard of the kingdom, leaving my majestic Fëa to wait for me at the bottom. I looked back at her longingly, wishing I could stay at her side.

  Once we reached the top, a collective and slow thunderous applause eventually roared to life, followed by a sea of prostrated citizens. I couldn’t help the tiny tears that wet my eyes, causing my vision of the giant crowd to blur together. It was true. They didn’t hate me anymore. I had thought I would never feel the approval of this land ever again. My grandparents wrapped their arms around me tightly, their own emotions spilling forth. I was willing to bet that during my entire nineteen years of life, they never could’ve imagined this moment happening, either.

  My father hugged me next and whispered in my ear how proud he was of me and that he knew my mother would have been, too. My heart soared toward the sky. Finally…my dreams had come true. I finally felt like I was part of a family.

  Chapter Eight

  ~Naminé~

  “Drat!” I exclaimed at myself.

  “What is it, Naminé? Are you all right?” my mother asked from beside me in her cell.

  “Yes, forgive me.” I sighed audibly. “I did not mean to frighten you. I have been trying to reach Nariella or Ender in secret with all my might, but nothing I do succeeds. I am afraid the lorda potion is much too potent.” Ohtar seemed to have given up trying to persuade me to help him. I feared the reason was that one of the other Maite’Ona had found Nariella or Ender, and I was desperate to warn them.

  “May I suggest trying to connect with someone a bit nearer to you? Someone you know to in fact be asleep? Perhaps then you will learn for certain whether you have the ability.”

  “Hmmm,” I thought about this. “You might have a point, Mother. I think I shall give that a try. If successful, I then could practice strengthening myself against the effects of the potion.”

  “Of course, that is what mothers are there for.” I heard the smile in her loving voice.

  “However, I do not know who is to be asleep at the moment.” I could not see anyone in the ce
lls nearby, for it was much too dark. “I will test several, if I am unable to reach the one I try first.”

  The image of Rydan filled my head and did not fail to create a jolt in my heart. I had not meant to think of him, but he was the one I desired to see most of all. I tapped my forehead with the pads of my fingertips out of frustration.

  I did not understand why I could not manage to detach myself from him. My first instinct was to connect with him immediately, and it was so utterly foolish that I wanted to grunt. But, I suddenly realized that if we were to die in a few short days, what harm would come from giving in to him now? There would be no reason to hold back any longer, for he was a prisoner set to be executed, just as I was. For once, we were on equal ground.

  The thought sent a nervous energy buzzing throughout my veins and curled my toes. I could not deny that my heart greatly desired the experience of Rydan’s arms wrapped around me with the feel of his lips upon mine once again.

  Why shouldn’t we indulge in one of life’s greatest pleasures before we were to die?

  And so with that, trembling nervously, I decided to reach out to Rydan in a dream.

  The vision I created for us was simple—the quiet forest that sat next to the spring we had bathed in, sharing our first kiss. Perhaps it was too forward; I doubted my decision and quickly wove a new setting. I chose our usual spot this time—the outlook deep in the Tiuka Forest I had always loved as a child. It was now my most treasured for a different reason, being that it was where Rydan and I had spent the majority of our time together.

  The moment I reached out to his mind, we connected instantly. I did not struggle the same way I had so unbearably with Nariella and Ender. Strange, I thought, as I realized that was how it had always been between Rydan and me. Never had there been a time when our minds did not at least connect, even if we were unable to speak during the dream. It was as if his mind was always there waiting for mine. I knew that to be ridiculous, and yet the thought alone made me blush.

  Then I saw him in between the trees of the grand forest, and my heart leapt over and over. Even within the confines of the dream, my cheeks were heated further. I could not contain myself, and I shook my head with my eyes closed tightly. What was the matter with me? I behaved like a fool.

  His silver eyes captured mine so deeply from his place across the expanse of the space between us that I had a terrible time breathing properly. Oh, dear stars, something in me had changed. Not but minutes ago had I decided to test the waters of our relationship and already I was an irreparable mess.

  “Naminé?” he said my name in reverence but also a hint of curiosity, but it mattered not in what tone, for only the fact of him speaking my name at all did untold things to my insides.

  “Yes?” I hardly heard myself say the word, but I knew it had to have come from me, for I was the only other one present.

  “Everything okay?” his brow furrowed in confusion, and I blushed even deeper.

  “Yes, yes. I…I only wished to test my ability,” I could not help stammering. I straightened myself up and did my best to speak stronger. “I have made numerous attempts to reach Nariella and Ender to no avail. I believed it best I try connecting with someone closer to me and known to be asleep. Is that all right?”

  “It’s fine.” He then appeared to be even more puzzled, and this struck me as odd. He continued, “But, I’m not actually asleep.”

  “Oh?” My heart shimmied unforgivably. “You…are not? Asleep?”

  “No.” He shook his head, and the gesture caused his dark hair to dance about. “I’m wide awake. And yet…we’re speaking to each other. When I close my eyes I can see all this,” he spread his arms wide, “but I’m still aware that I’m awake.”

  “I do not understand what this is to mean. I don’t believe it has ever happened before. At the very least, not with me.” I contemplated the reason for the sudden shift in my ability. Or could it possibly be something that I was only able to do with Rydan? “I suppose we did do something a bit similar…in the water that day.”

  I cleared my throat and cringed at the way I felt my skin light on fire. It was terrible of me to want this elda as much as I did. I wanted him so much that I ached inside for him.

  “That was different though, wasn’t it? I mean, that time we were touching…and I was choosing to share images with you. I don’t know. But this, this is still your dream-weaving work. Right?”

  “Mm, yes. I do believe you have a point, Rydan.” I could not look at him for fear I would give myself away. The truth was that I began to suspect the cause of our increased connection. There could only be one explanation, due to the fact I had never experienced anything of this sort with anyone other than Rydan. “I would not concern ourselves with it. If I am able to strengthen my mind as a result, then I would call it a success nevertheless. And that was the point, after all. If I am to reach Nariella or Ender in secret to inquire if they have some sort of plan, then I must be stronger.”

  Oh, save me from myself, dear stars.

  I could not admit to him what I had begun to believe, nor the fact that secretly, the true reason behind my summoning him was simply that I had missed him so. For how did one come out and say that the reason for the phenomenon was as simple as…love?

  Yes, for our kind truly loved only once in their lifetime, and upon doing so, their souls would begin to bond together, resulting in unpredictable abilities. For Remycah and Nariella, the ability to distinctly feel one another despite a great distance between them was one example. Though, I would not doubt they had additional reactions to their intertwining souls.

  “Hey,” he murmured softly as he placed his fingers along my cheek. “What’s wrong?”

  My eyes found his, and I stopped breathing. “Forgive me, I do not mean to behave so strangely. Perhaps it is the lack of proper food that is getting to me.”

  I held the back of my hand to my feverish forehead, though I already knew the real reason for my heightened heat. The drifting of his fingertips down to my neck did all sorts of things to my mind and soul. And it certainly did not help matters in the way of my inflamed skin.

  “Here, let’s sit down.” He pulled my hand along with him as he took a place on the grass. He kept our fingers together and made slow circles into my palm with his thumb. That gesture alone had my stomach doing flips.

  “That is quite better,” I lied. In actuality, it made everything worse. But in the best sort of way possible.

  “Good.” He grinned, and I felt my toes tingle with delight. He bedazzled me—in mind, body, and soul.

  “Rydan, if there was anywhere else you would like to be in this moment, where would you choose? Will you show it to me?” I inquired, an idea forming suddenly.

  “Hmm.” He played with his bottom lip in thought. “Initially I would have chosen the Weeping Willow back in Kennebunkport. Nari and I spent a lot of time there. It was like our place of escape. But I think right now I would pick something new that I could experience with you.”

  “And where would that be?” I spoke softly as I lightly swept my fingers at his hairline, feeling brave for reclaiming my courage to touch him freely. His eyes affixed to mine instantly, as if I had surprised him and he now had trouble speaking. “Hmm?”

  “Uh,” he continued to stare at me, “the beach, with our toes buried in the sand, overlooking the crashing Atlantic. It’d be a warm sunny day, but not too warm—the air would be just right, with the gentle breeze that’d carry the smell of saltwater with it. We could build a sandcastle. Maybe a replica of the one we’re in now.” He laughed, and I rejoiced in the sound of it.

  “I believe I can manage that.” I laughed with him. “Share the image with me and I shall create it for us.”

  After he did, I immediately sewed together the fibers of a false reality that only the two of us would have access to, but no less real. The seashell-filled sand replaced the grass we had been sitting in, and the trees washed away into a blue horizon that stretched as far as the e
ye could see. Blue skies were overhead, and giant waves rolled in like thunder alongside us.

  “Wow,” he breathed, soaking the beautiful sight in.

  As I gazed upon him, I could not agree more.

  I lay completely on my back, digging comfortably into the warm sand and stared into the blue beyond. Without warning, Rydan was suddenly hovering over me with a look in his eyes I had not seen before.

  A look that had me aching so deeply, I thought I could not bear it for another second. He rested on his elbow, his face only inches from mine as he licked his lips. His fingers found my chin and he caressed it sweetly, his hand making its way to the place behind my ear. His fingers became tangled in my hair, and I found myself altogether bewitched by him, as if under some sort of spell.

  “Naminé?” he uttered painstakingly soft, as if my name was sacred to him. But what set me alight was the way in which he inflexed his tone, leading me to believe he asked me a question. Or perhaps permission. I did not know for certain.

  As he leaned in closer, he hesitated only for a moment, his eyes enchanting me in such an alluring way that I found myself drifting upward to meet him. My heart had to have been at risk of bursting right inside my chest cavity at his touch, but I did not care. I would gladly accept death if it to be from this.

  Gently he connected his lips to mine, but not without my detecting a fierce hunger that was carefully controlled behind his movements. He slowly, but deeply, kissed me, his mouth overtaking mine in a delicious rapture. My heart was done for. It bloomed with a blazing inferno that only Rydan had the power to stoke. And one thing was for certain.

  I had to have more.

  Chapter Nine