The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4

by Bailey Ardisone

  Soldiers from Lassaira had done the same thing to the other posts. Everyone collapsed to the ground with their hands and ankles still bound. I had no time for tears or even relief. Was Mycah dead? I didn’t know. We still had to escape this nightmare, and fear had yet to release its hold from my heart and lungs.

  A mass of soldiers rushed to take down Ender, but I understood then that he was in his ultimate Guardian mode. Ohtar roared in outrage, charging him with fury. They engaged in a fistfight, and the last thing I saw was Ender hurling Ohtar over his back. My attention on them was torn away, my focus switching to my own survival as I carved my path over there to help with Mycah and Rydan. I prayed Ender could handle Ohtar, but I wasn’t able to see it for myself. In that moment, all I wanted—all I needed—was to touch Mycah and Rydan to verify that they were alive and safe. I needed to get over there.

  Soldiers on our side had started filling in the square we were contained in and helped relieve some of the body count that thwarted my route. As I drew closer, I noticed a large multitude of regular citizens being protected behind a massive wall of an Isil squad. They were yelling and protesting against Ender saving Mycah and Rydan as he cut their shackles and removed the bags over their heads.

  As Ender loaded an unconscious Mycah onto his horse, they began throwing food and screaming for him to be executed for treason. “Nariella, assist Rydan! We must fall back! Remycah has been exiled unless we can defeat Ohtar here and now. But I must get him to safety first—he is most vulnerable before the Hunter’s Moon sets.”

  “Where is he? Where’s Ohtar?” I hollered back over the deafening noise and hoped he heard me. Wasn’t he just fighting him?

  “Ohtar has fled!” a guard from Lassaira shouted from across the way. “He had strong warriors protecting him. He ran from Ender once badly wounded, and we could not stop him. There were too many in our way.”

  “He will come after Remycah once our numbers lessen and he has tended to his wounds. Ohtar knows he must kill Remycah before the moon sets, otherwise the curse will befall him.” Ender closed his eyes briefly with an expression of bitter regret as he continued to protect Mycah from those wanting him dead. They weren’t going to give up, and my heart felt truly sick. He spat with anger, “I had expected him to fight, not run like a coward.”

  “We must retreat! If Ohtar has fled, then there is surely no point in harming the innocent people here. We must end this ruthless battle!” Döron said from behind me. I exhaled, relieved that he was near and alive.

  “Fine, let’s get out of here,” I agreed. “Help me get everyone up. These guys are coming with us.”

  Rydan, Naminé, Cathar, and a male and female I didn’t recognize were all tied up and lying motionless on a stage that was similar to the one I had been ordered to be executed on. Before Ender had knocked them down, beams had stood high with ropes hanging from them, nooses tied perfectly on the ends and wrapped around their necks. I shivered at the thought.

  Calen and Lómë were also shackled in a horrible way. Lómë’s fur was mangy and dark, not to mention soaked from the rain. Poor Calen was in a similar condition as she cowered in a corner of the cage she was kept in. My heart clenched at the sight of them all. Rydan was bruised and bleeding, his head hung to his chest. His skin was dirty and stark white compared to his usual healthy color. I felt sick to my stomach.

  “Ender, hurry,” I choked out and leapt off Lissë the second I reached them. He nodded and took off running with Mycah lain over his horse. To everyone else on our side, I ordered, “Untie the rest of the Maite’Ona lying here and ensure their safety. I don’t know if they want to be saved or not. I don’t even know if they are friend or foe. Be careful. Let them be if they don’t go willingly.”

  The way I had seen all the Fëa in this kingdom fighting our own had me questioning my intent to rescue them. Something about it wasn’t right. My soldiers agreed, and I immediately let my focus on Rydan consume me after I cut his noose off. I stroked his sullen cheek and fought against the tear that splashed down to it. I wiped it away and prayed I could heal him…but I knew I couldn’t. I tried nevertheless.

  A flood of night elves surged toward us from the citadel. Döron blew into a horn, giving the signal that requested back-up. Those on our side answered our call, and they, too, rushed in from the other side to meet our enemies in the middle.

  He gave a command in Elvish to a group of our allies. I assumed it was an order to hunt down Ohtar, or protect us as we retreated, or maybe it was just that—to retreat. I didn’t know. I was stricken with pain over the inability to heal my best friend, just like my grandmother had warned me about. But I did not regret bringing my grandfather back to life.

  This just meant I had to work even harder to get Rydan out of there so that he could heal the old-fashioned way, and the only thing I had left to do was take care of the soldiers standing in my path of escape. I sliced my sword hard and fast at my opponent, wading through several of them as quickly as I could. My determination to get out of there was stronger than ever.

  “Look out!” Rydan’s frightened voice warned, and I ducked without even thinking. A blade swept over the top of my head, just missing me. I whirled around and slammed the heel of my weapon into the Isil’s head, then kicked him as hard as I could in the chest. He stumbled backward, but was quick to recover. He wielded his sword with beautiful precision and grace that I had a difficult time keeping up with him.

  But I had an overwhelming amount of love on my side, fueling my drive and strength. With a loud grunt, I pulled the stone under his feet right out of its mortar with my mind. As he fell, I lurched over to his body and plunged my blade into his heart.

  “You’re okay?” I turned back to the now-conscious Rydan and about lost it when I saw the extent of his wounds. But I didn’t. I stayed strong.

  “Yeah,” was all he said as he helped Naminé and everyone else get free while I continued to defend them.

  We had no time to embrace or even greet each other. Once loose, Cathar immediately got to work by picking up a fallen sword and took care of a soldier who had attacked from the corner. I was seriously impressed.

  Naminé huddled the two strangers close to her as she made her way over to Calen. It hit me then that I had seen that male elf before. He had been asking a guard about his daughter the first time I had been in this castle. I realized those two must be Naminé’s parents.

  “Where’s Ohtar?” Rydan asked, his voice raw and ravaged. He sounded exhausted. I defended him from attackers while he tended to Lómë.

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “We either find him or get out of here.”

  “Heal me so I can help. I hate being useless,” he grunted. I lurched forward at his words and remained silent, hating the feeling of disappointing him. He grabbed my hands once he saw the terror on my face. “What is it?”

  “I…I can’t heal anymore,” I replied. I had hoped my grandparents had been wrong, and that maybe my darkened eyes were only a fluke. I didn’t want to believe that I truly couldn’t perform the gift I had been given anymore. But it was true. They were right. And I had to accept that.

  “My Queen!” a voice called from afar. I recognized him from the Lassaira army.

  “Did he just call you queen?” Rydan asked in disbelief.

  “Maybe. I might be Queen of Lassaira now.” I waved it off as I jammed my blade into another enemy. “I’ll explain later.”

  The guy I fought bellowed, “You will never leave this castle alive!”

  Without a verbal response, I sent a blast of tearing wind into his chest, and he went sailing into several others who had advanced near us.

  A soldier from Lassaira reached us and told us things we knew already, “Ohtar has fled. None have found him. Reports are that he was seen fleeing not too long ago.”

  “Yes, I know. We need to retreat. Tell everyone you know to retreat back to Lassaira,” I commanded.

  “What are you doing? We have to go after Ohtar,” Rydan anno
unced. He started walking as if he were going right then and there.

  Cathar cut him off by holding out his arm in front of him. “We will. But not before you recover your strength. You will never defeat him in your condition.”

  “He’s right, Ry. You don’t even have your powers, do you?” I agreed with Cathar.

  “No, none of us do,” Rydan muttered.

  Döron yelled from afar, “Nariella! We must escape!”

  I signaled that I understood as my guards and I helped Cathar, Naminé, their parents, Rydan, Lómë, and Calen get the hell away from this place.

  We continued to run, fighting those who stood in our way and ordering a retreat to all our allies. Ohtar wasn’t here—and we sure as heck weren’t going to kill an entire kingdom of innocent people. As Döron said, the battle was now pointless.

  Once we descended the mountainside, I wrapped my arms around Rydan as we continued running. I was so overcome with gratefulness that we at least made it out with our lives. Ohtar wasn’t going to live long. But the good thing was that Rydan and Mycah were. And, honestly, that was the entire reason I had set out to start this war in the first place—To rescue Rydan, Mycah, Naminé, and Cathar from execution.

  It didn’t matter that Ohtar was on the loose. I did what I had set out to accomplish. And I couldn’t be happier as I squeezed Rydan as close to me as possible. I kissed his cheek and refused to let go of him until we were in a safe location.

  I exhaled another sigh of relief once I saw Ender and Mycah had made it out alive as well. He was with the Lassaira guard, and we were quick to follow them. Except I wasn’t sure where we were headed. “Ender, where are we going?”

  “We must take cover and hide until Remycah and Rydan have regained their strength and powers, for Ohtar will be searching for them until the moon sets at sunrise. Then we will hunt Ohtar. He will be weakened and most afraid, for the tables will be reversed. We shall make camp in the woods nearby.” Ender continued to help Mycah stay steady on the horse. It killed me that he was still unconscious.

  Without slowing down, I asked my guard and grandfather, “You don’t need to retreat back with the rest of the army to Lassaira?”

  “Our mission is to defeat Ohtar. We have yet to do so. We shall accompany you until he exists no more,” Cílon explained.

  “Thank you,” I answered. “And we will. We’re going to hunt that monster for as long as it takes.”

  Chapter Twelve

  ~Naminé~

  My feet were as blocks of stone as we escaped Castle Edhel-N’dor. Refusing to cooperate, they tripped me up continuously. My frailty that slowed my movements down considerably exacerbated the difficulty I had carrying Calen. She could not fly, nor would she be of any use on foot, and so I did my best to run while holding her and supporting my mother. Cathar helped my father on the other side of her, and together, the five of us followed the others with haste.

  Ender provided aid and support to Remycah, who was in poor condition, and Nariella assisted Rydan. They were arguing like children over Rydan riding Lissë, for Nariella wanted him to and did not understand why he refused. The reason he had given was that he was not going to be the only one out of the rest of us to ride the back of a unicorn, though he used many more colorful words to convey his opinion on the matter. In short, he did not want to be thought of as weak, or treated like a girl in distress that was rescued by the one he himself was supposed to protect.

  Cathar chuckled from his place on the other side of my father, but then a whizzing arrow came from nowhere and stuck into the ground right in front of us. We halted in our retreat to discover a battalion of Ohtar’s Legion heading for us with speed that would easily overtake ours.

  “Rydan!” I called for his attention, interrupting his bickering with Nariella. He immediately swung his gaze to mine, and I pointed to the reason for my distress. Nariella gasped and took hold of his shoulder. She belted out orders to the soldiers of Lassaira, and they were fast to protect us.

  We were forced to intensify the speed of our footfalls, and doing so sent a jolt of pain to my spine and head. I was much too weakened by both the lorda potion and the Hunter's Moon to manage much else other than a limp. In this moment, I wanted nothing more than to drop onto a lovely feathered bed and sleep for all eternity.

  Ender announced in a quiet voice, “We must make for the cover of the forest without letup if we are to stand a chance. Do not slow even for a moment.”

  A stray arrow flew into Cathar’s back, and our mother let out a cry of pain, as if she herself were the one pierced. She took hold of him and cradled his fallen body in her bosom, the tears dropping freely onto his head. “No,” she cried, her face pointing upward at my father, just pleading for him to do anything to take away her pain and save their child. I landed on my knees next to him and placed my hands around his face. Pale and clammy, he locked eyes with mine, but I did not see fear there.

  “Get up,” I ordered him. My voice was firm, but I did not falter in showing my love for him otherwise. He would not die here. Not today. Not ever. Especially not cradled in our mother’s arms in the wake of escaping execution. Not like this. I didn’t believe she would ever be the same again. Nariella and those strongest did their best to eliminate the threat of the filthy creatures before reaching us. My father pulled out the arrow and winced as he did, for there was so much blood. I tried to support his weight into a standing position. We had to remove ourselves from this location and find cover. I said again, “Cathar, get up!”

  Rydan was there next to me not a moment later, and he also did what he could to help lift up my brother. “Come on, bro. Don’t give up. Don’t let them take you here.”

  Cathar’s eyes were on his, and with a determined grunt, he maneuvered into a sitting position. Nariella was at our side and breathing heavily from exertion, but my attention did not leave my injured brother even for a second.

  She placed her hands around his wound and closed her eyes with deep concentration furrowing her brow. The group of us waited with bated breath. I realized my mother and father were confused, and so I quickly explained she was a Healer. However, she was unable to heal Rydan earlier at the shaming posts, and I did not understand why. I feared breaking her concentration, so I kept silent while she worked.

  The sickening sounds of battle circled us and continued as we tried to save my brother. The repugnant smell that accompanied the deaths of the monsters made me gag. I had to take in air through my mouth in order to tolerate remaining in this spot.

  Nariella suddenly exclaimed, “I can’t! I can’t do it. I really have lost my gift. I’m so sorry.” Regret and sadness welled in her misty eyes as she looked from Cathar to me and back to Cathar.

  Rydan pulled Cathar up to his feet without another word said and supported his weight entirely. I assisted as much as I could, as did my parents, and we continued to flee toward the forest. Lómë dragged her paws over the grass as she followed; her strength not returned enough to shift into something smaller. Ender and Remycah had resumed their trek, allowing the allied soldiers to take care of the enemies.

  Suddenly, Nariella’s Fëa Lissë strode up to Rydan and nuzzled her nose into Cathar’s chest. We helped him mount her back and then held him there so that he would not fall, for he could not hold onto her himself. Deep crimson of Cathar’s blood stained her milk-white hide, and I cringed.

  Nariella and the small contingent from the army of Lassaira resumed their task of protecting us while we ran. I was unable to watch, for they were left behind me and I dared not look back. Not even to say good-bye to the castle I grew up in.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ~Nari~

  Playing catch up, I flew through the dense trees and foliage, the crisp air twisting itself between strands of hair and along my cheekbones, until I took in what I so desperately needed to see. Ender’s voice carried through the wind, “I do not believe we are being followed. We can rest here.” I slowed then as I made my way over.

  Thoug
h he was still unconscious, just the sight of Mycah had me choking on unshed tears of grief, joy, and relief. His already-midnight hair appeared darker than I had ever seen it as it fell limp down his temple. My eyes roamed over his body, touching on the blackish-bluish bruising around his neck from the noose and his bloodstained fingers, then the grimy, battered clothes that were beyond washing. Then I got stuck on the bleeding wound he had in his chest, and the memory of Ohtar stabbing him there replayed over and over in my head.

  I was desperate to heal him. It hurt the deepest parts of me—down to my marrow—that I couldn’t. I said a silent prayer of thanks that his neck didn’t snap from the noose—that none of theirs did. I knew elves were more…sturdy…than humans, but what if the instant Ohtar had made that order, they—no, I stopped myself from going there. Although they suffered, they were still alive. It was pointless dwelling on what could have happened.

  My feet quickened, and the second I was about to lay my hands over Mycah’s chest, they were intercepted by someone else’s. I looked up to find Ender, who had his fingers grasped tightly around mine with an expression of pure determination etched into his face. My heart dropped into my wrenching stomach like a stone. I knew instantly what this was all about.

  “I do not want to hurt you, Nariella. It is the worst kind of torture for a father to see his daughter in pain. I need you to know that above all else. Yet, I am not only a father, but also a Guardian. A Royal Guardian, my child. And I cannot allow you near Remycah.” The remorse was evident in his eyes, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

  “I just want to make sure he’s okay.” Tears threatened to break free but I held them back.

  “I understand whole-heartedly, my dear, I do. But he can no longer be of your concern.” He softly cupped my face. “Don’t you now see? I had believed that you understood—that you had learnt for yourself what I tried to warn you of…have you not? What I tried to protect you from? This rescue does not change that.”