Ender glared at me like I was betraying him. “No.”
“Ender, please.” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and even though I knew no matter what I did, Mycah would probably be able to hear me anyway, I whispered into his ear, “If you want me to do as you asked, I need this. Just one last time.”
He sighed, but his body stayed rigid and tense. “Fine. But not long.”
“Thank you.” I kissed his cheek as a token of good faith. I understood what he wanted me to do, what I must to do, and I would be strong enough to do it.
Rydan looked at me purposefully, needing reassurance that I’d be okay alone with Mycah. I didn’t know if I would be, but I knew for both our sakes Mycah and I needed proper closure. We’d need to say good-bye.
I gave a tight smile and nodded for him to leave with Ender. And the two of them reluctantly left Mycah and me standing together in the forest, but it felt like there was an ocean between us. His eyes slid to mine like bright blue beams, and slowly, he took careful steps without removing his gaze. I shivered. Once he stood right before me, my heart stopped.
I inhaled him. Our skin grazed just above a touch, and every cell in my body burst into a frenetic buzz. My eyes closed as I licked my lips, but my fingers found the collar of his shirt with ease. I ripped the cotton material off his chest as if it were flimsier than a piece of tissue. I knew he could repair it later.
I glided my fingers along the length from his collarbone down to his perfect waist. His muscles flexed and shivered at my touch. I just needed to feel him one last time. “Mycah,” I breathed.
“Dammit,” he murmured painfully. “Don’t say my name. It only makes it even more unbearable to resist you when you say my name.”
A jump of lust caused a hitch in my breath, and I gritted my teeth to keep myself from saying it once more. Telling me that made me want to shout it. More than anything I wanted him to ignore my earlier protests, to give in to temptation, and take me as his, but I knew what we were doing was wrong. I couldn’t be so weak.
Our lips brushed softly—almost too lightly for a normal person to even feel. But we weren’t normal. And so I felt that lightest of caresses like a violent impact to my insides, shaking my bones.
“Listen to me, love. To outsiders, they believe we’re not meant to be because it isn’t easy. That if you’re meant to be then everything should just fall into place for you. But that isn’t true,” he spoke almost breathlessly, his accent racking my hold on sanity. “I know we’re meant to be because it’s so bloody difficult. After all that we’ve endured, you’re the one thing that has kept me sane but teetering on the edge of insanity at the same time. Because I go mad when I’m not with you, but it’s the very thought of your beautiful face that anchors me to this good earth below our feet and to the hope that I’ll get to see it again one day soon. That seeing you will make everything all right. And so when you’re not near I hold to that hope with all I have in me, and only that hope is what keeps me from falling into darkness.”
His fingers were on the sides of my head, thumbs resting at the corners of my lips where his were placed ever-so precariously as he continued, “You, Nariella, are my light. You’re the last note to my song. It will always be you. You are who I’m meant to be with. If we didn’t endure hardships to be together then we couldn’t be meant for each other. How else could we know it’s meant to be unless after walking through hell and back our love remains pure and strong? I care not of destiny or fate. I do not believe such a thing, because no matter what force may try and stop me, what may do its best to interfere, I will return to you. I will always come back to you, Nariella. Always.”
“No, you—you can’t say things like that. You can’t—” His lips were fully on mine then, cutting my opposition off mid-sentence. His fingers slid along my cheeks until they were tangled up in my hair. They glided downward through long strands before reclaiming their spot at the sides of my face. They stretched over the crown of my head, his thumbs left hugging tenderly to the space in front of my ears. My lips betrayed Ender’s wishes—my own wishes—clinging to Mycah’s as if thriving on his generous life-support.
Darn them.
I melted into him wholly and completely. I could think of nothing but his heart beating beneath my fingertips that were clasped around his wrists. The sweetness of his taste that enveloped my tongue; the still of his breath that he held in anticipation of my reaction to him.
And so I couldn’t help myself. I let go of my self-restraint and kissed him back with a heavy heart. A heart that was held down by the weight of the world, because this would be the last time that I ever kissed Mycah Nightly.
Chapter Fifteen
~Naminé~
The weary were recovering their strength with each passing hour. Mycah’s wounded chest was healing well, and his strength was almost fully restored. In only a day’s worth of mending, the atmosphere around us had improved substantially. The Hunter’s Moon had passed without Ohtar finding us, allowing the curse upon us to finally lift, which aided our quickening recovery. Cathar’s color was not as pale, and that gave me hope.
My mother tended to his wound religiously. We located healing herbs and plants from the forests we hid in and used them on my brother accompanied by our natural grace and magic. Already he had his eyes open and was returning to his usual spirit, though still bed-ridden. Oh, our mother would not let him up or out of her sight until she was wholly certain that he had completely recovered.
As for me, I felt better by leaps and bounds. Calen, too, was back to the skies, although only for short bursts of time. Nevertheless, it made me smile like a fool. I loved seeing her take to the wind and be free. I adored seeing her happy.
Lómë stretched her long body over the grass, her claws puncturing the soil with ease. Rydan lowered himself to the ground next to her and stretched as well while yawning.
Nariella came over and introduced us to those of her kingdom of Lassaira, whom had refused to leave, despite Ender asking them to. “Guys, this is my grandfather Döron, and everyone else that’s here with us is part of the elite guard of Lassaira.” She then gestured her arm wide as she said, “Everyone, this is Naminé, Cathar, Rydan, and Mycah.” She cleared her throat as if suddenly growing nervous by the end of her sentence.
“Your grandfather? How lovely to meet you. I heard about your storming the castle to rescue Nariella from imprisonment.” I gave a kind smile.
“Yes, and as it turned out, she did not need my help after all. For it was you and her Guardian who saved her, was it not?” He returned my smile. “I will be eternally grateful to you.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met,” Nariella said to my parents.
“Oh, do forgive me. Where are my manners? This is Roche, my father, and Deasar, my mother.” I added for everyone else’s benefit, “And Cathar is my brother.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Nariella said to my parents before turning back to the Lassaira guard and her grandfather. “And, okay, so you may or may not already know that Mycah, I mean Remycah, is the true heir to the throne of Aselaira, and this is his brother, Prince Rydan.”
Her lips curled into a smile that she seemed to fight against showing as she said the information about Rydan. She covered her mouth with her hand, as if to hide what lay behind it. But it didn’t work.
“Thank you for your help, and for all you have done. I appreciate it more than I can say. I vow to never become your enemy.” Remycah bowed his head.
“So it is you who are to take the throne then,” Döron said to him in return. “Are you truly not to follow in your father’s footsteps? Your Guardian tells us you plan to end the war between our two races, though I had been hesitant to believe it. And I am not entirely certain I approve of your involvement with my granddaughter.”
Ender spoke up, “They have rectified that, Lord Döron. They have put a stop to any continuing relationship and cut off their connection.” He eyed both Nariella and Remycah in such a ster
n way, even I almost flinched at it. I truly empathized with them, for I understood a bit about what they were going through, though not completely the same. It sprung to mind my own prohibited relationship with Rydan. No longer set to die, did this mean we had to undo the progress we had made? Ultimately tear down the beautiful connection that had intensified between us so easily?
I had been a fool to allow us to give in to temptation. For now I feared it would mean certain torment for our souls if we were to be forced apart. And I already knew we would be. It was only a matter of time. I would need to quickly apologize and take back all that had happened between us during our captivity.
Remycah’s voice broke me from my dark thoughts, “Ender, I can speak for myself. My father was noble. Yes, he had made mistakes, but I will learn from them. If I had been able to reclaim the throne, I would have followed the good he instilled in me and been a better king in the end. I would have absolutely ended the needless war between our kingdoms.”
“Why do you speak in the past tense, my son?” Ender inquired, a strong tone of fear exuding from him.
“You know why. Do you see me on that throne, Ender?” Remycah rebutted. “Do you truly believe a person, let alone an entire kingdom, would follow an exiled king? That does not happen. Even if we were to defeat Ohtar, they will not accept me. I’ve already told you to quit with this dream of yours.”
I noticed then that the mark of kingship bestowed upon Remycah’s neck was hardly visible. It appeared to be…disappearing? I did not understand. Was he giving up the throne? Giving up his right to rule? How could this be?
I opened my mouth to speak up but thought better of it. It was not my place to do so, for I was but a lowly servant that stood before her king. It mattered not that we had endured much together; respect and knowing my place would always be my first priority. I would not shame my family by presuming to be blunt in front of someone as important as King Remycah, whether he believed in himself to be king or not.
“Remycah, may I please have a word with you in private?” Ender’s voice was stern. Remycah let out a heavy sigh that seemed to drag with it his shoulders. He dropped his head and followed the High Royal Guardian to a more secluded place that be kept from our ears.
Nariella sat next to Cathar and kindly wiped the hair from his forehead. She asked, “Hey, how you doing? You’re looking a lot better.”
“I am, no thanks to you,” he quipped, and I held back a laugh.
Nariella let out a giggle of her own and dropped her head into her hand. “Right? I’m completely worthless now. Healing was the only thing I had going for me. But you’re not supposed to realize that, mister!”
“Do not be too hard on yourself, Nariella. You have already saved me from certain death once before. I believe you are off the hook this time.” Cathar patted her hand.
“Psh, yeah, thanks,” she seemed to mock as she rolled her eyes. “You know, I should get something out of all these near death experiences you endure.”
“Oh? And why is that?” he scoffed, raising his eyebrow.
“Because it’s not easy watching you get skewered all the time by some pointy object, or about to get your neck snapped by egotistical uncles! My heart can’t take it. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re threatening my life by constantly putting me at risk of a heart attack. So, really, it should be me hassling you about this whole thing.” She waved her hand at him, as if gesturing to his situation.
“You are positively ridiculous.” He laughed. “But I suppose you are right. How I manage to end up in the middle of so much danger on a frequent basis is truly something beyond my comprehension. I must work on that, I would say, and of course, avoid more in the future.”
“Good. I like the way you think.” She smiled at him and crossed her arms.
Rydan joined in the conversation then. “Wait, are you serious right now? You’re lecturing him about getting into hot water? Nari. Please. When is your life not being threatened by something? I swear, you were born in danger of being killed.” For some reason he ceased speaking and drew his hand to his face, as if he had said something foolish.
“Really, Ry?” Nariella laughed. “Because, yeah, I swear that too. Since that’s exactly what happened! And I know, I’ve totally got the curse worse than Cathar. I have no room to talk.”
“Yeah, I seriously didn't think about it until the sentence left my lips. You really are a disaster, you know that?” He smiled at her as he ran his hand over her head back and forth.
“At least we are cursed together,” Cathar added.
I was confused, however. “What are you two referring to, might I ask?”
“Oh, when Nariella was born, King Aglar of Lassaira secretly ordered her death. Yeah, because of the whole not-being-his-kid-thing and all that. It’s a long story with way too much drama to get into now.” Rydan shook his head, but sent another smirk Nariella’s way. My heart squeezed a bit, and I chastised myself for letting it. I understood their connection completely. He was her Guardian and she was his Óre’Dae. I only wished their intimacy didn’t bother me so. I hoped in time I would become used to it. What they had was special, certainly, and I did not want to be the one to break up their precious bond.
“Perhaps you can share the entire story with me one day, Nariella,” I said to her kindly. And I did mean it. She would have quite a large presence in Rydan’s life, and it appeared she even claimed a friendship with my brother. I did not know where I planned on going next, if I were to live in Lassaira or not, but if I did, then that would make her my queen. I suspected I would be seeing a lot more of her either way, and there was a part of me that desired to be friends.
“Yeah, of course. As long as I don’t bore you to death. Sometimes I go on and on like a crazy person. But if that happens, you can always just yell at me to shut up.” She laughed at herself, and I smiled along.
“You certainly would not bore me. You need not worry over that,” I explained.
“Hey, I wouldn’t be too sure. We are talking about Nari here,” Rydan said playfully. She smacked him over the shoulder with a huff.
“Ry, you are such a butt, you know that?” She turned to me. “But, yeah, it’s totally true.”
I laughed lightly and shook my head, not believing it for a second. I enjoyed hearing people’s tales, and never had I found myself bored by them. “We shall see then.”
My mother brought us over some berries the guards had found. I noticed then that Remycah watched Nariella’s every movement from afar. And Ender was watching his. The pain etched in Remycah’s expression hurt my heart. His eyes moved to the ground and he flexed his jaw muscles before finding his way back to staring at Nariella.
I went over to him then. Sitting beside him, I remained silent for a moment and let my presence settle in. I gave him the chance to speak first out of respect for who he was, for a servant did not address their king unless spoken to initially.
He ran a hand through his black hair, a gesture I had noticed Rydan perform quite frequently. They truly did look and behave as brothers. It was obvious, despite them living their lives separately. I marveled at this. It fascinated me to no end.
“She’s beautiful,” he finally articulated in a low, deep voice. He plucked a blade of grass and ripped it apart with his fingers before tossing it back onto the ground. The reverence he held for her was evident in his tone, and I found myself at a loss for words. For what possibly could one say to console a broken heart of this magnitude? His agony was blatant, though I was sure he probably made effort to conceal it. I knew all too well what an aching heart looked like, however. For I suffered from one as well.
“Yes, she certainly is,” I agreed, matching his volume. He kept his eyes on her reverentially. I did not know what else to say, but I felt I needed something more. “She seems to be a wonderful person. I do not doubt her stout heart.”
“Mm. She’ll be the death of me,” he stated matter-of-factly in that strange accent that did not quite match our world. H
e leaned backward and rested his relaxed body along the trunk of a large tree. “Nariella Ashwyn Woodlinn is going to be my undoing. And I can’t seem to want it any other way.”
I frowned, relating to him completely. For love was most certainly a treacherous thing. At times, it could be even more frightening and powerful than all the dark magic that ever existed in our realm. For those who fall victim to its seduction usually choose to “never have it any other way” and would gladly let it give them a drowning.
Our hearts could be quite treacherous, indeed.
Chapter Sixteen
~Nari~
We had to find Ohtar. That was our first and most important priority. Ender allowed me to stay knowing the Lassaira Guard wanted to aid in the mission as well and wouldn’t leave my side, and my grandfather was going to stick around for a few days while he recovered his strength. In other words, Ender was outnumbered. So I stayed.
The problem was, I couldn’t heal Mycah. No one here could. And if we were to have any hope of eliminating Ohtar’s sick, malicious existence off the face of this realm, then we needed Mycah at his full strength. And it wasn’t that he was hurt or lacked energy—it was that he didn’t have his powers back yet. Same with Rydan. He had been badly weakened by whatever it was they had pumped into their systems to keep their powers at bay.
And so we waited.
It was a new day—the day after a vicious battle. Aselaira was currently left without a king. I assumed Mycah and Rydan’s mother was in charge for now. Which was just one more thing that I was going to ensure didn’t last for long myself. Mycah was going to be on that throne soon enough.
But we had no idea where Ohtar hid. He was weak and cursed by the Hunter’s Moon, so I’d expect him to be hiding pretty good. Just to be sure, we had a few soldiers in the trees keeping watch over the castle in case he tried to return there, so we didn’t worry about that. I was at a loss for what to do next, however.
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