by JK Ensley
Jezreel didn’t respond. She just stared at him. He matched her gaze and held it. Finally, she stood, making her way to the readied cauldron. As she passed by him, she gently used one finger, casually brushing his long hair back, tucking it behind his pointed ear.
He stiffened. His breath hitched.
Her nose barely touched the exposed tip when she whispered there, “Your appearance is anything but torturous, Kias. Now, tell me. Just why would an Elf wish to sing to me?”
A delicious tingle ran through him. He shuddered. His knuckles grew ever whiter with his tightening grasp on the table’s edge.
“Perhaps you wished only to gawk at the scarred, beaten victim of demon rape. I hope I didn’t disappoint you, kind Elf. Tell me. Am I all you expected? Does my feeble heart live up to your noble expectations? Go. Run back to Mangladune. Tell the blessed ones of all you beheld here. Have a good laugh on me, Elf.” Her warm breath tickled his ear as she turned from him and began adding the necessary ingredients to the boiling water.
Satisfied he would leave since she’d discovered his secret so easily, Jezreel lulled her mind back to a peaceful place. The scent of steeping rose petals whisked her back to a fairer time, a time where she could still hear Jenevier’s giddy laughter and Marlise’s tender voice. A smile, a real smile, crossed her lips for the first time in ages. She closed her eyes and swayed as her gentle hums warmed the lonely, quiet house.
She felt his light touch upon the top of her head an instant before his melodic voice wove through her essence, tingling across her skin. Jezreel felt the ancient spell enveloping her every cell. She welcomed it greedily, nursed its comfort.
“Ahh, it feels like being kissed by thousands of butterflies.” Tiny, happy tears slipped from the corners of her closed eyelids, a childlike gasp escaping her lips.
Kias touched her shoulder and the incredible sensation washed over her anew. Never did his song falter. It was constant and beautiful and blessedly healing. He gently pulled her back against him. Everywhere her body touched his, magic pulsed between them. Her breath caught in her throat, yet his song did not change.
Jezreel relaxed, let the magic and the melody course through her unabated. She melted into him like a favorite cuddly blanket. She had never known such peace, even as a child. She had never experienced such enticing passions, even as a young woman. And never had she known utter happiness until this very moment in time.
She let herself go. For probably the first time in her life, Jezreel relinquished all control. So enraptured was she in this feeling she didn’t realize his song had stopped… until she felt his warm lips brush her ear as he whispered to her.
“I wish to sing to you every day, mi Sharna. Will you allow me this honor?”
“Yes.” Her voice cracked from her labored breathing. “That felt incredible, Kias. Your lullaby touched every part of me. Especially when I leaned upon you, I could scarce hold myself there. The feeling was so intense.”
He rested his chin down on her shoulder and wrapped his arms about her waist. When her racing heart slowed back to normal and she regained some of her control, Jezreel placed her trembling hands over his at her stomach. There they stood, quietly, gently swaying, basking in the calming comfort of their tender embrace.
“Gratitude, Kias,” she whispered.
“The pleasure was all mine, Sharna.”
A smile spread across Jezreel’s face, she giggled. “Oh, I highly doubt that.”
He nuzzled her ear. “Did I pleasure you as well, mi Sharna?”
She blushed. “Very much so, Kias.”
“May I pleasure you again?”
“Perhaps, sometime.” She squeezed his hands. “Not this night, Kias. My heart would burst if you sang a single note more.”
“As you wish, mi Sharna.” He squeezed her tighter. “Anything you wish.”
“Why do you call me that? What does it mean?”
“Mi Sharna.” He kissed her at the tender place where her shoulder and neck meet. “Means, my Princess.”
A single tear ran down her cheek. Kias caught it with the tip of his tongue.
“Will you allow me to help you with the rosewater? I used to help my sister all the time. She uses rose petals as well. But her favorite is lilies.” His black eyes seemed to sparkle. “Can I show you how we glean the essence from the lily yet leave its beauty upon the stem?” He intertwined his fingers with hers as he spoke.
“I would like that very much, Kias.” She paused. “How… How do you say Prince?”
Kias stiffened with her words. His heartbeat raced and his eyelids fluttered. He pressed her ever closer. “Shafeal,” he whispered.
She tried to mimic the word to match his fluid accent. “Shah-fi-EEL.”
Kias smiled.
She turned her head slightly and looked into his black eyes. “Mi Shafeal.”
Jezreel thrilled at his sudden sharp intake of breath.
“Say it again.”
“Mi Shafeal,” she whispered.
“Once more,” he rasped.
“Mi Shafeal, your touch is pure magic. It heals my soul. Pressed against you, I almost lost my breath from the sheer pleasure of it.”
His voice was deep, heavy with want, his whispers tickling her tingling flesh. “You should feel it when skin touches skin and clothing does not hinder the melody.”
Jezreel closed her eyes, imagining that very thing. “I truly believe… I would never survive such an amazing thing, mi Shafeal.”
And there they stood, magic wrapped up with magic. They swayed in each other’s arms almost an hour before Kias next spoke.
“Shall we get started now? Or, will you gift me this night? Will you let me stay like this until the dawn—holding you in my arms, relishing the feel of your delicate body?”
Jezreel blushed. “As lovely as that sounds, I really need to get started if I wish to get any sleep at all this night.”
*****
The new friends worked well together. Kias knew as much about potions as she did, perhaps more. He was comfortable in front of a cauldron, familiar with every ingredient—by sight and smell, no less.
“Sharna, will you tie back my hair? I never let it hang loose, not normally.”
“You were trying to hide your ears.” She winked playfully at him.
“I was.” He blushed. “Do you mind? Tie this string around it—just between my shoulder blades.”
She did as he asked and then stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. “I like your snowy hair almost as much as I like these.” She outlined the point of his ear with the tip of her nose.
He shuddered. She giggled. They went back to work finishing up the rosewater.
“That made sixty-two bottles, Sharna. Will it be enough, or shall we start again?”
Jezreel plopped down in a chair, releasing a long, exhausted breath.
“Now that it’s only me, this much should do me a while. Gratitude, Kias.”
“Only you?”
“Yes. Now that my friend is gone, I don’t need quite so much.” She laughed softly. “Jenevier could go through those little bottles like… like… Well, like water.”
Kias took her hands and gently helped her up. She let him.
“You should rest, Sharna.” He tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear. “Will you retire to Alastyn’s bed or will you share mine?”
She gently pushed him away and tried to rein in the anger she could feel rising up inside her.
They had spent a lovely evening laughing and talking and playing. She hadn’t enjoyed herself this much since the night she and Margy had tried to divine Jenevier’s future. The three friends and their King had finished the evening with smiles on their faces and too much wine in their bellies.
She took Kias’s hands up in hers again and smiled. “Don’t be angry, good Kias. I share my bed with no man. And I have no intention of ever doing so. Please try to understand. I sleep with my friend for comfort and protection only. I feel safe when I�
��m next to him. And sometimes… well, sometimes I don’t dream.”
“Milady.” Kias bowed low. “Forgive me, mi Sharna. You mistake intent. I would never lay an unwelcome hand upon you. I meant only to offer you peace, dear one. My lullaby would guarantee the banishment of all nightmares.” He rose and looked at her. “You had a bad day and an even worse night preceded it. I wished only to ensure sweet dreams. Nothing more.”
“You can do that?”
“I can. And if I fail you, dearest Sharna…” He smiled brightly, causing butterflies to war within her. “…you may pummel me with your hatchets.” He winked playfully.
His arms around her felt like heaven. Her eyes closed as his lullaby rocked her soul to sleep.
When dawn arrived, Jezreel walked into the kitchen, yawning and stretching her arms. “Good morrow, Brother. Something smells divine.”
Alastyn dropped the bowl he was carrying—it crashed to the floor. The suddenness of it made her heart skip a beat. She looked over to find her friend standing frozen, his mouth hanging open.
“What’s wrong, Alastyn? What happened?” Her heart was racing.
He swallowed hard. “Jezreel… you… you… look beautiful.”
Kias ran into the kitchen just as Alastyn choked out his stunned words. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized demons weren’t upon them, bursting through the back door.
“What’re you talking about, Alastyn?”
“You were always lovely. But… but… now… you are breathtaking. You seem to glow. What magic did you weave in the night?”
“Magic? I did not cast nor did I chant. Have your wits been loosened, Brother? Why are you saying such weird things? Hearing you call me beautiful is just, well, icky. Stop it.”
“How did you get all your lovely hair back? And your eye, it no longer bleeds. Where are the swollen, crooked scars upon your cheeks?” He swallowed hard. “Jezreel, I have never seen you look as you do now. I can’t stop staring.”
She gawked at him in disbelief, then spun around and headed for a mirror. He chased after her.
The two friends were gaping at Jezreel’s enchanting reflection when Kias casually leaned against the door frame.
“Did you do this?” she asked.
“Yes, mi Sharna, I did that.”
“How? When?”
“In front of your cauldron, wrapped within my arms. I asked if I could sing to you. You gave me your permission, did you not? Perhaps I read it in your eyes, Milady.”
“No, no… I mean, yes. Yes, I gave you permission. But… but… why would you change me so drastically?”
“I did no such thing, my love. I sang to your hair and it grew. I sang to your wounds and they healed. I sang to your heart and it softened. I did not change you. I only sang you back to what you once were.”
“Pfft. When was she ever like this?” Alastyn asked.
Jezreel elbowed him. He bent over, gasping.
“He’s right, though.” She turned back to her lovely reflection. “My hair was not this shiny. And my skin was never this perfect.”
“Not true, Milady. I have watched you closely for many years. You have always looked this way.”
Alastyn still had his hand on his bruised stomach. “You must have been looking at her through magical glasses.” He jumped out of the way of her next punch.
Kias took her in his arms, running the backs of his fingers down her smooth cheek. “You have always looked thus to me,” he whispered.
Alastyn looked hard at the strange man who had simply walked into their yard and now stood there, holding his dear friend, as naturally and comfortably as if they had been lovers for years.
“Ah, you’re an Elf! How is it I could not see?” His heart leapt at the realization and he became angry. “I looked for you for years and you wouldn’t even speak to me. When I needed your help the most, you remained hidden from me. Now, you just walk right into our yard, right into our home… as if you were entitled to do so?”
“Apologies, Alastyn.” Kias didn’t take his eyes off Jezreel.
“Apologies? Apologies?” Alastyn took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. “Tell me why. Can you tell me why you didn’t show yourself to me? Tell me why my broken heart meant nothing to you and your kinsmen. It would’ve cost you nothing simply to have spoken to me but once—saved me years of wretched, fruitless searching.”
He continued to stroke Jezreel’s cheek. “The Elven King forbade it.”
“If that’s so, tell me. Has he had a change of heart? What’s happened within the trees? What allows you to now leave the forest and walk freely among us?”
“Nothing has changed,” Kias said. “It is still forbidden.”
“Yet here you are.” Alastyn sighed. “What you have done for my only friend is beyond miraculous. I will always be in your debt for this greatest of blessings. But… why will you help Jezreel when it’s forbidden, but you would not help me?”
“I wasn’t in love with you.”
With that wondrously honest answer, Alastyn halted his questions. He understood. He would have defied every law upon every layer if he could have only been blessed to hold Jenevier the way Kias now held Jezreel.
Tears filled her lovely eyes as she tried to process his unexpected, glorious declaration. All was silent, peaceful.
“My love, I defied my father and my King. I came to you as quickly as I safely could.” He placed his forehead against hers. “I wanted to heal your shattered soul, mi Sharna. Whether you accepted my heart or no, I couldn’t bear to live one day more watching you suffer and fade as you were.” He lightly kissed the tip of her nose. “I have done what I came to do. My time grows short.” He pressed her even closer to his chest. “I have dreamt of the day I could look into your enchanting eyes like this. The day I could tell you exactly how you stole my heart away when you were but a babe. The blessed day I could finally tell you how I have always loved only you, mi Sharna.”
Kias bent to kiss her, but paused for fear he may undo all he’d only just fixed within her.
When his lips were withheld from her, Jezreel looked into his strange black eyes—the ones that had unnerved her, made her uncomfortable last night. This morning, all she could see in those fathomless depths was a sparkling gray passionate glimmer of hope. Then, she saw the fear and doubt in them as well. Jezreel smiled. She slipped her hands behind his neck, lacing her fingers through his soft, silky, snow white hair. She heard his breath catch as she pulled his lips closer to hers. When she kissed him, Kias melted into her, was lost in her, forever.
“Kias, mi Shafeal. I would be gloriously happy with your lullabies alone. To own your heart as well, that’s a treasure I will never deserve.”
Alastyn stood there in shock, completely at a loss for words.
“I count myself blessed this day.” A strange voice entreated their ears. “Never have I seen my fair brother behave thusly… I’m at a loss for words. He works fast, does he not?”
Alastyn jumped when the female equivalent of Kias spoke. She was standing by his side, yet he had not seen nor heard her approach. She looked up at him and smiled.
He gasped. “Who are you?”
“I am Izadori, Alastyn. I met you once before in Mangladune, many years ago.” The mysterious Elven woman looked to her brother. “Kias, Father is asking for you. He searches in earnest as we speak. I do not suggest staying much longer, dearest brother. No more than a day, at best.”
“A day? I only get you for one more day?” Jezreel’s grip upon him tightened. Tears filled her eyes.
“Do you want him for longer, broken lady?” Izadori asked.
Jezreel turned to the ageless white-haired woman. “Yes, I do. I never wish to be parted from mi Shafeal. Because of him, I am no longer shattered, no longer broken.” She looked back to the magical man who had so easily stolen her heart. “As long as I can stand by his side, touch his beautiful face, sleep wrapped up in his healing embrace, I will never be broken again. I will remai
n blessedly whole, always.”
“Very well.” Izadori jabbed her thumb toward the man she was standing next to. “Is this man the closest you have?”
“We are not blood,” Alastyn answered for his confused friend. “But we’re all we have left in this world.”
“That’ll do. Kias, Jezreel.” She waited until they both met her serious gaze. “Do you wish me to sing the Song of Amalgamation, binding you to one another for all time?”
“You know my answer, sweet sister.” He turned back to Jezreel as he spoke. “I have never wanted another. This you well know.”
“What say you, Jezreel?” she prodded. “Do not answer lightly. Know this. If you agree to this magical binding, you cannot go back. It’s forever, Jezreel. Think hard. You know nothing of this man nor do you know the ways of our people. This step you take is a blind one and cannot be undone.”
Jezreel looked deep into Kias’s magical eyes. “I wish never to be parted from this man for one single moment. From this day forth, I wish always to be with him, always.”
“As you wish.” Izadori took Alastyn’s hand, locking their fingers together. “Will the two lovers look into each other’s eyes and do everything I sing?”
When both had nodded their heads in agreement, Izadori’s song began. Her voice was like the heavens. Alastyn closed his eyes, let it wash over him. He didn’t understand the words, but he could have listened to her sing for all eternity.
“And join.” Her words flowed through the graceful tune.
Alastyn opened his eyes just as Kias and Jezreel stepped toward and then through each other. He blinked twice, confounded. They had been facing and now they stood, back to back.
Her lyrical instructions continued. “Turn toward me.” They did as she commanded. “Face each other… and… join.”
Alastyn was watching closely this time. It was true. The couple actually passed through each other and stood with their backs touching once more.
“Turn away from me… face each other… and join. Turn toward me… face each other… and join.” Izadori’s magical hymn continued until the glowing couple had stepped through each other seven times. “I have sung the words. Your essences have been hopelessly, irrecoverably entwined and entangled with one another. To undo my song, one could spend day and night for countless lifetimes, only to find they had blended you all the more. Kias, my brother. Jezreel, my sister. You are now… one.”