Hestaesia: Lost in Love

by K. L. Thorne

  He had already started barrelling towards her by the time she saw him. Her face lit up into a wide, irresistible smile.

  As he reached her, Lephas didn't attempt to slow. He crashed into her, sweeping her up into his arms at the last minute. Before either of them had a chance to speak, he pressed a desperate, crushing kiss against her mouth.

  Surprised, she hesitated before throwing her arms passionately around his neck.

  “Well, what a greeting! I'm jealous,” a second and unfamiliar voice said.

  Lori broke the kiss with a breathless laugh and turned her head to look across the clearing. Lephas followed the princess's gaze.

  He could barely believe his eyes.

  Another faerie stood before them. Her skin seemed to shimmer and sparkle, the sun bouncing from her like she was made of glass. She cast curious pale blue eyes over him with a small, knowing smile on her lips.

  Her translucent wings fluttered and she tucked her long, platinum blonde hair behind a delicately pointed ear. Her face was hauntingly beautiful, and yet strangely familiar.

  Lori squirmed in his arms and he released her, eyes still fixed on the strange faerie.

  “Lephas, this is Faye. My little sister.” She touched his arm.

  “Faye?” he repeated dumbly, looking back at Lori.

  The resemblance was uncanny, although Faye was somehow even slighter in build and her face was narrow and elegantly angled. Unlike when he had first laid eyes on Lori, Lephas had no trouble believing this ethereal creature was the majborne youngest daughter of Lazuli. She looked ever the royal faerie princess.

  “Charmed.” Faye nodded politely.

  “...How?” He glanced at Lori. She smiled sympathetically at the puzzled look her shot her.

  “It's a long story. She's been out here looking for me,” she replied.

  Lephas knew he should care about those details, but in that moment, he couldn't bring himself to. He stooped and lifted Lori from the ground once more, squeezing her into a tight embrace.

  “I thought I'd lost you,” he sighed, relieved tears prickling at his eyes. Before anyone could see them, he buried his face into her neck. “Where have you been?”

  “Well, that's kind of part of the complicated bit...” Lori laughed, squeezing him back.

  “My fault I'm afraid, boss,” a deep, very familiar voice grated from behind him.

  “No...” He dropped Lori to her feet and spun to face his friend.

  There, in the dark shadow of a pine tree, stood Raxx. The demon's large, black leathery wings folded back in on themselves.

  “I didn't realise the princess was still in your charge, I would have never—” Raxx began, cut off as Lephas strode towards him.

  “Corporeal. Now.” Lephas ordered and Raxx reluctantly obeyed. The shadow demon had barely solidified before the commander had sucker punched him in the mouth. He hissed but took the hit, daubing his lip with his tongue.

  “That's for stealing my charge out from under me and making me run the length of this fucking place looking for her,” Lephas snapped, ire melting instantly from his face as he pulled his friend into a brief embrace. Raxx hugged him back roughly. “But it's so good to see you.”

  “You too, Commander.” The shadow demon grinned back at him.

  “How did you find us?” Lephas asked, automatically draping his arm over Lori's shoulders as she tucked in beside him. He felt his body sag with relief, just feeling her presence beside him once again.

  Raxx ran his black eyes over them curiously. As usual, the demon's face gave nothing away. Lephas fought the urge to explain himself. Though he felt awkward showing Lori affection in front of one of his men, he couldn't bring himself to regret it either. He supposed they were all going to find out about his wild forest romance at some point. He might as well start with Raxx.

  “The same way I find anyone, Sir,” the shadow demon replied mysteriously. “One of Zelrus' men made it back to Banesteppe and told us you'd been ambushed. The king went to meet with Cirro without us.”

  Lephas almost felt Lori's eyes burning holes in him curiously. He would fill her in on that later.

  “Oriel and I came to search for you,” Raxx continued. “Although I do believe the prince has decided to run a personal errand instead.”

  “Typical,” Lephas sighed with a shake of his head.

  His heart swelled. He had no words for how relieved he was to be stood chatting with one of his team mates again.

  “I happened upon your charge by chance,” Raxx explained, casting his dark eyes across at Lori. “I spotted her in the woods alone and decided to strike. I thought she'd be able to tell me of your whereabouts.”

  The puzzle pieces finally began to fall into place. Lephas had been correct in his assumption; nothing, other than majick, could make a person disappear into thin air. The shadow demon had plucked his faerie right out from the snow, without a trace.

  “You couldn't have brought her back before I spent all morning hunting for her!”

  “I tried.” Raxx cast an eye across the two faeries in front of him.

  Lori looked up at him with large, apologetic eyes. “Sorry Lephas. I was so worried about Faye. We spent a bit of time catching up before leaving to find you.”

  “And I'm afraid I'm almost as useless as my sister at hiking through the snow, so it’s taken us a while,” Faye chipped in with a smile.

  “Hey! I'm getting better, aren't I, Lephas?” Lori scowled.

  He laughed. “A little.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve both been out here all this time. You must be exhausted.” Faye's face softened.

  “It's been a really tough few days.” Lori nodded, resting her head against Lephas's body.

  “Then there's no time to waste.” The sun sprite looked to Raxx. “We must take them back to our camp.”

  The demon nodded in agreement. “A good plan. Come on.”

  The shadow demon's body flickered as he melded back into the shadows. As he began to walk ahead through the snow, no footprints followed.

  Lephas automatically took Lori's hand in his own as they trailed behind. He glanced across at Faye, catching the girl watching them curiously.

  “So, how lost are we then?” he called out to Raxx.

  “We're only two days travel from the main road. You've done well to get this far,” the demon replied. “I would have been here sooner but when we first heard of the ambush, I followed your tracks and stopped to bury the men.”

  Lephas nodded quietly. He was glad. In the back of his mind he had already begun planning to call back to the site to do just that.

  “I lost you for a bit after that.” Raxx shrugged. “I didn't pick up any trace of you until last night.”

  Lori shot Lephas a knowing smile and squeezed his hand.

  “Yeah... We may have gone over that cliff edge, rather than around it,” the commander replied, grinning when Raxx raised a brow.

  “And you've been out here, all that time?” he asked curiously. “I didn't think you had packed that much equipment.”

  “We didn't. It's been tough going. Do you know Haros got captured?”

  “Faeries?” the shadow demon asked, his tone growing suddenly serious.

  “The King's Guard were out here looking for Lori, as predicted,” Lephas replied, stroking his thumb against the hand he held tightly. “We got away, but Haros wasn't so lucky.”

  “How did they manage to take him down?” Raxx enquired with a shake of his head.

  “Lazuli had sent a whole troop – at least fifteen men. We managed to get a few down, but Haros had taken an arrow and they over-powered him.”

  “Shit... Zelrus isn't going to be happy about that.”

  “I, uh, don't think that's the only thing he's not going to be happy about,” Lephas said sheepishly. The shadow demon glanced over his shoulder, shooting him a knowing look.

  The shadow demon glanced over his shoulder, shooting him a knowing look. “It hadn't gone unnoticed.”


  “We'll talk about it later,” Lephas replied in a low tone. Raxx nodded and continued to stride forwards.

  A comfortable silence fell between them and the commander turned his attention to Lori.

  “How are you feeling? Are you too tired for this?”

  “I'm doing alright so far. I'll let you know if I need help. Faye has apples – real apples – in her pack back at their camp. I had one before we set off and I'm feeling a little better for it.” Lori smiled.

  “I'm glad to hear it.” Lephas looked across at Faye, unnerved to find her looking back at him. “So, Princess, how exactly did you get here? And more to the point, how did you meet Raxx?”

  “Raxx and I ran into one another at a tavern I stopped in a few days ago. I'd foolishly stuck to the main road, not thinking for a second that my sister might have wandered off the beaten path into the forest.” Faye grinned playfully at Lori.

  “In my defence, I was on the road when these guys picked me up.” Lori laughed. “It's a miracle you weren't seen.”

  “I think the weather has been so bad it's driven everyone into their homes. I didn't pass a single soul.” Faye shook her head. “When Raxx realised who I was and that we were looking for the same people, we decided to team up.”

  “That's very sporting of you, Raxx,” Lephas teased.

  The shadow demon was notorious for his aloof, lone-wolf nature. It was wholly out of character for him to 'team up' with anyone.

  “Two birds, one stone,” Raxx replied tightly. The commander grew curious, his friend was hiding something.

  “We've been out here looking for you guys since then.” Faye smiled.

  “And, I'm just going to remind you yet again, how utterly stupid you've been to follow me,” Lori snapped.

  Lephas barely held back a smile. He wasn't used to seeing her so serious, ever the older sister.

  “And as I'm going to remind you that it's no use telling me that now, is it?” Faye replied tartly. She seemed to glow brighter as her ire flared, scowling at her sister.

  “You realise you can never go back now? Father has already disowned me, no doubt he's cast you onto the fire now as well!” Lori's face crumpled with sadness.

  “I wasn't to know that, was I? If you hadn't run away in the first place then–”

  “Hey – girls, girls...” Lephas stepped in. “Maybe we can argue later, hm? Let's just... Be grateful we're all here and safe now.”

  Women... He would never understand them.

  “You're right.” Lori conceded, tucking in closer to him. “I'm sorry Faye. Truly, you have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

  The sun sprite smiled softly and reached out to take her sister's other hand in her own.

  “Let me worry about father having off with my head! Let's just get back to the camp. I've got so many questions.”

  Lephas didn't need to look to know that Faye was referring to him. He felt a pit forming in his stomach. What exactly did that mean? Lephas glanced to Lori just in time to see her giving her sister a wide grin that spoke louder than words. He squeezed her hand firmly, grabbing her attention.

  “Don't you dare,” he warned playfully.

  “What?” Lori replied, her voice heavy with mock innocence. “I'm not going to tell her any of the juicy bits.”

  Lephas sighed heavily, running a palm over his face as the two girls beside him tittered amongst themselves. Against his will, he felt a blush forming.

  The group walked on, Raxx stalking ahead silently as per usual, leaving Lephas to fend for himself with the women. He drifted in and out of their conversation. They had only been apart a matter of days, but it seemed they had a lot to catch up on.

  The commander didn't know any of the people they were discussing, but he didn't find the hideous shirt Alphonso had worn to a party to be of any real interest. The demon's mind wandered.

  Meeting the princess's sister had really cemented his convictions. His feelings for Lori went far beyond simple curiosity. If anything, he supposed Faye would probably be considered even more beautiful than Lori by most people's standards, and yet he felt nothing.

  The instant attraction he'd had was complete absent when he glanced across at the youngest Goldwyrm. Yet when he gazed at Lori...

  As if reading his mind, the princess glanced up at him and gave him a quick smile. Lephas felt his heart speed up.

  ...The feeling was worlds apart.

  Now his panic from earlier that morning had passed, he could truly admit just how worried he had been when he thought Lori had been kidnapped. The commander couldn't recall ever feeling as distressed.

  It was wonderful and terrifying having such a glaring weak spot. Logically, love had always seemed like far too much of a risk to be worth engaging in.

  It was ironic that, despite his sensible approach to relationships, he had eventually chosen to love someone who had a real possibility of being used as leverage. But then he supposed he always had been a bit inept when it came to matters of the heart. His usual rational, utilitarian nature had completely abandoned him on this one.

  He looked across at Lori again. She was deep in conversation with her sister, holding both his hand and Faye's. She looked happy and Lephas smiled. It was a good look on her - one he endeavoured to maintain as long as she was his.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The day had passed in a dream. Lori still couldn't quite believe she was with one of her sisters again. Though they had only been apart a few days in reality, it felt like a lifetime.

  One moment she had been stood in the dark forest, frightened out of her wits; the next, being set down carefully beside a warm fire. Her sister had launched at her immediately, hugging her as if her life had depended on it.

  Lori had missed her sisters so deeply, she hadn't even really comprehended it until she had laid eyes on Faye.

  Raxx had been fearsome to behold. Although he was considerably less gruesome than those images in her father's books, the demon was a much closer representation than Lephas.

  The way he disappeared into the shadows so silently, his pitch-black eyes, those dark, menacing wings... It was more than unnerving. It was only when Faye had vouched for him and introduced them that Lori had realised who the demon was.

  When Lephas had spoken of his majick-wielding friend Raxx, he had conveniently forgotten to mention he was a shadow demon and, more importantly, just how utterly terrifying the man was.

  Typically, Faye seemed oblivious. She supposed it must be something to do with being a majborne. It seemed her sister had no cause to fear him.

  The stoic demon hadn't really spoken much. He just stalked silently in the background like a caged tiger. His striking face remained emotionless as Faye and Lori had filled one another in on their antics. The only time she had seen a flicker of concern cross his expression was when he had realised Lephas was still very much alive and no doubt looking for her.

  They had moved pretty quickly after that. The demon had been keen to return her to his commander.

  It gave Lori butterflies to see Lephas so authoritative. When he had punched Raxx and the fearsome demon had just taken it without complaint... She pressed her lips together to fight a smug smile.

  She shouldn't be pleased for causing him so much worry, but she couldn't deny how happy it made her to see him defending her. There hadn't been a moment of hesitation as he had embraced her and took her hand in front of his friend.

  Raxx had done an expert job of masking his surprise, if he had felt it. Though Lori had seen his black eyes sweep over them curiously, he hadn't uttered a word. The shadow demon was a strange character, that was for sure.

  “Home sweet home,” Faye crowed happily, releasing Lori's hand to run ahead through the snow towards the camp.

  “See, now a proper tent would have been a stellar idea,” Lephas laughed, spotting the small canvas structure ahead. It was erected just in front of the charred remains of a campfire.

  Faye's horse, Gaia, raised her head with ea
rs pricked as the group approached. The horse nickered softly at her owner and Faye walked to her side. Her sister petted the animal's soft nose reassuringly as Gaia eyed the approaching demons warily.

  Gaia had been the only horse Lori had ever ridden. She was her sister’s favourite and most trusted steed. The beautiful chestnut mare had been a present from their father for Faye's sixteenth birthday. Gaia's large muscular back was covered in a thick, luxurious padded silk blanket to keep her warm. Without a doubt, it was probably thicker and warmer than the bed covers Faye had for herself.

  Clearly convinced they meant her no harm, the mare turned her attention back to foraging through the snow for sparse blades of grass.

  “A horse and a tent? I have to admit, maybe your sister is a bit better prepared for this running away from home business after all,” Lephas muttered, teasing.

  “Rub it in!” Lori snapped playfully and jabbed the demon with her elbow.

  They walked into the camp and Lephas released her hand. The big demon dropped his pack down beside the tent.

  Lori trudged through the snow to join her sister beside the mare, stroking a hand against the horse affectionately. She caught her sister's eye and Faye smiled.

  “I still can't believe you're here,” Lori sighed happily.

  Faye laughed. “Neither can I. This is by far the scariest, most exciting thing I've ever done.”

  “You can say that again.”

  “Seems like your journey has been significantly more exciting than scary.” Her sister fixed her with a curious expression. Her pale blue eyes flickered across the camp to Lephas.

  Lori followed her gaze and watched the handsome demon talking with Raxx.

  She bit her lip with a smile. “Yeah, it has. Though trust me, there have been some really fucking scary moments too.”

  “You guys seem... Cosy. He touches you so comfortably, like he's done it a thousand times. I take it you've–”

  “Shh!” Lori chastised with another glance across to the demons. “I'll tell you later.”

  “I can't believe it. I've travelled all this way to save you, worried sick that you were in danger and you've been out here, lifting tail for some demon.” Faye joked.