Thane stood upon seeing Layala. He clenched his jaw to keep it from falling open. How beautiful she truly was. He always thought so, but tonight, in that dress, was there ever anyone to match her? He moved her chair back and motioned for her to sit opposite of him. He had the servants remove the large dining table to replace it with a small square one set for two.
With her chin slightly raised, she made her way to the chair. Once he was seated, the servants appeared, bringing in a plate of salad for each of them and two glasses of white-berry wine from the woodland elves. It was the best, though he hated to admit they made better wine than the high elves.
The two candles on top of silver candlesticks at the center of the table gave off a soft glow. The pastel-blue curtains lay open to reveal an evening sun, bathing the room in orange light. The way it made her skin illuminate made him shift a little. “You look lovely,” he said as soon as the servants cleared out.
She stared at him for a moment then picked up her fork and stabbed at the lettuce as if it was a foe in need of impaling. The open windows let in the sound of a breeze rustling the oak trees and a few songbirds filled the silence between them. This would be a long dinner.
Thane picked up his glass of wine and took a drink, draining nearly half. When he set it back down, she still hadn’t looked up at him. She speared another vegetable and shoved it into her mouth. Thane nearly laughed at her seeming hostility. “You must have a quarrel with salad.”
Her stunning blue eyes lifted, the color of the sky on a cloudless day. “What?”
“It is only salad. I dare say it hasn’t wronged you.”
She set her fork down and glared. “Do you have a problem with the way I eat? Or maybe I’m using the wrong fork.”
“No. I could watch you all day in fact. With any fork.”
“Pig,” she murmured and went back to her meal, angrier than before.
“I hope you don’t hold grudges against venison. It’s the main course tonight.”
No reply. Thane tapped his foot on the ground and took another drink of wine. Before she went to the library they were at least able to have a conversation. Now she would hardly look at him. As if the very sight of him disgusted her. “I presume you had no luck in your research at the library this afternoon then.” Very few people could read old elvish and even if she could, the spell would have only told her what he had. That there was no way out of it.
“No,” she said between bites, eyes fixed on her plate.
“I can’t say I’m upset. I’ll get to see what’s under that dress if you don’t succeed.” He knew that would get her attention. Her head snapped up, fury smoldering in her eyes. He thought she might very well leap across the table and attack him. Some reaction was better than nothing. It was almost laughable how easy it was to rile her up.
Instead of flying at him, she took a deep breath and sat up a little taller. “Well, I’ve already seen most of what’s under your attire.” She shrugged as if she wasn’t enticed.
He couldn’t hold back his smile. “Don’t act like you didn’t like what you saw. We both know you did.”
“That must be why I stabbed you… You’re not as impressive as you think you are.” She grabbed her wine. “I’m sure the lower half,” her gaze flicked down a moment, “isn’t anything grand either. You know what they say about male ears; the smaller the tip the smaller the lower bit.” She tapped her left one. “Yours are on the petite side.”
Thane licked his lips trying not to laugh. “That’s not a thing, but I guess you’ll have to see for yourself in eight weeks.”
“Even if I don’t manage to succeed, I’m not remotely interested in your male parts.” She brushed her hair over her right shoulder. “That role in our would-be marriage will never come to fruition. We’ll simply be two people bound by a curse.”
“I wouldn’t be too hasty with the word never. Never is a long time. You might come to like me—crave me even.” He leaned in slightly on the table.
She scoffed. “Hardly.”
“Your eyes betray you, dearest, in the way that you can’t seem to look away from me.”
“That’s most certainly wishful thinking on your part. Besides, you won’t have to worry. Soon our bond will be broken and, if I allow you to live, you can find a nice elf to settle down with. Piper perhaps.”
Thane chuckled. What a wicked thing she was. “If you allow me to live? Part of our deal was me living, as was me letting you go.”
She tilted her head. “Was it?”
“If you don’t like our bargain, I can have the date moved up and we can wed tomorrow. I’m already doing you a courtesy by allowing you precious time. Time that is waning for the both of us.”
Her haughty expression dropped and she squirmed in her seat. “You can’t force me to do anything.”
“It’s not me that is doing the forcing. It’s the magic. You think I would have chosen you as my bride?”
She stiffened. “Not up to par, am I? I suppose I’m not pretty enough as a low-born elf, or is it my manners that offend?”
He watched her for a moment, gauging her reaction. Why did it bother her that he said he wouldn’t have chosen her? It’s not as if she should care. She wouldn’t have chosen him. She was actively not choosing him, in fact. “You might be the most beautiful female I’ve ever seen, which I told you the night I met you by the way, but I suppose I’d have chosen someone who doesn’t despise me. How cruel, I know.”
He thought about every wretched thing he did because of her. How much pain and suffering was thrust upon him because of this bond. “No, if I had gotten to choose it wouldn’t have been this.” He tapped his wrist where the mate rune resided.
Yet after everything he endured, he didn’t think he could ever be happy with anyone else. He’d fought so hard, done so many things for her before he even met her. She carved a special place in his heart before they ever spoke a word. Through their bond he felt her, knew she was there even when he couldn’t see her. Sometimes her pain or happiness transferred to him like a tug or pull at his heart. When he felt alone he knew he wasn’t. She was out there somewhere.
He would catch glimpses of what she saw, flashes of what she heard. Her lovely voice filled his dreams. He knew who she was the moment he stepped into the pub in her hometown. He wanted to simply stare at her, enthralled by actually seeing this lovely being he was connected to. To behold her face for the first time was like marveling at the sunset for the first time.
He assumed she felt their connection too. He knew she would be as excited to see him as he was her, but Maker above, he was met with a rude awakening. She thought he went around murdering people, and believed he was like his father. He couldn’t think of anyone worse to be compared to.
Often he led his own “search” parties to appease Tenebris, knowing the whole time Layala wasn’t near. His soldiers, the Ravens, would arrive in a town of Palenor, eat and drink, ask around but never hurt anyone. There were small skirmishes with the woodland elves of Calladira, where he killed more than he liked to think about but it wasn’t as if it brought him satisfaction. The discrepancies over land never seemed to end and usually came to bloodshed.
In recent years when his father grew more desperate. Thane heard stories of Tenebris’s escalating brutality in his searches for Layala, the last mage. Tenebris tried to keep it hidden, claiming he never hurt anyone, but rumors abounded. To see if they were true, Thane accompanied his father once… he was horrified. His father’s soldiers killed their own people of Palenor in a small northern village, who knew nothing about Layala. He wanted to murder Tenebris right then and there for his cruelty, for his abuse of power but to his everlasting shame, he didn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“If you don’t want me then help me break our bond,” Layala said, pulling Thane from his thoughts. “If you truly meant what you said and you don’t want to use me for my magic, you would help.”
“It’s more complicated than what I want or don’t, Layala.” He took another pull of wine. “With time running short, believe me, I’ve looked for alternatives. There isn’t a way.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I’m sure you don’t. The news is new to you.”
“I mean, I don’t believe you’ve truly looked for a way out.” Her blue eyes widened with her frustration. “With your arrogance you probably thought I’d drop to my knees, begging you to take me to your bed.”
Thane cocked an eyebrow. “If you knew what you were missing out on, you would.”
She picked up a fork and with remarkable speed, launched it. He snatched it out of the air in front of his face, twirled it around his fingers and set it down. “I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone so hostile. And keep in mind I’ve been in countless battles against pale ones.” So why did part of him like it? He supposed it was because everyone wanted what they didn’t have, and as High King, he had pretty much everything he could want, except her.
The door creaked open and the servant Alfrend came in pulling a silver tray with their dinner, silencing both of them. Alfrend set Thane’s plate before him and removed the lid. “Enjoy, sire.”
“I appreciate it. Thank you, Alfrend.” The smell of the roasted meat filled his nose and his mouth watered. He looked at Layala. “Did you not like the necklace I gave you?” There couldn’t be any talk about breaking bonds in front of the servants.
“It was gorgeous. But I don’t want any gifts from you.”
Alfrend gave Thane a long look of surprise then set Layala’s plate before her.
She nodded. “Thank you.”
Thane gave him a quick wave, telling him to ignore her rudeness, and he pulled the cart out the servants’ passage.
“Would it be so bad to accept a gift from me?”
Layala cut into the meat on her plate and then set the silverware down. “What I want from you is your help in setting me free. Setting us both free. So we can go back to our lives.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “How could you even want me? I tried to kill you.” She took in a deep breath, “You want to know what I was doing in that pool in the woods? Poison. I retrieved Gaudrey’s root and I planned to—poison you and the others so I could get away.”
He lightly chewed the inside of his cheek. She felt guilty. He sensed that now. She was confused and angry with herself. When she said she didn’t know what to think of him, she truly meant that. Thane took a bite of venison and savored the salty flavor, and thought for a moment. “I’ll take you to Mage Vesstan and he’ll tell you what I already have. We’ll leave in the morning.”
Her answering smile hurt him more than it should.
Later that evening, Thane wandered the halls of Castle Dredwich alone. He stepped out onto a balcony to enjoy the warm evening air. The stars winked above and the moon shined bright, illuminating the stone balcony. He glided to the edge and leaned against the railing. At this hour most of the light in the houses in the city below were out save for a few, but the light from the stars and moon reflected off the roofs of the homes, a sight that lit up the city even at night. He loved his home, this place. Even if there were bad memories within the walls of the castle, the Valley of the Sun held a special place in his heart. He would do anything to protect it and the people within.
He picked at a callus on his palm, thinking about the war in the south, about how he should be there defending Palenor, not sitting within the safety of his high walls. The war with the pale ones had gone on for hundreds of years now. Whenever they thought they’d beaten them back enough that the enemy couldn’t regain strength, somehow there were always more. Thane had even watched some of his own turn. Somehow resurrected on the battlefield.
His mind drifted back to a couple of months prior….
“Thane,” called Osric. “You’re not going out there, are you?”
They sat on the backs of their horses, behind a skirmish with the pale ones. Thane’s father was up north and in order to get away from him, Thane came to oversee the latest battle.
“Oh, why not. I could do with working out some frustration on the creeps.” He held one of his swords across his lap, a tether of arrows on his back.
Osric smiled. They’d been best friends since childhood. Fist fighting and wrestling as kids to see who was tougher. Fennan was usually the mediator, getting in between when things got too rough. The three of them learned the sword together, and that turned into a competition which made them all better. They battled every chance they got until they were teenagers, then they stopped fighting each other and teamed up against everyone else who wanted a go at them.
“What did Tenebris do to piss you off this time?” Osric asked.
“He said he got a tip that Layala was somewhere up north and demanded my accompaniment. She’s not there, thank the Maker.”
Osric patted his horse’s neck. “He’ll never give up, will he?”
“No. He won’t.”
“And you’ll never give her up.” Osric knew that Thane could find Layala if he wanted to. But Osric’s loyalty was with his prince, not his king. “It seems this will go on for eternity, but I suppose it can’t? You’re running out of time, Thane. You must get her soon. Even if you do it in secret.”
“In secret? You think I haven’t thought of that? My father would send spies after me. They watch me even now. He suspects I know where she is even still.”
“Then it’s him or you. If you won’t kill him, I will. You should have done it a long time ago.”
“He’s my father.”
“He’s an evil tyrant.”
Thane kicked Phantom onward raising his sword high; he let out a roar that burned his throat. Phantom plowed into a row of pale ones, crushing them under his weight. The soldiers rallied around him, growing in enthusiasm to end the battle. Thane slashed and hacked furiously. He lost count of how many he cut down. Their horrid screams echoed in his ears. The cries of his own like a terrible melody one can’t shake. He’d lost track of Osric during the fight. When the battle ended, he looked around. “Osric!” his voice echoed across the grassy, rocky plain but his friend didn’t answer.
He rode Phantom all around the battlefield. Over bodies, mostly pale ones but elves too. The smell of decay and death made him want to retch after a while. He asked his soldiers if anyone had seen Osric. No one had or they didn’t know who he was. “Osric!” he roared. When he spotted his friend’s horse grazing off in the distance he raced over. The pounding of horse hooves matched his heart. Osric’s foot was caught in the stirrup, and he lay unmoving on the ground.
Thane slid down and crouched beside his friend. Pushing his mass of dark hair out of his bloodied face. “It’s me. It’s Thane.”
Osric groaned.
He grabbed him around the middle and set him on Phantom. “I’ll get you help. Hold on. Don’t you die on me. Don’t you dare.”
When he made it back to camp, he carried him into the healer’s tent. It was full of injured soldiers, not a single bed open. “One of you will come with me now.”
A healer he didn’t know followed him to his own tent and he set Osric on his cot. “Help him.”
The healer knelt beside Osric, inspecting for major wounds and stopped at a jagged bite mark on his calf. It was red and inflamed with black streaks stemming from it up his flesh. The healer, a female with light hair, jumped up and backed away. “He’s been bitten by a pale one.” She nearly stumbled on her way to the tent flap. “Prince, get away from him.” She covered her mouth and nose with a cloth. “You must cut off his head. You will be doing him a favor.”
Thane’s stomach twisted into knots. His friend’s lips already looked purple, as he grew closer to death. His pale skin had a sheen of sweat. “If we could catch whatever turns the pale ones by nearness, we would all die or turn on the battlefield. Now do something. Save him.”
“I can’t. If he’s been bitten it’s a sure sign he will turn.”
Thane growled and threw a bottle of brandy from a nearby table on the ground, smashing the glass into a thousand pieces. “Get out!” he roared. As soon as the flap closed behind the healer, he dropped to his knees and sobbed into his hands.
Thane was drawn from his memory when Fennan stepped up beside him. “How did dinner go?”
He cleared his tight throat. “Not well I’m afraid.” His voice had more emotion in it than he intended.
Fennan ran a hand over his hair. “That bad? Could it have been worse than her trying to kill you?”
Thane chuckled and turned away from the city leaning his back against the railing. “We’ve moved onto threats but not real ones at least. Unless you count trying to spear me with a fork.”
“So what will you do?”
Thane ran his hand over the smooth stone of the railing. “We’re going to see Mage Vesstan in the morning.”
“Shall I pack my things?”
“No, it will be only her and me this time. We’ll take the portal so it’s only half a day’s ride from there.”
Fennan folded his arms. “I don’t like you two going alone. I can hang back if you want time alone with her, but allow me to come in case something goes wrong. Like if she tries to kill you again. We don’t know what she’s capable of with magic.”
“She won’t try to hurt me. And you know I have my own defenses.”
Fen’s mouth twisted. “I still don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it, Fen.” He patted his shoulder. “I’ll see you when I get back. Make sure my mother doesn’t do anything rash and don’t tell her where I’ve gone.”
“You’re leaving me in charge of your mother?” He shuddered.
“She likes you.” Thane smiled and walked inside. “You’re like the second son she never had.”
