Lilly V: Book Five

by Tiya Rayne

I’ve come to learn a lot about the young man since the first time I met him. It was Oden that found the tunnels. He was eight when his father died from an attack of a Northern soldier and then his mother was taken away a few years later when she was pregnant. She never came back. He has taken responsibility for all the children in his care. I cannot imagine how much pressure that must be for him.

  “I do not think this is a sickness.” Drago says rubbing a hand over his bristled chin. “From what Lilly has told us of illnesses, this does not resemble that.”

  I agreed 100%. Nothing about this sickness is like anything I had ever seen. From the way it infects you to the symptoms, it’s all different. No fever or chills. Other than being tired, most of the sickness seem to affect the outside appearance. Since I moved them out of the stuffy room, they aren’t even coughing anymore. The vomiting didn’t start until Medina started giving them her concoctions. It’s like the virus or sickness isn’t on the inside.

  “Well what could it be?” Oden asks.

  “I don’t know.”

  “What did the elven queen say?” Drago asks me,

  “Assassin says that she has no idea.”

  “That is all he said?” Drago lifts a brow as he questions me.

  “That’s it.”

  I too thought it was strange that that was all Avalia had to say. She didn’t even offer any suggestions on what to try. I didn’t push it because I knew they had a lot on their plate. Assassin didn’t speak to me about the soldiers or how much longer before they would come for me. I thought he was staying away from the topic because of the fight we had that night. And though I want to get Nevy to stop this war, I still want to be back with my sons.

  I watch as Drago squints his eyes in thought. He is onto something and I know that there is no need to ask him what it is. Though the grumpy loner is coming around to me, he still has a ton of secrets. I made the mistake of asking him why he constantly looks up to the sky. I noticed his infatuation with the sky one day when the wind was picking up and blowing my hair all over my face. I looked over and there was Drago, staring at the sky with his face turned into the wind. For a moment he closed his eyes and looked so at peace. When I asked him about it, he grunted at me to mind my bloody business before storming off. I figure, he just likes to have his secrets, no problem with that.

  “Whatever it is, magic is not helping it.” Medina supplies sullenly. “I can’t understand why they keep throwing it up.”

  The kids aren’t throwing up any of the food or the water we are stuffing down their throats. Yet, the moment Medina gives them one of her concoctions, they toss it up immediately.

  It reminds me of the time I ate too much of Aunt Millie’s peach cobbler. I was so full, but I had to have that last bowl. The moment the peaches and crust hit my stomach, I vomited all over my Sunday dress.

  That memory of Aunt Millie’s cobbler had me thinking.

  “Could someone get sick off of magic?”

  Everyone turns and stares at me, but my question is a valid one. The kids can’t take the magic potions. The sickness isn’t contagious, but spreads randomly, and it only affects the children of the Northern Kingdom. I know the Locke is full of magic, but maybe it’s a certain type of magic. Or maybe the Northern Kingdom is overpopulated with magic. Medina did say most of the witches and wizards of the Locke lived in the Northern Kingdom.

  “I’ve never heard of it before, but it’s possible.” Medina seems to be mulling over the idea in her head.

  “That’s a very brilliant observation, Lilly.” Drago scratches his chin. “Let me do a little research on that. We can meet back here again tomorrow.” Drago turns to Oden.

  “Yes, I will have my soldiers meet you at the entrance of the Alley to escort you.”

  I watch as Drago’s face shows a little disappointment before he shakes it away. For some reason, Drago has been dying to learn his way around these tunnels.

  **********

  Not long after leaving the children, I find myself being blindfolded again, this time by Nevy. He’s leading me to some private location in the castle.

  “Where are you taking me?” I demand again.

  I can hear Nevy’s huff of breath.

  “You are horrible with surprises, do you know that?” He jokes.

  His reply makes me think of Assassin. Not too long ago he came to the same realization. Whenever I think about Azriel my heart leaps and I feel a flutter in my belly. Seeing him in the walking dreams are great, but I miss that man like a missing limb. I feel incomplete not being in his arms or having him near me every day. I pick up the butterfly pendant around my neck and kiss it. I hope he feels that, and knows at this moment that I am thinking of him. The pendant has been quiet lately. Usually, I would get some type of sign, like a soft kiss to my lips, a stroke to my face, or a touch to my back. It would always come with the scent of Assassin. Other times it would be his voice in my head telling me he “loved me”, or to “stay strong”. The pendant has gone silent. I don’t complain because he shows me all the love he has for me in my dreams. In the dreams we have the perfect relationship.

  Too perfect.

  I shake that wayward thought out of my head. There is nothing wrong with my and Assassin’s relationship. I admit that he shies away from heavy topics in our dreams. Like when I want to talk about the children of the Northern Kingdom. He listens, but quickly changes the subject or initiates sex. And the sex, though it is always good, has been predictable. When I was in the elven kingdom with Assassin he would take me anywhere at any time. We hardly ever stayed in the same position and his words during sex was always just as much as a turn on as him being inside me. I assume that since the fight, he’s been trying to make up for what happened. But I want my old Assassin back. I want the naughty rough sex that has my body aching the next morning in all the right places. I want him to disagree with me and tell me if he thinks I’m wrong. I may not always like it, but I only want the truth from him. Uncle Buddy once told me that when two people love each other, they are going to argue and disagree. It’s natural. No way you can love somebody and want the best for them, and not tell them that they are wrong sometimes. If a man and woman don’t disagree every now and again, it’s because they don’t care about one another. He told me that after he had a fight with Aunt Millie about me. My paternal grandparents told my uncle that they wanted to see me. Aunt Millie thought it was a great idea, but Uncle Buddy told them Hell No! They had such an ugly fight that I was afraid they would separate. Uncle Buddy reassured me they were fine. Plus, he was right about not letting me go see the grandparents. Turns out, they were trying to sue the railroad company that my daddy worked at and thought they would have a better case if they had a relationship with his daughter.

  My Uncle’s warning rings in my head as I think about my dreams with Assassin lately.

  “We’re almost there, Lilly.” Nevy’s voice brings me back to the present.

  I shake off the melancholy feeling as I allow Nevy’s excitement to take me over.

  I hear the soft sound of music as he brings me to a stop and lifts the blindfold. It takes only a second for my eyes to adjust and when they do, I gasp. A tear springs to my eyes as I look around me.

  The ball room has been transformed into every bad middle school dance theme. Streamers are tossed haphazardly over everything. Thousands of brightly colored balloons litter the floor along with thick layers of confetti. Small round tables and chairs circle the center of the room. A table with an assortment of food is in the corner. Banners painted in bold black letters hang from the ceiling with the words Sadie Hawkins Dance written on it. I didn’t know half of the people in this room, but I was able to spot out Drago, Phoenix and Medina in the crowd.

  I turn back to Nevy, genuinely happy.

  “You did all this for me?”

  He wipes away the lone happy tear that treks down my face.

  “I will do anything for you, Lilly. Now come. You were robbed of your dance once, but not toni
ght.” Nevy grabs me by the hand and pulls me to the dance floor.

  For the first time since I arrived in the Northern Kingdom, I allow myself to truly have fun. I dance until my feet hurt. I even convince Medina to dance. Although she complained the entire time, she did at least dance with me.

  When the band started to play a slow song, Drago wraps his arms around my waist before I could walk off the dance floor.

  “Ye’ seem happy.” He says looking down at me.

  I shrug my shoulders. “I guess I am. This was actually a really thoughtful gift. Do you know I’ve never actual been to a dance before. No matter how bad I wanted to go.” I look around at the over kill decorations and smile once again.

  Drago cocks his head to the side and does that staring thing again.

  “What?” I asks.

  He shakes his head and chuckles. “I’m starting to realize I’ve been played.”

  His reply has me confused. “I’m not playing you.”

  “Trust me, I know.” He chuckles again. “When I first met ye’, I thought ye’ were. I thought it was all an act, but ye’ truly are just a very rare and special girl.”

  I blush. I can’t help it. Drago is hard to please, and having him tell me he thought I was special really does mean a lot to me.

  “Well, thank you! And I think you are special too. Even if you’re mean and ornery.”

  He throws his head back and laughs. He spins me around showing off his dance moves. I glance over the crowd and spot Medina staring at us. And if my eyes aren’t deceiving me, I think she’s a little jealous.

  “You have an audience.” I say to Drago.

  He cocks an eye up at me and I nod my head in the direction of Medina. His eyes follow the direction I pointed out and a smile lights up his face.

  “That one is a mystery to me. She’s as hard as a goblin’s ass on the outside, but I can tell there is more to her. I see her vulnerability, her hurt and pain.”

  I look to Medina, wondering if I could see all of that, but when I look at her all I see is that tough well put together witch. She isn’t as hard and cut throat as she was my first few days here, but she still has up that wall around her.

  As if she can sense I’m trying to get a better read on her, she narrows her eyes at me, then turns away.

  I sigh.

  “Did she really abuse ye’?” Drago’s voice ask in a gentle tone.

  “Yes!” I answer honestly.

  “Then why friend her?”

  I think about my reply before I respond to him.

  “Partly because she was a familiar face in crowd of unfamiliar. You know that saying, better the enemy I know than the enemy I don’t.” He nods and I continue. “The other part is because deep down I am still that little girl trying to make friends everywhere I go. You don’t know how lonely it is growing up not being able to connect or share with someone your own age. You become so desperate for a friend that you tend to look over things. Like how I followed behind my racist cousin even though she was probably one of the meanest people I knew. In the past that habit has gotten me in some pretty crappy situations.” I think about Bobby Thomas and the young girl he abused. “But, since I’ve been here, I’ve made more friends than I ever thought I could. And most of them didn’t start off friendly.”

  “Hmm!” Is all Drago says.

  “What, you don’t believe me?”

  He smiles. “I think ye’ forgave and friended Medina, because it is simply who ye’ are. And ye’ knew she needed a friend. Ye’ don’t have to find a reason to be who ye’ are, Lilly. If anybody has the right to be themselves, it is ye’.”

  Again I find myself smiling at his compliment.

  “Is the great and powerful dragon king giving little old me, a non-magical, a compliment? That’s two in less than 20 minutes.”

  His eyes widens with shock. “Ye’ knew?”

  I laugh. “Not at first. But the more I thought about that conversation, the more the dragon king reminded me of you. And your name happens to be Drago. Sorry about that by the way. Not for what I said, because it was the truth, but had I known I was talking about you, I might have said it a little nicer.”

  He laughs again. Spinning me around to the soft music.

  “Ye’ are alright with me, Lilly.”

  “Good! Now my only mission is to get you and Medina together.”

  He looks down at me and winks. “Ye’ will have to use some magic for that, little human.”

  I smirk at him as I step away from his grasp. He gives me a confused look, and I push his chest making him step back into the person behind him that was trying to sneak out. Drago turns to see who he nearly trampled and his face lights up at Medina. Without asking, he wraps his arms around her waist and glides her across the floor. I smile at the two of them.

  “Are you trying to play matchmaker?” Nevy’s deep sultry voice whispers close to my ear.

  His scent and heat wraps around me. For a moment I lose myself. I step back into his embrace. He wraps his arms around me, clutching me to his chest as he sways us to the rhythm of the music. It feels amazing to be in a man’s arms. Too bad it’s not the arms I want. I slyly step away from Nevy’s embrace. He frowns when I turn to him. I know he noticed my little maneuver, but his frown turns into a smile when he sees the smile on my face.

  “Thanks again for all this, Nevy.”

  He only nods at me.

  “You only have to ask, Lilly. I will give you the world.”

  This was it. This was my chance to ask Nevy for the biggest gift he could ever give me. This was my chance to end this war once and for all.

  “Actually………”

  My words were cut off by a commotion at the entrance. Nevy instinctively tucks me into him. I notice Drago and Medina appear at my side.

  An Ogre rushes in, his huge tusks protruding from his mouth.

  “Enemies in the castle.” The ogre shouts.

  Once again, I allow that bit of hope that Assassin is here. He has come for me. Not the best timing, but I truly did miss him and the boys. I was ready for this to be over.

  “The Elven Queen?” Nevy asks.

  “No, the Southern soldiers. They are demanding the return of Bartus.”

  “Wait, Bartus is here?”

  Nevy looks down at me briefly, then over to Drago.

  “Take Lilly back to her room. No one gets in. Kotche will go with you.”

  Who is Kotche? The thought doesn’t even fully form when the beast is standing before me. I remember a similar creature from the night I had my boys. Same huge body, charred skin, and red eyes. I take a frightening step away from the thing. His red angry eyes follow me. I allow Drago and Medina to escort me to my room while the creature follows behind us.

  “What is that thing?” I whisper.

  I wouldn’t say that I have seen all the creatures of the Locke. This place is vast and full of so many species, but I had never heard anyone mention anything like this.

  “It is not natural.” Drago says with a low growl.

  “It is full of dark magic.”

  That’s when I remember the conversation with Matthias and his mother. They spoke of the Dark King taking men from the villages and performing gruesome magic on them. They said the magic turned the men into monsters.

  When we arrive to my room I pull Medina and Drago inside and close the door on the beast. Phoenix immediately hops down off my bed to stand at my feet. Usually I’m a pretty good person and don’t naturally judge people, but that thing scares the mess out of me.

  I quickly tell Drago and Medina the story Shahina told me.

  “Do you think that has anything to do with the children?” I ask after I finish the story.

  Medina places a hand on her hip and paces the floor. “It sounds reasonable. Magic has to have a balance. Which is why most of it requires blood or some type of pain. Dark magic comes from some place different from regular magic. If the Dark king is using dark magic this heavily, I can imagine it would r
equire more than the usual offering. But this is only an assumption and even if it is right, how do we correct it?”

  “I’ll ask the Dark King to stop using his magic.”

  Medina and Drago look to me as if I have lost my mind.

  “I thought your idea about making him call off the war was stupid, but this is ridiculous.”

  “Wait,” Drago steps forward, his eyes narrowing at me. “Was that yer’ plan? Ye’ thought ye’ would befriend the Dark King into stopping this war?”

  “Well, yeah! And I was about to bring it up to him tonight, but then all this happened.”

  Drago groans pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “I swear I’m going to kill that bloody elf the next time I see him.” Drago’s words are said low but I caught them. “Lilly, the Dark King is in love with ye’. This game that ye’ are playing is dangerous. Even if he considers calling off this war and relinquishing his hold on the Northern Kingdom, he will not do it to be ye’ friend. He wants ye’. I’ll admit, ye’ have him eating out the palm of ye’ hand, but he is going to want more. Are ye’ willing to give yer’self to him? Are ye’ falling for the Dark King?”

  Was I? I’ll admit, I have some attraction to Nevy. And lately he has shown me another side of him. A side that any woman would fall for. He has changed so much for me, and what he did tonight was one of the greatest things anyone has ever done for me. Nevy is flawed, not because of his eyes, but because he has so much anger inside of him. He just needs someone to love him. Can I be that someone?

  “I don’t know.” I reply to Drago’s question as I drop my head in my hands.

  I truly am confused. I know I love Assassin. There will never be any doubt about that. But, somehow I am falling for Nevy as well. I don’t know if it started when I first met him back in those dreams, are if it is new.

  Drago places a hand on my shoulder and squeeze. “Ye’ need to figure it out. And soon. But know, I am with ye’ no matter what, Lilly. I am on yer’ side.” I lift my head to find him staring with those burgundy irises blazing at me with devotion.

  “And I guess I’ll stick with you too. It’s not like I have anything better to do.” Medina rolls her eyes with her hands on her hips.