Kaesen felt the bile rise in her throat. She had to make her parents see.
“I will not marry him, Livia. I love Alwen and he loves me. We are running away if my parents will not change their mind.”
Livia opened her mouth to speak when the door to the throne room opened with a crash and Eros stormed into the hallway.
“Kaesen! You have kept us waiting for over an hour. Where were you?” Eros roared into the hallway. Kaesen jumped backward and began to shake. She had never seen her father so angry before and wondered what brought on such rage.
“I was out riding,” Kaesen finally answered.
“So, it is true then.” Elzar had exited the room behind Eros, followed closely by Alana and a girl Kaesen knew as Isa. Alana gazed at the floor as she followed the crowd into the hall. A look of sorrow marred her beautiful features. Isa’s eyes followed Elzar. She looked calm and serene. Kaesen wondered at the sudden shiver that crept up her spine. It was then she noticed the anger in Elzar’s face and panic set in.
“You have been out riding with Alwen,” Elzar accused. The malice in his voice was frightening.
Kaesen stood speechless as thoughts of the beach filtered through her head. Could anyone possibly know of her time with Alwen and the confessions of love given only hours ago, or the forbidden touches exchanged?
“Alwen is my protector, Elzar. He is always with me.” Kaesen tried to sound brave, but her voice shook. “It is his sworn duty.”
“It is his sworn duty to protect you, yes. Not take what is mine,” Elzar exclaimed. “Has he soiled you for me, my dear?” His voice was low, the endearment spit with venom.
“Alwen would never soil me. He loves me!” Kaesen blurted out before she could stop herself. Instantly, she regretted her words.
In a split second, Elzar pushed Eros aside and reached for Kaesen. He grabbed and twisted her arm behind her back and pulled her close to his chest. The vice-like grip had her pinned to his body, helpless. Elzar leaned forward and buried his nose in her hair before she felt his breath on her ear.
“You are mine!” Elzar whispered, his voice dangerous.
“You are hurting me.” Kaesen answered loud enough for only Elzar to hear.
Alana gasped at his bold gestures and took a step forward. Her hands instinctively reached for the air above her to call elements of the wind and a gust burst through the castle walls.
Embarrassment that plagued Eros moments before now gave way to fear and anger as the situation seemed to finally register in his mind.
“Elzar! Unhand my daughter.” Eros stepped forward and pulled his saber from the sheath at his side.
“She is mine by right and I will not be denied any longer. This wedding should have happened years ago, but you insisted we wait.” Elzar’s gaze never left Kaesen’s face. The hard lines of his stare sent shivers down her spine. “I have been patient for too long.”
“Elzar! I said, unhand my daughter.” The edge in Eros’ voice was enough to make Elzar raise his gaze from Kaesen’s stark white face. The hate that seethed from his eyes seemed to leave Eros unsettled, if his wide eyes were an indication, but he took a step forward as the winds began to pick up speed.
Elzar turned Kaesen around until she was facing her parents, but her arm remained pinned to her back. Elzar’s hold did not ease up. Kaesen could feel her restricted lungs beg for breath under his cold, hard grasp.
Eros met Kaesen’s eyes with a look of panic as he retreated from his attack now that his daughter stood between him and a madman.
Winds inside the castle began to twist and turn with more force and Kaesen knew it was Alana. The wind centered on Elzar and Kaesen. A small tornado of wind circled the pair, whipping Kaesen’s hair in every direction as the winds picked up speed. With each twist that encircled them, Elzar’s grip became stronger and Kaesen felt her body becoming weak beneath his grasp.
Behind them the castle doors swung open with a force strong enough to make the sturdy wood shudder against the stone. Alwen stood in the open doorway with Livia behind him. In the commotion, she must have retreated and found Alwen. The marking on his wrist burned with a strong bright light.
The scene before him brought a scream of rage from his throat.
All eyes watched as he ran forward, catching Elzar off guard with a strong right hook to his upper jaw moments before Kaesen fainted from lack of oxygen.
><><><><
Elzar flew backward from the force of Alwen’s punch and the strong winds surrounding him. He hit the wall behind him as Kaesen dropped into Alwen’s waiting arms.
Isa screamed from behind Alana and ran forward, but she pulled up short when Eros cut off her advance with his long saber.
“Do not move!” Eros commanded, and Isa froze. The saber Eros held now pointed at Elzar’s chin, the sharp edge drawing a small trickle of blood where it touched his skin.
“Please don’t.” Isa barely breathed, her form frozen in place.
“I will not spare this man,” Eros said to Isa before he turned his attention back to Elzar and commanded him to stand. “You have assaulted my daughter. You will pay.”
Elzar wiped his chin of the blood as he stood and looked to Alwen who now held Kaesen’s limp body tenderly in his arms, whispering soft words into her ear. The markings on both their wrists burned brightly moments before Kaesen regained consciousness.
“Alwen?” she whispered against the palm of his hand that caressed her face.
“I’ve got you, my love,” Alwen reassured her.
Elzar seethed and his eyes went cold. He looked from Kaesen to Isa, a silent communication that Isa understood, and nodded.
Simultaneously, Isa turned towards Alana, pulled a small dagger from the sleeve of her dress, and plunged it into Alana’s chest. A whoosh of air left her lungs as the steel pushed through and nicked her heart.
Time seemed to freeze as Alana fell to the ground amidst the screams of rage from Elzar as he advanced towards Eros and his saber. In one slashing move, Eros brought his saber down across Elzar’s body, leaving a large gapping gash the length of his chest, but it was not powerful enough to make him drop.
Eros found his hand wrenched the opposite direction before he felt the sticky end of his saber thrust through his body. He fell to the ground next to his beloved wife.
Isa ran forward and clutched Elzar in her arms when he fell to his knees from his wounds, too weak to do anything more.
“Be still, my Elzar,” Isa whispered as a gust of wind erupted in the hallway, violently swirling overhead. An eerie mist formed and descended around Isa and Elzar, twisting in a whirlwind that engulfed them both. When the winds died away, Isa and Elzar had disappeared.
“She is a witch!” Livia whispered in disbelief and shock. She knelt next to the bodies of Alana and Eros as tears slipped freely down her face. “She is a witch.”
“Don’t look,” Alwen commanded, as he carried Kaesen from the hall, past the bodies of her parents to the sound of Livia’s cries.
Chapter 5
Isa stumbled under Elzar’s weight at the door of her rundown cottage. The mist she used to bring them here drained more of her power than she expected, and it was sure to give away her secret, but she did not care. She ignored the clump of hair that came away in her hands when she pushed her frizzy locks back from her eyes. Her only care was to make sure Elzar was safe, even if she could not understand exactly why she bothered any longer.
Her cottage lay in the wooded area surrounding the castle, and it had seen better days. The roof hung in tatters and barely covered the area where her bed settled against the far wall. This home was her childhood home and she never felt a need to leave, not even when her parents died when she was young. That is, until this moment. She knew she had to leave and Elzar had to go with her.
Isa had always been an outcast, much like her family while they were still alive. Her mother was a witch, like her, but a witch left undetected through the many years she lived on Maia. Her mother refuse
d to let others know of her powers for fear of being forced to serve the kingdom as an Oracle. Like Isa, her power went beyond seeing the future; she had powers derived from the energy of their star. Isa knew if others found out about her powers, she would remain captive for the rest of her life, and Isa did not want that fate.
Elzar groaned as she made her way to her small bed before she dropped him onto her mattress. Isa grabbed his shirt and ripped the remainder of the fabric away so she could get a better look at his wound.
“I must clean this,” Isa said and left the cottage. When she returned moments later, she had a fresh bucket of water and a clean cloth already soaked and ready to wipe away the blood that covered his chest.
She reached for him when Elzar stilled her hand in mid-air with a strength that surprised her. His color had gone pale and a sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead, but his eyes were intent on her.
“You are a witch,” he accused.
“Yes.”
“Why have you kept it a secret from me?”
“Would that have made a difference?” Isa asked. She pulled her hand from his grip and squeezed water from the cloth onto his chest. Elzar gasped, but said nothing.
Isa knew the answer even though she asked the question. If he had known, he would have used her to get Kaesen earlier. There was a time when Elzar pretended to love her. Back when her hair was long, full, and brilliantly blonde, when her deep brown eyes sparkled, and her skin was flawless, vibrant. Back when Maia had enough energy to sustain them both.
As a witch tied to the energy of Maia, as long as the star was functioning properly, Isa had as much strength and power as she needed. But when that energy started to fade, Isa’s beauty began to fade with it. Her once luscious hair turned pale and frizzy and the glow in her complexion and smooth skin turned hollow, pockmarked, and duller with each passing day. That was when Elzar made his decision to pursue Kaesen and the promise of power as her husband. That was also when Isa realized Elzar never loved her as much as he did power. She realized Elzar had used her, but she was helpless to change her heart.
Isa continued to clean Elzar while he gasped in pain. The gash was too deep for her to stop the flow of blood without more magic to seal the wound. To use more magic would drain her further, and her physical appearance would suffer once again.
Helpless to do anything else, Isa dropped the water bucket and took Elzar’s hand in hers. She murmured the words of healing as she dipped her head to his chest and kissed along the gash. Each kiss sealed the wound, but she felt him flinch with disgust each time her lips touched his skin.
Isa’s heart broke a little more.
Once all the wounds were sealed, Isa dropped Elzar’s hand and stood to wash the blood from her pale lips.
“Your hair is falling out.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Why?” The tone in his voice held a bit of disgust and awe at the same time. Isa met his gaze and followed through with the decision she made at the beach. It was time to let Elzar in on her secret.
“Maia is dying. Each day, energy drains out and Maia becomes weaker. It will not last much longer before all the energy is gone and Maia explodes.” As Isa spoke, the ground shook violently for a few moments as if to emphasize her statement.
“Explodes?” Elzar questioned as he lay on the bed, panting from his wound. He didn’t seem to notice the tremor, but the color was seeping back into his cheeks. He was regaining his strength. “How do you know?”
With a sigh, Isa turned to Elzar and searched his face. He tried to hide his repulsion, but Isa caught the look that passed over his features. Using her magic to get them out of the castle, and then to seal his wounds must have taken a bigger toll on her than she thought.
“I am tied to this star. The energy feeds me. I can feel the energy dying out, it will not be long.”
“That is why you’ve aged so quickly so fast?” Elzar accused.
“Yes.”
He was silent but Isa knew him well enough to know he was contemplating his next move. She still had more to tell.
“There are others like us,” Isa said. “On Earth,” she qualified when Elzar gave her a blank look. “When our people first settled here, a small group of Elementals traveled to Earth to live among the humans and find a way for us to coexist. This information was kept from us all these years. While they lived in harmony with humans and built our race on Earth, we’ve lived on this dying star, kept captive. Maia was never to be our final home.”
“How can you know all of this?”
“I can see things others cannot,” Isa explained. She tried to keep her voice steady, to keep the hate she felt from coming through, but she failed. “I know there are Elementals on Earth, more powerful than your precious Kaesen. They have lived on Earth for hundreds of years, and because they live as one with the planet, their powers are greater than anyone has ever seen. Many Elementals have been born on Earth and have harvested the power of the Sun Star to increase their powers.”
Isa could see the thoughts spinning in Elzar’s mind. His quest for power had now extended to Earth. She would finally have the man she loved, and he would need her to be with him because of her power. He would still use her, but maybe he would eventually return the love she wanted to give.
“How did the others get to Earth?”
“I can take us there.”
Elzar stood, still a little shaky on his legs, but determined in his steps.
“Maybe with the power of the Sun Star, I can reverse the aging I’ve endured.” Isa tried not to sound desperate in her need to feel loved and appreciated by Elzar, but knew she fell short. Elzar said nothing but closed his eyes and kissed her forehead. Isa took a deep breath before she called on her powers.
Isa didn’t miss the repulsion in Elzar’s eyes when he pulled her close to hold her through the swirling mist that would take them to Earth. She should care that this man had made many promises that he never kept, that he loved power over anything, or that he just killed the family of his bride-to-be with no sign of remorse, but she couldn’t. Finally, she had the man she always wanted and she held on to the hope that maybe he would finally be hers again.
Chapter 6
Alwen carried Kaesen away from the carnage in the hallway, her sorrowed cries muffled against his shirt. The castle was abuzz with activity as they cleaned up the mess left in Elzar’s wake. Anger burned in Alwen’s blood and he had to force his hands to stay relaxed against the need for revenge.
When he rushed into the castle to see Kaesen held tightly against Elzar’s chest, and felt the panic in her thoughts as she fought for air, he was seized with an uncontrollable fear that froze him to the spot. If he was a few minutes later, if the marking on his wrist did not burn with such intensity, he could have lost her. His world would have ceased to exist.
“It is all my fault. All my fault and now I am alone.” Kaesen’s tortured confession broke Alwen from his thoughts. “I have been so selfish, wanting you with me and no one else. I killed my parents!” Kaesen buried her head in Alwen’s shoulder.
“No! This is not your fault, my love. And you are not alone; you will never be alone as long as I am here.” Alwen tried to reassure her, but he knew she would need time to process what she just experienced. Guilt was always the first step and Alwen could feel Kaesen had plenty of guilt coursing through her veins. He pressed a kiss to her forehead; a throat cleared behind him.
“Alwen, you must take her to the seers.” Livia’s soft voice came from behind. Alwen did not even know Livia had followed until she spoke. He turned and saw the lifeless expression she wore, the blood that stained her hands, and the sorrow that emanated from her body.
“She must rest now.”
“No, you must not wait. I am afraid our time is short.”
Alwen came to a stop and turned to look Livia in the eyes. Her normally vibrant eyes had lost their shine, replaced with something that looked like fear.
“Livia, what do you mean?” K
aesen hiccupped her question from Alwen’s arms. She looked weak and distraught cradled in Alwen’s arms.
“Your parents knew the fate of our star, of our people. It is the reason your wedding hadn’t happened yet. Your parents wanted to make sure our star would survive.”
Alwen gently placed Kaesen back on the ground and steadied her beside him before he took a step toward Livia and asked for more details.
“It is the place of the seers to tell you, my boy.” Livia placed her hands on either side of Alwen’s face and pulled him down to her level and stared deep into his eyes. “They will give you guidance. Don’t hesitate, don’t look back.”
Livia placed a kiss on either side of his cheeks and dropped her hands. She turned to Kaesen, picked up one trembling hand, kissed it, and turned to leave without another word.
Something in Livia’s plea settled in Alwen’s heart. He could feel the urgency of her request.
“Are you steady?” Alwen questioned.
Kaesen nodded.
Alwen grabbed her hand and together they hurried from the castle to the stables for Alwen’s horse. They must reach the seers quickly.
><><><><
“We have been waiting for you.” One of the older seers of the kingdom stood at the entrance of a small cottage in the center of a flowered meadow. Her eyes were glazed over and almost white in appearance. Kaesen knew she did not need her eyes to see the world; she could see with her mind. Long flowing hair reached past her shoulders and she gave off a heavenly glow. Long flowing gowns skimmed the grass beneath her bare feet and billowed slightly in the breeze.
“You know what has happened?” Alwen asked as he slid from his horse and reached to help Kaesen down
“Yes, but there is more at stake than you know, my child.”
With a nod, Alwen grasped Kaesen’s hand in his and followed the seer into the small cottage.
It was dark inside, even with the burning candles that circled the room, but somehow the cottage was inviting. Three seers waited for Kaesen and Alwen to walk to the center of the room. Each of the three seers looked identical: long flowing hair, glazed white eyes, and a soft smile on their lips. They spoke together in unison.
Elemental Princess: Royal Lines (Elemental Series) Page 3
