The Sweet Series Box Set: Books 1-4

by Bailey Ardisone

  “Seriously? How? What is he?” Rydan inquired, matching my whisper.

  “His name is Námoman, and he is a powerful Truth Seeker.”

  Chapter Three

  ~Nari~

  “You must hide!” my grandfather announced the same time both he and my grandmother stood up with panic resonating from their strained faces, which was also the same instant I had heard the growl.

  Great, so the creature did mean bad news. The grumbling animal was suddenly at Döron’s side, causing me to jump backward and slam into whatever was behind me. Now in the light, I was able to see that it was a wolf. A very large, beautiful wolf with a mixture of earthy colors in its fur. Its dusty white, grey, black, and multi-hued browns were captivating. But it was way-too-large-to-be-normal-type large. And scary as hell.

  A just as beautiful red fox came sneaking through who-knows-where while letting out a sharp hacking-type bark in warning, followed by an even stranger cough sound that set my teeth on edge. It slinked so quickly to my grandmother’s outstretched arm I almost missed it, as if she had expected it before it had even made its presence known. Like a feline, it pounced upward into her waiting embrace. For being in the dog family, it sure behaved more like a cat.

  “This way!” Döron pushed me urgently around the corner and into a tiny pantry. He placed a finger to his lips and with a fierce look in his eyes whispered, “Shhh.”

  The door to the pantry was closed with a final latch, and I did my utmost to breathe without a sound. I stayed perfectly still with my eyes clenched tight. I realized once I had seen the fox that it and the wolf were my grandparents’ Fëa. At least, they had to be, right? It’d make sense if they had been keeping watch for any danger.

  The bad part was, they obviously found some.

  I waited on pins and needles for what’d happen next. It was torture, and I had never felt so insufferably helpless. Especially when a knock on the door had my scalp prickling to attention and ears trained for any and all sound outside my place of concealment. I wouldn’t be able to see what was going on, but I sure as heck would be ready for action if need be.

  I listened to the sound of the door being opened, followed by the maidservant asking, “May I help you?”

  “Step aside,” a male voice ordered. I didn’t hear footsteps, but that was normal for these creatures. I had to assume she did move, and whoever had asked her to entered.

  My grandfather demanded, “What is this about? I do not recall sending a party invitation.”

  “Search the premises,” that same voice boomed with authority, ignoring Döron’s attempt at humor. And I couldn’t help ignoring it as well as my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. The person I assumed to be a guard added firmly to his order, “Thoroughly.”

  “I beg your pardon,” Döron snapped. “Is that necessary? What reason do you have to search my home? Where did your order come from?”

  “By order of King Aglar. You need not be concerned with the reason,” the guard retorted bitterly.

  Oh, god, no. No, no, no. Please, no. Don’t come searching here…please not here…

  I couldn’t hear where they were stepping or how many were searching, but slowly, I could feel a great evil pressing against my chest. The longer the guards searched—the longer I sat waiting in the dark—that evilness became unbearably harsher to resist. It was choking me—suffocating me—seducing me to abandon my hiding spot and reveal myself. It was so strong as it did its best to consume me wholly. Sweat dripped from my temples as I fought against it—as I resisted the urge to give in.

  My hand reached toward the door, and I silently grabbed it with my other, holding myself back. What the heck?! I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands into fists before sitting on them completely. What was wrong with me? It had to be some sort of elven trick of theirs to lure out hiding prey.

  “Leave it,” Döron’s voice demanded viciously right outside the door to the pantry I hid in. Oh, freaking crap. Shadows played beneath the crack, reminding me of another time and place. A much darker time, and a much, much darker place. Not that this was any better than hiding from Ray in my closet as a little girl, watching his shadow creep closer. But you couldn’t really compare one evil to another. They both sucked majorly.

  That demanding voice I was already beginning to hate, countered with conviction, “Do not adhere to his orders, Cílon. He is no longer in command of your service.”

  I about died right then and there. My heart completely stopped and my lungs might as well not have existed, since they were no longer doing what they were supposed to. I sat frozen in horror—the anticipation of the pantry door being opened to reveal my “abominable” self to these scouts disabled all normal bodily functions.

  But I couldn’t afford to be a coward. I would have to be ready. And so I squeezed my fists that I set atop my knees even harder until my nails dug into my palms painfully. The first thing the Tavas guard would see when he opened that door would be my determined warrior face.

  And that was exactly what he got once the light flooded inside the small space I crouched in and the wooden enclosure widened to its fullest point. Cílon announced to the room, “That was much too easy. I might even feel a bit bored.”

  I resisted the urge to cover my face with my hands when a dozen pair of eyes stared at me. The heat of their gaze scorched every bit of my skin. There was no hope for my heart. That poor thing died somewhere back there a while ago.

  Döron said, “You will not touch her.”

  “You are mistaken. We most certainly will. That thing you abandoned your loyalty to the king for was sighted entering your home. News of this nature travels at much too great a speed for you to truly think King Aglar is ignorant of it. You have all been summoned,” the lead guard explained as he grabbed Döron by the bicep. Cílon was quick to pull me out of the pantry, restraining my wrists with a vise-grip. My grandmother was seized also, and it took every bit of strength I had to breathe normally.

  A low rumble in the deep belly of Döron’s wolf indicated his distaste with the situation. He kept his teeth bared in irritation, clearly not at all happy. I couldn’t blame him…neither was I. But most especially I felt the grave worry exuding from Lissë’s heart. There was no comforting her; not when I couldn’t even comfort myself.

  My mouth stayed shut as the guards led us all to our doom. I already knew not to waste my breath trying to change their minds. I was a pro at this by now. More thoughts of Mycah and Rydan floated around my head like a never-ending tornado. My heart felt like it was constantly being crushed with every passing second.

  We were taken around the corner and up the winding stairway as an audience of elves gathered around at the base to gawk. I thought of something then, and couldn’t help voicing it. “Did you say I was sighted? As in someone saw me entering their house? How? I was so tooottaalllyyy stealthy!”

  A few guards did their best not to chuckle outwardly, but I noticed it anyway, and it stung my pride a little. One said under his breath for the benefit of his comrades, “Oh, yes, incredibly sneaky. You were about as stealthy as a gaggle of gorillas.”

  That elicited stronger laughs from them all and a way bigger bruise on my ego. I halted in place, protesting, “A gaggle of gorillas?!”

  They, of course, only laughed more. My cheeks flared with heat, but I couldn’t help laughing a little, too. I seriously thought I had been as smooth as a gosh darn ninja out there! I was embarrassed to find out that wasn’t actually the case, but at the same time it felt sort of nice joking with these guys, even if it was at my expense. In this moment, they felt less elf-like and more guy-next-door-like. I was fine with being the butt of their joke if it meant they’d warm up to me…and in turn maybe want to spare my life…I shook my head at myself. Yeah, right.

  The laughs just as quickly died out as we reached the top of the stairs. I had moved on from bitter resentment and anger, even opposition, toward my predicament in a matter of minutes once my foot planted onto the floor
. A flare of determination exploded in the deep pit of my gut, setting off like a firecracker the second my gaze hit the cold, lifeless eyes of King Aglar’s and fueled my true purpose for being here. He killed my mother. And even from here, I could see the desire—his intense craving—for my death as well.

  But he would not kill me, too.

  Not when my grandparents and my father had risked everything to spare my life from his clutches. I refused to give him what he yearned for, not when it’d make their sacrifices pointless. The hatred for my existence poured off his body like a rolling deluge. Well, I could honestly say that the feeling was mutual. The guards held us in place in front of his lofty throne, and he sluggishly slithered his focus to my grandfather. At the same time, a large albino snake maneuvered its way from behind the platform and up around Aglar’s shoulders.

  Shaking his head slowly with grave disappointment, Aglar said to him, “Does your treachery and disloyalty ever come to an end? Tell me? How deep will your betrayal run? If I should let you live, tell me, my dear Lord, shall I expect you to snap my neck whilst I sleep? Is that what this has come to?”

  I couldn’t help finding it odd that the King would use such a title as “Lord” to Döron the way the soldiers did, but perhaps it was just another elven cultural thing I wasn’t aware of. Or maybe it had something to do with Döron being the father of Aglar’s former wife and mate. Had he only kept him alive after his betrayal simply out of respect and honor because of being the father-in-law? An outsider like me wouldn't know for sure what this psychotic elf was thinking, but I couldn’t come up with another explanation as to why my grandparents’ lives were spared that first time after committing treason instead of being executed immediately. Whatever the reason, I doubted Aglar would be as forgiving twice in a row, in-laws or not. The thought alone had me burning with anger. He could sentence me to death as many times as he wanted, but don’t mess with my family and friends.

  My grandfather let out a very long sigh as he closed his eyes. Even as he spoke they stayed shut, and he sounded about as old as the Earth. Before this moment, he had looked young to me. But right now, as he faced his king—the murderer of his daughter, hunter of his granddaughter, and prison warden, he looked as old as he sounded. “My King, what am I to say to you? We have been through this many times before. You will not listen to reason. You will not accept that I cannot resist the unconditional love I have for my granddaughter. If you must kill me for this attachment, then that is your choice before you. For I do not have the ability in me to turn away from her. You know this, my son.”

  Aglar shot up off his throne into a standing position and squeezed a tight fist toward his face in a flash. He appeared to be losing control of his rage and was doing all he could to contain it. “I cannot possibly ever accept it! Never!”

  His voice was so loud that my ears continued to ache well after the echoes faded. Ender’s Plan B flashed in my mind, and I waited for just the right opportunity to put it into action. I bit my tongue, forcing myself to stay in check and not ruin it by joining in their conversation. All I needed to do was wait.

  “Then there is naught left to do but end this vicious cycle. I do not possess the strength to continue arguing with you on this subject. I have grown much too old for your long-winded grudges,” Döron said, finally looking into Aglar’s eyes.

  “You would give up your life in service of this abomination? To remain loyal to it, you would so easily die in exchange?” Aglar sounded a bit crazed and deranged, as if the very idea of my grandfather caring for me would literally drive the royal elf insane. The hefty snake that I assumed to be his Fëa remained around his shoulders and kept its eyes on mine as it hissed its tongue out, tasting the air.

  “You know all too well the answer to these questions, Your Majesty.” Döron bowed respectfully, perhaps trying to soften the blow his response would surely have on Aglar’s emotions.

  “You fool!” he shouted in return. “You leave me no choice! Kill them all!” He swung his arm, his finger flying along the line that my grandfather, grandmother, and myself stood in, along with their Fëa. I chewed on my lips, the anticipation too much for me.

  We were swiftly corralled back down the winding stairs for our execution. The gathering of elves that had begun at the start of our ascension did not dissipate, and so this time as we descended, there was already a crowd waiting for our return. This right here, right now, was my chance.

  I wrung my wrists down and out of the guard’s hold with a violent thrust, performing a spin move on the edge of my heels around to his back, and smashed my forearm into his spine. He pitched forward, tumbling down the stairs and knocking out almost everyone else with him as he fell.

  Two guards that had been behind me were all that were left standing in my way. I ducked below their reaching arms and swiveled away from their grasps. My back slammed into the beautiful rail made of twisted branches that kept me from plunging head first into the hard soil some seventy-feet below, and I said a quick prayer of thanks. I squeezed past the two guards in a quick jump out of the way, just missing their clutches at the last second. But I paid no attention. I slipped through the door into the king’s throne room and noticed Döron’s wolf had come with me. Once its tail cleared the threshold, I shoved the door closed in an instant. The elves on the other side pounded their fists against the thick wood as I chanted the Elvish spell my father taught me for this moment.

  It was an Isil enchantment that only those of the Isil race could cast. The night elves’ essence in me was difficult to conjure, but I practiced many times for this chance. And now that it was here, I refused to let anything get in my way while my heart pounded in tune with the rapping on the door.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Aglar’s fury came hurtling behind me.

  But it was too late. The spell was solidified, locking the two of us plus the two Fëa in this room together. It would hold the doors closed…for now. At least, it should hold them long enough to do what I had really come here for.

  Time for Ender’s Plan B: Assassinate The King.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” I sung sweetly, trying to cover my nerves. I didn’t want him to know I was terrified. “I thought this was the bathroom. I’m afraid I got lost on my way to being executed. I don’t know, must’ve taken a wrong turn back there or something…” I shrugged, shaking my head and lifting my palms up.

  The army outside continued to beat against the wooden enclosure. Aglar’s attention was split between the door and my face. Astonishment and confusion were the only emotions I could see brewing in his dumbfounded expression. “What have you done?! What is it you intend to accomplish?”

  “Now, now. Calm down,” I cajoled. “I don’t want you getting your fancy-pants elfy-undies all twisted and tangled. That’d just make you even more grumpy than you usually are, and trust me, no one wants to see that.” My voice shook along with the rest of my body, so I crossed my arms over my chest. I stood strong and said firmer, “I need your army.”

  “I beg your pardon—”

  “Pardon denied.”

  “—but you have—” He stopped talking when I had spoken over him, interrupting what he had been trying to say. He eyed me disdainfully, not in the least bit amused. “Excuse me?”

  “Nope, not excused either,” I smarted off. I needed him to get angry and me less nervous. Being a brat felt like it’d easily do the trick.

  “Silence!” he roared. “I will not tolerate your childish games!”

  Döron’s wolf growled at the snake that had slithered down to the ground. I was suddenly thankful he had followed me in. He could deal with the Fëa while I dealt with Aglar.

  “Look, I really don’t care what you will or will not tolerate. You’re giving me your army whether you like it or not. Whether you’re alive for it or not. It’s happening. I need it, and you better damn well know I’m taking what I need. I’m sick of you pretentious douchebags controlling these life or death situations I keep finding
myself in. It ends now. I’m ripping that control out of your greedy, abnormally-slender fingers and taking it back once and for all. So get over it.” I tossed all politeness out the window and let whatever I wanted to say, whatever I had been forced to hold back the last time I had been here, pour out of me. I had nothing to lose this time around, and it felt so freakin’ good to let out all my angst.

  And it totally pumped me up for what I needed to happen next. I took in a long breath, appreciating the beautiful clean air that smelled like the sun. Yeah, the sun. Not that anyone could really say what the sun’s scent was, but if it had one, this would be it.

  The haughty king lunged at me. “I will have your head for this!”

  “Gotta catch me first.” I dodged under the swing of his sword that he had whipped out in a flash and sprinted to the other side of the room. He followed. Which was exactly what I wanted him to do. The wolf and snake were occupied in their own battle.

  “Stupid girl. Not only do you come disrupting my kingdom with your perverted existence, but wish to steal my crown as well? I should have known you would be much more rotten than I had imagined.” He struck his sword downward, and it clashed with the dagger that I had pulled from hiding in my boot.

  “I never wanted your stupid crown! Not once did that thought ever cross my mind when I first came here. I just want your army so I can save the people I care most about in this world. You’ve left me with no choice but to take it from you by any means necessary.” I sidestepped his attack. He was skilled with a sword. And I knew he would be. He was a king, for goodness sake. It’d be sad if he weren’t amazing in hand-to-hand battles.