by AJ Ryder
“You were worthy, Liandrya,” Raeloun said while gently pulling the half-elf to a halt. “Never doubt that.” He sighed. “It was my own fault for not telling you that when I had the chance. I should have told you every day.”
“Promise me that you won’t make that same mistake with the next woman you love,” Liandrya entreated fervently. If she was to die, then she needed to know that Raeloun would be alright.
“I promise,” Raeloun replied with a smile. “When a woman who can push you from my mind comes along, I do not intend to let her slip through my fingers.”
“Good,” Liandrya said with a nod. “Now, promise me one more thing.”
“Anything,” Raeloun replied.
“Promise me that once I walk out through that gate, you will let me go,” Liandrya said fervently.
Raeloun looked down at Liandrya in confusion. “What sort of thing is that to promise?”
“Please, Raeloun,” Liandrya entreated. “Seven years in long enough for you to be pining over the woman who broke your heart. Please promise me that you will let me go once I walk through that gate and that you will leave yourself open to being loved by another. I need you to make and keep this promise to me.”
Raeloun eyed Liandrya in silent curiosity for several moments before slowly nodding. “Alright, Liandrya. I give you my word.”
Liandrya smiled, and her shoulders visibly relaxed. “Thank you.” She began walking once more.
“Do you have everything you need?” Raeloun asked worriedly.
“And more,” Liandrya reassured.
“And the clothes fit alright?”
“Yes, and they’re both comfortable and warm,” Liandrya replied.
“Good,” Raeloun said with a nod of approval. “Be—” His words were cut off by the sound of commotion at the gate opening, and he narrowed his eyes while drawing his sword and pushing Liandrya safely behind him. “Liandrya, get back!”
“My Lord,” one of the generals from the war room said as he strode through the crowd. “One of my patrols found intruders in the forest.”
“Are we under attack, Glacyen?” Raeloun asked pointedly.
Glacyen shook his head and frowned deeply. “No, My Lord, but you will not be happy when you see what we found,” he said before stepping aside to reveal none other than Dorlyn and Vylkur.
15
Having peered around Raeloun upon hearing that they were not in fact under attack, Liandrya’s stomach was filled with heavy dread, and her hands became clammy all the while General Glacyen spoke. When her beloved mates were revealed at last, Liandrya’s eyes widened, and her heart felt like it was being gripped in a vice even as she hurriedly schooled her face into an expression of shock rather than the distress she was truly feeling.
Both Dorlyn and Vylkur were beaten and bound. Vylkur’s eyes were blindfolded to deter him from casting spells, and it was clear that both elves had put up quite the fight before finally being overpowered.
“You,” Raeloun snarled at the sight of the two elves he remembered all too well.
“Hello to you, my former Lord,” Dorlyn greeted cheekily. “You really should work to improve your hospitality as well as your welcoming committee.”
“Shut up, you,” one of the scouts growled before punching Dorlyn hard in the jaw with a resounding crack.
“What’s going on?” Liandrya asked with feigned curiosity when all she wanted to do was run to her loves and comfort them. It broke her heart to see them in such a state, and it was only the subtle headshake from Dorlyn that kept her from dropping all pretenses and doing what her instincts screamed for her to do.
“Nothing with which you need to concern yourself, Liandrya,” Raeloun replied evenly. “Go now and be safely away on your journey while I deal with the traitor and his pet.”
“Meow,” Vylkur replied cheekily before grunting and spitting out blood after receiving a violent punch to the mouth.
“That’s enough out of you, filth,” Glacyen snarled.
“Leave him alone!” Dorlyn snarled while struggling against his bonds and captors. “Why not focus on the one you’re really angry at?”
Glacyen rounded on Dorlyn. “Your betrayal makes you an even bigger of a piece of filth than he is,” he spat.
“Ouch,” Dorlyn replied dryly before grunting and doubling over in pain when Glacyen delivered a hard punch to his gut.
“Is this how you treat all your captives?” Liandrya demanded in a voice that was slightly shriller than she intended. She was finding it more and more difficult to remain impassive, and she felt her resolve quickly unraveling.
Raeloun sighed heavily. “You always did possess a kind heart, Liandrya,” he remarked fondly before growing serious and pointing to Dorlyn. “That elf is a traitor to his people and his realm. He betrayed us all when he chose to cavort and carry on with that tainted creature,” he said while pointing to Vylkur. “They were both exiled upon pain of death.”
“I can only thank Anfarwol that your mother and father didn’t live to see you fall from grace,” Glacyen remarked while eying Dorlyn with disdain.
“Take them to the dungeons,” Raeloun ordered. “Torture them all you want, but do not kill them. Leave that for me.”
“No!” Liandrya cried.
Raeloun sighed. “Liandrya, I have already told you that this is no concern of yours. Now, please, go and—”
“NO!” Liandrya screamed with a stomp of her foot before darting over to Dorlyn and Vylkur only to then shove, kick, and punch their captors away. “Get off! Get your fucking hands off them!” The element of surprise coupled with her short and nimble body worked to her advantage, but she did not have enough time to unbind her loves before the scouts recovered and began closing in on them again.
Raeloun watched his former lover, completely aghast. “Liandrya! Liandrya, what do you think you’re—”
Liandrya stood protectively in front of her two mates and tried to shield them as best she could while leveling her gaze upon Raeloun. “If you want to kill them, then you’ll have to kill me too.”
Raeloun stared wordlessly at Liandrya for several moments, and then his expression gradually shifted from one of confusion into one of cold rage. “Which one of them, Liandrya?” he asked with narrowed eyes. His question was simple, but it carried great weight.
Liandrya raised her chin and met Raeloun’s gaze head-on. “Both of them.”
“Liandrya, what are you doing?” Vylkur asked in a pained whisper.
“You still had a chance,” Dorlyn whispered sadly. “Why are you doing this?”
“Just trust me,” Liandrya whispered even as her gaze never wavered from Raeloun’s. It was a risky gambit, but if she played her cards just right, then Dorlyn and Vylkur would escape with their lives, and Raeloun would finally be able to move on with his life and find someone new.
In the event of her death, the three of them would be alright.
“The both of them?” Raeloun asked in disgust even as his eyes radiated sorrow. “Was I not enough for you?”
“My mateship with Dorlyn and Vylkur has nothing to do with what you and I once shared,” Liandrya replied.
“You and him?” Dorlyn asked in an incredulous whisper.
“Not now,” Liandrya whispered over her shoulder.
“Mateship?” Raeloun demanded in disbelief, utterly flabbergasted. “The three of you are mated? The three of you?”
“Filthy whore,” Glacyen spat.
“Don’t speak to her that way!” Raeloun, Dorlyn, and Vylkur all snapped in unison before looking to one another in genuine surprise.
“My Lord, the evidence speaks for itself,” Glacyen protested calmly. “She has openly admitted to cavorting with two known traitors, and she shows no remorse whatsoever. She is just as filthy as the two of them.”
“Shut your fucking mouth!” Dorlyn and Vylkur shouted angrily.
“Refer to us however you wish, but leave Liandrya out of it!” Dorlyn snapped.
L
iandrya could not help the smile from ghosting over her lips. “I can handle myself,” she replied. “And think of me however you wish, General. I don’t answer to you, or to anyone else here for that matter.”
“Let us execute all three of them, My Lord,” Glacyen sneered upon seeing the conflict in Raeloun’s eyes. “Their two lives were forfeit the moment they stepped into the Amber Realm,” he said while pointing to Dorlyn and Vylkur. “And she is just as guilty as the two of them. I ask that you allow us to execute them so that justice might be done, My Lord.”
“Your Lodestar will give you three reasons as to why that’s not a good idea,” Liandrya replied with a smirk. “For you see, according to him, I am the only one who can assure the destruction of the Mask of Essence.” Now was the time to lay all her cards out on the table, and she could tell by the murmur that went through the crowd that it was working. “Kill me, and the mask lives on. Kill either or both of my beloved mates, and I boycott my quest which in turn causes the mask to live on. The choice is yours, Lord Raeloun,” she said while turning her gaze back to her former love. “You can either let the three of us go with the promise of our never darkening your doorstep again, or you can be the man responsible for condemning all of Cadarnle to eternal darkness.”
Raeloun slowly shook his head in disbelief. “There truly is nothing left of the woman I once loved within you, is there?” he asked sadly. “I know not if it was they who so corrupted you, or if it is the result of your own doings and travels, but you are not my Liandrya. You are not my little lark…not anymore.”
The sight of Raeloun’s visible anguish broke Liandrya’s heart, but she knew there would be no going back. For the sake of everyone and everything, she needed to be cruel, and so she crossed her arms after shrugging her shoulders. “I told you as much,” she said evenly with an underlying coldness. “I told you I had changed. It’s about time you realized it.”
“Get out of my sight,” Raeloun ordered in a voice that was thick and heavy with emotion. “I am sickened by the three of you, but it is you, Liandrya, that I find the most revolting and repulsive. Join your traitorous mates in exile, you venomous snake, for you will never be welcome here again.”
Liandrya said nothing but simply gave a small nod before turning and swiftly untying Dorlyn and Vylkur while a nearby scout hurled Dorlyn’s weapons to the ground. She had to physically press a hand to Dorlyn’s chest in order to keep him from advancing upon Raeloun. She removed her hand when her love resigned himself to instead picking up his weapons and strapping them to his person.
“Let’s go,” Liandrya said softly to her mates before taking their hands in hers and striding out of the gates with them. She did not spare any glances to the elves who parted like water to allow them to pass.
“Liandrya, are you alright?” Vylkur asked in a whisper. He could feel the tension of the emotions roiling within his woman, and even in his injured state, he sought to comfort her.
“Not now,” Liandrya answered simply as she kept her gaze fixed straight ahead. There was a hitch in her throat, and her hands instinctively squeezed Dorlyn and Vylkur’s in an unconscious effort to seek comfort as she struggled under the crushing weight of how she had just shattered Raeloun’s heart, as well as the ever-looming possibility of her death.
Once the gates were well behind the three of them, the tears Liandrya had been holding at bay finally rolled down her cheeks. Vylkur and Dorlyn saw their beloved crying, but they knew better than to stop and comfort her while they were still within the borders of the Amber Realm. So, they continued onward in silence. The pair would silently offer comfort by way of squeezing Liandrya’s hands or by brushing their thumbs over her knuckles, but they knew their small gestures were not what Liandrya truly needed.
Once they had crossed over into mortal side of the border, Dorlyn and Vylkur wasted no time before gently pulling Liandrya to a halt and jointly embracing her tightly between the two of them. Unable to contain her grief any longer, Liandrya clung to her loves and wept with reckless abandon.
16
“How long were the two of you together?”
It had been nearly three hours since they had left the Amber Realm, and out of respect for their clearly suffering beloved, both Dorlyn and Vylkur had steadfastly avoided the topic of Liandrya’s past relationship with Raeloun. They had instead focused on covering as much ground as they could after Vylkur healed both Dorlyn and himself. However, as the minutes turned into hours, the two elves had found it increasingly difficult to deny their curiosity, until finally, Dorlyn could not stand it any longer.
Liandrya glanced up at her taller beloved and sighed. “Is now really the time?” she asked before returning her attention to the wooded path through which they walked.
“Probably not,” Vylkur replied as he glanced around them. “All things considered, Morkessa’s latest batch of minions could swoop down upon us at any moment, but talking about what happened just might help you feel better, sweet Lia,” he added while gently squeezing Liandrya’s shoulder.
“Doubtful,” Liandrya replied with a sigh.
“Humor us, beloved,” Dorlyn entreated gently. “You know how much it pains us to see you hurting in any way. We love you, and we are very much aware of how deeply you love us.”
“You will find no judgment from us,” Vylkur added.
Liandrya sighed. “I was twenty, and I had just left my clan,” she began after a few moments of silence. Since her loves already knew her reason for leaving her home, she did not embellish that point. “I had no idea where I wanted to go, or even what I wanted to do with my life. I was utterly lost, not in the literal sense, but mentally and emotionally.”
“You had left everything you had ever known behind,” Vylkur remarked. “Both Dorlyn and I know that struggle.”
“But the two of you had each other to help one another muddle through finding your footing in your new life,” Liandrya reminded gently. “I had no one.” She sighed. “Through no real planning, I found myself here in the Amber Woods, and I happened upon a small, abandoned cottage that was perhaps thirty paces from the elven border. I thought it was as good a place as any to hunker down until I determined just what it was I wanted for myself, so I began fixing it up and making it hospitable over the course of the next few weeks.”
All three of them stopped in their tracks upon hearing a twig snap. Sweeping their gazes around, Dorlyn and Liandrya’s hands flew to their weapons while Vylkur conjured a fireball in his hand. Moments later, a doe peered out from behind a tree, and the trio breathed a joint sigh of relief before respectively lowering their hands and extinguishing their spells.
“One day,” Liandrya began as she and her mates resumed walking. “I was feeling particularly homesick, and I was missing my family terribly, so I began singing a song that my mother would always sing whenever I was anxious or overcome with sadness.” She smiled fondly. “Just as the song came to an end, I became aware of being watched, and I looked to the window to find Raeloun peering in at me. Apparently, he had been hunting, and the sound of an elven song caught his attention. When he realized it was on the mortal side of the border, his curiosity got the better of him, and he followed it to the cabin.” She sighed softly. “It was the first of our meetings, and after I politely refused his invitation to live among his people in his realm, I thought it would be our last, but he kept coming back.”
“You’re surprised?” Dorlyn asked cheekily.
Liandrya smiled wryly. “I suppose not,” she replied before clearing her throat. “Within two weeks, we had become lovers.” Her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. “He was my first.”
“Did you love him?” Dorlyn asked softly.
Liandrya nodded. “I did,” she answered quietly. “And that’s what led to my leaving.” She sighed. “I had convinced myself that someone like him couldn’t possibly love someone like me. I thought that my feelings were one-sided, and so after almost a year, I left the Amber Woods and never returned...until now
.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Five years later, I met and fell deeply in love with the two of you.”
“Clearly, you were wrong about Raeloun’s feelings for you,” Vylkur remarked carefully.
“Clearly,” Liandrya replied before sighing and falling silent for several moments. “He asked me to bond with him,” she said softly. “Before the ritual, he asked me to be his wife and Lady, and he told me that his feelings for me never wavered.”
“Oh?” Dorlyn asked.
“I, of course, refused him,” Liandrya replied. “Little did I know that it would be the first way in which I would break his heart today. The second was...well, the two of you saw that part.” She sighed and sadly shook her head. “I knew that I had to make him hate me, because if I didn’t, I knew he would find some sort of loophole to keep me alive while he slaughtered the two of you. I couldn’t let him do that. Besides, I simply couldn’t have him still pining after me any longer than he already had been.”
