Page 62 of A Serenade To The Elf Queen
“Is Ctibor telling the truth? Does the Nightwalker stand a chance against the Savage Fae and their beasts?” I ask my uncle before sleep claims him.
“Probably…” he mutters, shutting his eyelids.
“I’ll do it.”
“You would?” His voice trails off.
Of course. I would do anything for Aelfheim.I just wish you cared. I just wish you weren’t so ready to throw me away.I want to tell him that, but Rainer is no longer with me.
Most people look peaceful in their sleep. My uncle remains unforgiving, hard, and detached, as if he can’t find his rest, not even in Somnus’ dreamworld.
I place the blanket on him before leaving the tent.
My eyes whirl to the commotion outside. The crowd parts for me as I calm my ragged breaths. Six young elves are standing beside Eamon clad in their full ceremonial dress.
“What is this?” I ask.
Tierra casts a sad look at the Maidens of Arawynn. “The Aeonians have decreed that the Nightwalker must be claimed for Aelfheim at all costs.”
Chapter 15 Rhianelle
The Demon Lord stares at us like we’re a bunch of lunatics. “Let me get this straight, you want the girls to marry that thing?”
Lord Ctibor and Commissioner Eamon nod.
Anger punches straight through my heart. I force myself to inhale deeply before opening my mouth. “I can’t allow you to do this.”
“I’m afraid I do not need your permission,” Eamon says, sending me a withering look.
“Forgive us, Your Highness. Their decree trumps your authority,” Tierra reminds me. “We must see it through.”
The tightness in my chest intensifies. If only I had agreed to do this earlier, these young ones would have been spared.
Ragnar heaves a long breath, shaking his head lightly. “A lot of things can go wrong. That spell you’re so eager to place on your people is from an old language forgotten by time.”
“My berserker speaks the truth,” Kheirall says, staring at the Aldarelfs. “I will not send these girls to their doom.”
The young healer who tended Ragnar in the tent approaches the demons.
“The Savage Fae is a dangerous threat to us,” she says, demurely. “Offering my hand in marriage to buy Aelfheim a future is the least I can do. Please help us.”
Brave words.
If only she didn’t tremble so much while saying them. I can see the trepidation in the faces of these younglings. They are terrified.
Who wouldn’t be?
The demon gives her a weighted stare, as if searching for the truth in her face.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” he finally says. “I’ll be your translator.”
Kheirall still hasn’t fully healed yet. I feel terrible that they’re dragging this injured demon to do their bidding.
Eamon suddenly halts me in my path before I can follow them. “You are to wait in the healing tent, Your Highness.”
The pit of fury churning in my stomach morphs into something dangerous. I feel like grabbing the girls and running away with them from this place. A stronger urge rises to simply stop Eamon right here and right now. Perhaps the near-death experience with the Ashmedai has instilled some backbone in me.
“We’re simply following orders. This is unbearable for me too,” Tierra says with a tremble in her voice, her bandaged eyes falling on the determined young healer. “Taryn is my sister. But we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good.”
