Page 26 of Long Live the Elf Queen

“Go back inside, dear. There are pale ones close.”

“I don’t care about pale ones.” Her voice was as sharp as a finely whittled pike. “Did you say Thane is here? Let’s put this mess behind us and settle the misunderstanding. I want my son back.”

“I don’t know if the matter can be settled, Orlandia. He tried to have me killed.”

She lifted her chin and put her hand on his arm. “I don’t believe that. Thane would never. Not my darling boy. He’s always protected you.”

His face twisted into a sneer, and he said in a low, raspy voice, “I remember that day quite vividly.”

“It’s that lowly elf mage you bound him to. She twisted his mind. I’m sure of it. She’s angry about the death of her parents, at your hand, need I remind you? Those feelings leached into our son.” Orlandia brushed her fingers down Tenebris’s cloak. “We can fix it.”

Thane slammed his eyes shut at the bitter anger softening inside him. Could it be fixed? Did life give him and his family a second chance? When he was young, he wanted nothing more than for his father to love him. For him to voice it just once. He wanted to beg him to care for him for any other reason than his connection with Layala. And though he hated it, those old feelings lingered even still. He worked diligently to become lethal, an effective killing brute for his father to try to earn his love. He couldn’t deny he was what he was today because of the elf king… and if he didn’t repair this relationship, he could never face his mother again. She would never forgive Thane if he murdered Tenebris, not especially now that she had her beloved husband back. So, could Thane too forgive like his mother wanted?

No. Maker above, how could be conflicted about this? His father sent the dragon to break his mate bond so he could kill Thane and steal his mate. Ripped them apart without remorse. As if they could all live together as one big family? As if he could ever ask Layala to sit at the same table as the king who had her parents executed? This feud was about love and power and neither side would yield. He would not yield. Hecouldnot yield. Because Layala would make him choose and he could never pick anyone over her. He’d made that choice years before he ever even met her.

“Once we have our magic, everything can be settled. Thane can have his betrothed, and you can forgive what he tried to do to you. He’ll need convincing after you stole his mate. I’ve heard the kind of agony that causes. You hurt my boy, Tenebris.”

Tenebris pushed her hand away. “It’s not that simple. There are things you don’t know yet.”

She stuck a finger near his face. “I forgave you for having a child with another, and even allowed him to become part of our family, allowed him to befriendmyson. You can forgive this. Make it that simple.”

Even his mother knew Aldrich was his half-brother and she never said anything? Why? Who was Aldrich’s mother? And did Aldrich betray him all for a chance at the throne? One thing Thane knew for sure was that Orlandia would never accept a bastard son over Thane, but did he have a claim?

“Psst.”

Thane tore his sight from his parents and glanced over his shoulder. Leif crept among the shadows of the gathered horses and then darted across the opening and kneeled beside Thane. “I found her. She’s—”

“Thane!” Layala’s shrill, desperate call struck him like an arrow through the chest. He shot to his full height, not caring if Tenebris, his mother or the guards saw him. How far away was she? The way her scream echoed off the rising cliffs distorted it. Turning to the east where her distant voice came from, he searched the dark. A skirmish between his father’s soldiers and pale ones raged on, but he couldn’t find her among the flashing metal in the moonlight and the shadows that clashed. Why wasn’t she guarded here in the camp?

He met his father’s gaze, but his muscles tensed.Run run run, get to her, and so he ran. Not entirely sure where he was going but he trusted his instincts to find her.

“Thane, come back here!” Tenebris bellowed.

But the only call he cared about was hers. His feet glided over the grassy landscape like he wore winged boots. He jumped over a set of broken barrels, slammed his shoulder into a guard, knocking him to the ground. A pale one dared enter his path. With a thought he snapped the hideous thing’s femurs and he buckled to the ground with a howl.Hold on, I’m coming.

“Thane!” Layala’s cry was like claws digging into his chest and tightening around his heart.

He’d never heard her sound this distraught, and the pounding of his heart intensified. What was happening to her? Who attacked her? Maker, all he could see was her blood, the pain on her beautiful face.

The sword in Leif’s hand glinted in the pale light as he caught up to Thane. “Damn it, I shouldn’t have left her.”

“Youlefther?” Thane snarled, as they flew over the grassy terrain. Then he saw it, the runaway cart careening down a hill he knew ended in a massive cliff. The horse came loose and bolted in another direction. She wasn’t being attacked or tortured; she was about to fall to her death. He could stop the momentum of small things but a raging cart? He pushed wind and imagined the cart’s wheels stopping and though the metal on wood squealed, it didn’t slow enough.

Shit. He pushed harder until his legs and lungs screamed with effort, until the muscles tore. “Laya!”Come on, shift through space. Do something!But he had no control over that part of himself.

One of her arms stuck out through the barred window, reaching for him. “Thane, help me!” Her voice was strangled and full of anguish. It hurt him to even hear. Magic warmed his palms and tingled through his fingertips again. He was close enough to see the lock and broke it with hardly more effort than he blinked. The door swung open, and she stood at the edge.

“Jump!” he roared and then snapped the back wheel with magic. The cart dropped into the dirt, pitching on its side but skidding toward the cliff feet away. She had seconds—a moment, but the grass ended and as if in slow motion like rain droplets slipping down a window, the cart disappeared over the edge with her in it. Her terrified scream pierced the night air. Thane’s heart lurched into his throat,no no no no. She couldn’t be gone. He was so close to her, so close! Her smiles, her laugh, the way she kissed him the first time and then shoved a knife to his throat flashed in his mind. Even though she’d wanted him dead, he wouldn’t ever forget the way a shot of energy pulsed into him when her lips met his.

The thud of his heart drummed in his ears. The pounding of his footsteps matched its pace, and without slowing, he leapt off the edge after her.

Chapter12

Wind rushed past, blurring his eyes with tears, but she was there. Layala broke free of the cart and her skirts billowed out around her, her mass of wild black waves flowing freely like a flag torn to ribbons near a windy sea. She was close—inches. The wind was deafening, drowning out the roar of his own voice screaming her name. His fingers wiggled; his arm strained to reach her.So close. Just grab her!

Moments before her face had been twisted in fear, as if all hope dashed away. But as they stared at each other now, there was calm in the soft lines around her tear-streaked eyes, a slight part in her lips, almost smiling. Focused and relieved. As if she had every confidence in the world he would save her from breaking on the jagged rocks below. Hands grasped for one another, until finally flesh met flesh. Thane gripped her and jerked her into him, body flush against his and then he summoned every drop of magic he possessed. Like the time he shifted through an impossible distance to get Layala to the mage tower, power hummed like wild drums beating against his skin. Wind rushed all around them in swirling jet streams, slowing their descent until they floated, suspended in air. Layala wrapped her thighs around his waist and hooked her elbows around the back of his neck. They both breathed heavily in sync, greedily dragging in air and relief.

When it seemed like many moments passed, she whispered, “Are we—flying? Or are we dead in the afterlife?”

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