The Cruel Prince's Wrath

Chapter 22

Prince Moray had been cooped up in his room since Zia left, he had not yet read her letter finding it too hard to bring himself to do so. He had not visited his wife Gilda either and his father had even questioned him as to whether he had helped Zia escape. His sister made frequent visits to his chambers trying to coax him out of his room, but he barely spoke a word back to her. He could not even look at her. He could not bare to. His door opened again, and he just knew it was going to be Lorai. She casually walked in as though it was a shared space even though it was his private chambers. He did not acknowledge her entrance, he was sat on one of his chairs, high-backed with his legs curled up against him and a blanket, his eyes stared blankly out of the window.

“Oh, my dear brother, you look terrible again, sober I can see but you look like a shell of yourself,” she said. He did not respond. “I am actually starting to worry about you,” she said, and this at least got her a glare. “You should focus on your wife, you know and trying to get her pregnant. We know you can do it since you impregnated that elf, unless… it was not even yours.” Lorai taunted and the prince stood abruptly, Lorai backed off swiftly but he still managed to catch her, and he threw her into the wall.

“You dare! After what you did? How dare you come into my room and accuse the woman I love to have been unfaithful to me? How dare you!” he screamed.

“And what did I do, exactly?” Lorai asked from where she still sat on the floor looking up at him, seemingly not even slightly affected by the violence from her brother. Prince Moray realised he had let his anger get the better of him and almost revealed that he had in fact seen Zia before she escaped. His eyes were wide as he looked at her on the floor whilst his mind ran over what Zia had told him. “What did I do?” Lorai pressed once more. He had no words. “You do not look well, brother, you look as though sanity is leaving you.” She said and pulled herself to her feet.

“I am not sure… it was ever with me…” he muttered as she slowly made her exit and Moray looked over at his desk. Maybe now was the time for the letter Zia had left. Now that Lorai was gone and the rage she had brought about in him gave him a new energy. With a shaking hand he lifted the paper and opened it up.

Dearest Moray,

I have loved you so much, so completely since we were children when I first came to your family as a servant. I have been witnessed to your cruel deeds and witness to your compassion and kindness and through all of this I still loved you. We almost had a child together, but our child was not meant to be. I have accepted this. The conflict our love created within your family, my world growing so distant from your own due to the actions of other elves. All of this has contributed towards my decision to leave here and to the realisation that we were not meant to be. I am leaving your family and I am leaving you. I am sorry but you have a wife now and you should focus on her. She is a good woman.

I have not felt safe here with your family since they found out about us and since the war with my people. I never really considered myself much of an elf having only grown up around humans, but it has come to be that is all humans see in me, my elven features. I am the enemy.

One last thing I must say, I loved you, but I do not love you any longer at least not the same way as before. I will always care for you though. Do not try and find me.

Zia

Prince Moray’s body was trembling so much he could hardly control it, his hand scrunched up the note and he slammed it onto his desk. Zia was leaving anyway. He had let her escape. He had accepted their end when it appeared to have been forced upon them and because it spared Zia’s life but after reading that she was choosing to leave him right before the incident which caused her to flee. That was something he could not accept.

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Iefyr and Tolanda’s party had entered the human kingdom but there was still a little way to go so they decided to rest once more near a forest. It was warm in the human kingdom, a gentle summer breeze enveloped them. The warmth here was not so stifling as it was in the desert terrain of the dragon kingdom, it was pleasant. Iefyr was looking at Tolanda as she set her bedroll down, he felt warmth inside of his chest as he looked upon her. She was so beautiful, and her kind nature just shone through he eyes. No, it was more like emanated from her entire being. It was then that he realised that she was shining in gold, she had a golden aura. It was not the same as when he saw those golden streams pulling him to her, it was different, and he wondered what it meant. The only person with them who might know this was his younger brother, Prince Velkin. He approached his brother as Velkin placed his own bedroll down.

“You alright, brother?” Velkin asked and then followed his eyes and saw he gazed at his bond mate.

“Does it mean something when your bond mate… is glowing?” Iefyr asked and Velkin laughed.

“Glowing?” he said a bit too loudly.

“Shh!” Iefyr hissed, “you know when they shine in gold? Does it mean anything?” Iefyr asked and then realisation set upon Velkin’s face.

“You mean… Veshkirai,” he said and Iefyr frowned. “Come, brother, we need to talk,” he said and led the way towards the forest edge and a little into the trees.

“What is it?” Iefyr asked him now feeling a little concerned.

“Iefyr, my brother, Veshkirai is when a soul has bonded so strongly to another that they see their love glowing in a brilliant golden colour. It does not stay that way but your love for them has become so strong, and it usually only happens later in life after years of bonding. So, in that seeing this can also mean… during this quest she may need protection more than the rest of us. Outwardly her and her brother are the weakest in our group and her being a woman and human only makes her weaker,” Velkin said.

“I do not see her as weak, brother, she is strong, so strong,” Iefyr muttered.

“But in reality, can you see her attacking anyone even in self-defence? She is gentle, that does not make her weak, I am not saying that but… her kind gentle nature… you fear that she would allow harm to come to herself over hurting another. This fear may have triggered the Veshkirai early,”

“I see, I have an overwhelming urge to… marry her,” he said and Velkin laughed at him again.

“Then marry her, brother, we can make a detour,” Velkin said and clapped a hand onto his brother’s shoulder.

“My mother would kill me if I married away from her,” Iefyr replied.

“Ah, yes,” Velkin agreed. “Well, the decision is yours, I will stand by whatever you decide and even help against your mother’s displeasure,”

“You are a good brother, Velkin, a whole sight different from the brat we first met!” Iefyr teased.

“Yes, I was quite childish, wasn’t I?” Velkin agreed as they headed back to their camp to continue helping set up. Once night drew in and they were all fed, Iefyr bedded down beside Tolanda and he wrapped his arm around her waist remembering the times in the human kingdom when they did this on their last journey. He kissed her softly on the cheek.

“I love you,” he whispered, and she smiled contentedly.

“I love you too,” she whispered back, and they snuggled curling up for sleep, but sleep was not to come when they heard swooping overhead. It was not loud but what they heard sounded large, and they all sat up watching the skies trying to see what it was amongst the stars in the sky. The fighters clambered to their feet clutching weapons ready and then it landed before them. A dragon and it was looking directly at Iefyr.