Betrayals of Spring (24 page)

“Oh Meliantha, so many things have
changed over the years. There are lots of things I can do now that I couldn’t
do before.” I look over Kalen’s body and I notice a silver cuff wrapped around
his forearm. It looks exactly like Finn’s did, except his was gold. The dark
sorcerer looks at his borrowed arm and then back to me. “Smart girl,” he says.
“Kalen spouted off how smart you were right before I took him. I also let him
know how much I enjoyed you during those nights I fucked you. He didn’t seem to
like that at all.” I flinch at his candor and he laughs at my response.

“What do you want, sorcerer?” I demand.

He looks my body up and down and licks
his lips. Seeing him in Kalen’s body looking at me like that is odd and wrong
in so many ways.

“First, I want you to call me Alasdair.
I think we are close enough now to be on a first name basis.”

“You make me sick, you twisted bastard,”
I storm.

I know he wants my power, but I have to
find a way to get him out of Kalen’s body. The only ways to do that is if the
sorcerer leaves his body or if Kalen dies, but the latter is not an option. He
moves forward and I continue to step back. The wall is closing in behind me and
he smirks because he knows that I have nowhere else to go. He reaches out his
hand and I smack it away.

“Feisty, just like I remember,” he
laughs.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” I hiss back. I
look over at Breena and I can tell she’s getting angry at our interaction.
She’s breathing hard and fuming while looking back and forth between the
sorcerer and me. Her face still hasn’t healed and I find great enjoyment in
that because she seems like a woman who values her vanity above all else. I
regret not killing her when I had the chance. Breena secured her death the
moment she sided with the dark sorcerer.

The dark sorcerer looks from me to her
with Kalen’s eyes and dismisses her like a piece of trash, “Leave us, Breena. I
want to be alone with the princess.”

Her temper spikes with jealousy making
her scream, “No! I don’t want you alone with her.” His whole demeanor changes
in that instant from menacing to outright violent. The look he gives her makes
her cower in fear and she fumbles while trying to leave the room quickly. The
air in the room has drastically changed and it begins to make fear crawl
through my veins as well.

Once Breena leaves, the dark sorcerer
turns his attention back to me. It hurts to see Kalen used this way, and I’m
beginning to think this is just the beginning to the cruel game. “Now, where
were we?” He furrows his brows and then continues, “Oh, right, I remember now.
We were discussing what I want from you.”

He abruptly pushes me up against the
wall pinning my arms to the side. It catches me off guard and I gasp in
surprise. My breath is knocked out of my lungs from the hit, so I quickly suck
in a much needed ragged breath.

His breath is hot against my skin as he
trails his tongue up my neck to my ear.

“I want your power, Princess, and I
am
going to get it whether you like it or not,” he whispers. I shake my head no
because with him being so close and touching me I can’t seem to get the words
out. “Oh, I believe you will,” he says. He pulls back and nods his head toward
the table beside the bed. “Do you see the dagger over there?”

I look at the table and instantly know
what kind of dagger that is. It could end a fae’s life in a matter of seconds,
and if he uses that on Kalen’s body he will be gone from me forever. “Yes,” I
reply.

“If you don’t give me your power
willingly I will kill him right in front of you while you watch, and then after
I kill him, I will take your power by force and enjoy every minute of it.” He
pauses and runs his hands down my body. “I seem to remember you liking it
rough.”

The anger inside my body has been
building for far too long and I know I can’t contain it any longer. I head butt
him so hard in the face that he actually stumbles back a few steps. I know I
can’t escape him, but showing that I am a force on my own is what I want him to
realize.

“Yes, I do like it rough, as you can now
see,” I claim, breathing hard.

He laughs and nods his head in approval.
He takes a nearby towel and wipes away the blood. “So what will it be,
Meliantha?”

If he takes my magic I know I can heal
myself, but he will also be stronger. If I don’t give him my power he will kill
Kalen, and then all will be lost. I don’t trust him to leave Kalen’s body and I
don’t trust he will leave Kalen alive, but what choice do I have? I storm right
up to him and his eyes go wide at my advancement. I am not weak or scared, and
I am
not
going to let him intimidate me.

“Take it,” I demand.

His wolfish smile grows and his body
begins to change as a dark cloud settles over him. The talisman I have heard so
much about begins to appear around Kalen’s neck, starting out hazy and
translucent, but then becoming solid. The dark sorcerer takes a deep breath and
sighs. He takes the talisman off and begins walking towards me. I stand my
ground and I refuse to flinch as he places the talisman around my neck. I can
immediately tell that my power is being siphoned from my body by the tiny pin
pricks swarming all over my skin, sucking and pulling. I fall to my knees from
the agonizing pain and I can sense the darkness coming to claim me. I try
keeping the darkness at bay by digging my nails into my palms and concentrating
on the pain. I have to stay awake or the sorcerer will get away, or worse,
he’ll kill Kalen. The weight of the necklace is removed and I can’t stop my
body from swaying uncontrollably form side to side. My head hits the floor hard
and now my vision is nothing but a blurry haze.

A face comes into view above me and I
can feel the crushing weight of a body on top of mine making it hard for me to
breathe. I can see Kalen’s face, but I know it’s the dark sorcerer smiling down
at me with evil intentions. He takes my bottom lip in between his teeth and he
bites down hard while sucking away my blood. I can taste the metallic essence
of my blood going down the back of my throat and it makes my stomach roil.

I try to fight, but my body is
unresponsive and I can’t move. I’m stuck here to endure what he does to my body
and all the while I am struggling to fight back. He moans and licks his lips,
“You taste so good, Meliantha.”

I’m screaming on the inside but nothing
escapes my lips. What am I going to do, and how am I going to save Kalen if I
can’t even move? The dark sorcerer puts his hands underneath my dress and runs
them up my legs to my waist while bringing my dress up along the way. I can’t
let him have me, not again. The darkness is beginning to creep around the edges
of my mind, and it’s like my soul is leaving my body. He starts to pull my
underwear down but then abruptly snaps to attention and lets them go.

“It seems we have company, my dear. I
hate we couldn’t finish the fun, but if you want your prince alive you have to
find me.” He bites my ear lobe this time sending a sharp pain down my body. He
grinds his body into mine one last time before getting up and walking toward
the door.

“May the games begin,” he taunts before
leaving the room.

I try to keep my eyes from closing, but
the darkness is too close. I hear heavy footsteps quickly climbing the stairs
and they are making their way to me in the bedroom. I feel warm hands gently
pulling my dress back into place, and then being lifted into someone’s arms.

“I’m here, Meliantha,” a voice whispers
in my ear. I recognize the voice as being Finn’s, and then Ashur speaks through
my mind.

“We’re both here, Princess, and we’re
not going let anything else happen to you.”

“Thank you,” were the last words I said
before my body gave up and took me into the darkness
.

“Wake up, Mel.” I bolt awake from the
feel of someone shaking me by the shoulders and I gasp for air. The room comes
into focus and I am lying on my bed in the cottage. Ashur, Elissa, and Finn are
surrounding the bed staring worriedly at me. My body feels fine except for the
hollow ache in my heart. I close my eyes to remember how I got here and then in
a flash everything comes rushing back. Kalen is gone and the dark sorcerer took
his fill of my power. I failed to save Kalen, and now I have to find him. Fear
and desperation fuel my every existence and I jump out of bed to gather up my
warrior gear. Even though Ashur and Finn are in here, I cease to care as I
change out of my dress and into my gear as quickly as possible.

“Maybe you should rest,” Elissa advises
whole-heartedly. She stands in my way as I reach for my bow. “He’s gone
Meliantha.”

The words sting because I
know
he’s gone, I was there, but I’m not going to allow him to be gone from me
forever. I take a deep breath and I look at all their faces. I’m determined to
find him. Even if I have to search for years, I
will
find him.

“I don’t care what any of you say or do,
but I
am
going to find him, and none of you are going to stand in my
way. Got it?” They all nod and back away without a word. I don’t want to have a
confrontation with any of them, so I’m grateful they have decided to keep their
mouths shut.

I grab my bow and arrows and my thick,
long, wool cloak. It’ll keep me warm on my journey, wherever that may be. I
pack up some extra clothing and blankets, and I place them in my riding satchel
that will hook onto Prince Ashe’s saddle. I hastily leave my room to gather
food and supplies in the kitchen. I load up as much food as I can into the
satchel and I’m satisfied when it’s full. This should last me a week, at least.

“I’m coming with you,” Ashur says. He’s
dressed in full warrior gear, weapons and all, and he glares at me like I have
no say in the matter.

“You need to stay here with Elissa,” I
reply, exasperated. We’re running out of time and I need to be on my way. I
don’t know how long I was out, but I know I need to get started on the search.

Elissa walks into the kitchen and shakes
her head.

“No, Meliantha. He’s going with you.”
She comes over and wraps me in her arms. “I will be fine here. I’m going to the
palace to raise the alarm. Go and find your prince.” She gives me a nudge to
the door and I eagerly comply. Ashur has his things ready to go so I open the
front door and Aki is waiting right there in front of me, poised and ready to
go. I’m glad to see him because I know he is a good tracker, and he is our best
chance at finding Kalen.

“Come here, Aki.” He rubs against my
legs and lets out a soft whine. He misses Kalen and I can feel his anguish, but
most of all I can feel his determination to get him back. “Thank you,” I
whisper in his ear.

 “Let’s go!” I call out to Ashur. I wish
Finn would have said goodbye to me, but he disappeared off into his room once I
left my bedroom. I don’t blame him, but it would have been nice to see him one
last time in case I don’t come back.

We head to the stables and as soon as I
see my horse, Prince Ashe, I run straight toward his stall. He paces excitedly
and it lets me know that he’s glad to see me. I can tell he’s been taken good
care of him because he looks well fed and his coat has a bright sheen to it. I
open the stall door and he nuzzles me along the way.

“Hey there, boy. We have a long journey
ahead of us, and I’m going to need your agility and swiftness to get through
it. Can you do that?”