Betrayals of Spring (27 page)

“I have to go,” I say to both of them,
pleading. “I have no choice.”

They both sigh and shake their heads.

“Well, at least let me go first,” Ashur
snaps. He trots along not waiting for a reply, and I quickly follow him while
Finn trails along behind me. The bridge is wide enough for us all to ride side
by side, but I know Ashur doesn’t want me in front in case there is an attack.
We are edging towards the end of the bridge and Aki impulsively jumps through
the fog. He starts to growl menacingly and that can only mean one thing…danger
lies ahead. I’m not leaving here without him.

I nudge Prince Ashe firmly in the ribs
and he bounds past Ashur into the fog ahead. I hear his protests behind me, but
that is the least of my worries right now. Once the fog clears I am abruptly
aware of why the dark sorcerer led me here; unfortunately, it is not to use my
healing abilities. I’m slowly being surrounded by a dozen men and they are
closing in fast. Chills spread throughout my body and the realization of why I
am here fills me with dread. I can hear Ashur and Finn yelling as they come
through the fog behind me.

 “Meliantha! Close your eyes!” Ashur
demands silently.

Finn’s response is just as fast. “What
the hell?” he screams. Our situation just became monumentally bad, and I fear
that our chances to get out of this one are undeniably slim. What am I going to
do? I close my eyes tightly while gripping onto Prince Ashe’s reigns with all
my strength. Keeping my eyes closed makes me feel vulnerable, but I don’t have
a choice. If I look at these men in the eyes my life will be forfeit.

“Whatever you do, do not open your eyes.
That bastard led you right into the hands of the Tyvar,” Ashur says desperately
in my mind.

I knew who these men were, but deep down
I was hoping it wouldn’t be so. My palms begin to sweat and my heart is beating
out of my chest. If I don’t stop my erratic breathing I am going to pass out on
my horse, and passing out around the Tyvar is a very bad idea for a woman. The
Tyvar are extremely handsome faerie men and are very enticing to the female
eye. They admire the pleasantries of the female body and will lure women away
from their homes with their powers of seduction. Their powers are strong and
can turn any woman into a sex slave just by a simple glance. Also, the women
they take never survive long.

With the Tyvar being only men, the women
they have captured are usually passed along endlessly from man to man, wearing
them out quickly. Since a lot of fae women aren’t around this part of the
Mystical Forest, the Tyvar usually find their captives in the mortal realm. But
with me being a fae, and being stronger, their nights of pleasure would last a
hundred times longer than it would with a mortal. Is this what the dark sorcerer
had in mind for me, to be a sex slave for the rest of my life?

My eyes are closed but I hear footsteps
coming closer to me. I gasp when I feel large hands encircle my waist and pull
me smoothly down from my horse. I’m surprised by his gentle touch, but I did
learn that these men take care of their women when they capture them. It still
doesn’t make me feel any better. The Tyvar’s voice sounds smooth and seductive
when he murmurs, “Well, well, what do we have here?” I almost opened my eyes to
see what he looked like, but then remembered I have to keep them closed. This
is going to be harder than I thought.

“There are too many, Meliantha. They
have us surrounded. What do you want us to do?” Ashur asks hesitantantly.

“I want you to stay calm, Ashur. I don’t
want you or Finn hurt, and if you fight...”

I can’t finish the thought because the
Tyvar who helped me from my horse starts to trail his hand along the side of my
face and down my jaw to my neck. I shiver under his touch, but not with
pleasure. I think he mistakes it for pleasure because he moves closer. I take a
step back, but I am blocked by Prince Ashe, and can move no further. Aki is
growling down by my side sounding like he is about to attack, but I hastily
send him a mental message to stay calm.

“Get your fucking hands off her, now!”
Finn yells.

I hear him pull his sword so I yell,
“Finn, stop!” I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him or my guardian.
The Tyvar laugh all around us and I can hear them apprehend both Ashur and Finn
by the sounds of flesh hitting flesh and their growls of anger.

“Come with me,” the Tyvar fae utters. He
takes my elbow and pulls me gently along beside him. I know they will not
intentionally harm me, but now my fear lies with what will happen to my men.

“Where are we going, Ashur?”

“It looks like we are headed straight
for their camp. There are so many of them, Meliantha. If they pull you under
their power, there is no way I can save you. I would rather die than see what
they do to you.”

The sound of his voice in my head breaks
my heart and it takes all the strength I have to keep my chin from quivering. I
don’t want Ashur and Finn to see me turned into a sex slave, but I also don’t
think the Tyvar will let them go either.

“There has to be a way out of this.
Being a sex slave is not my destiny and I refuse to give in to it. I will find
a way,” I encourage him.

“Well you better find a way fast because
we’re approaching the center of their camp and there has to be over a hundred
Tyvar gathered around.”

Damn it! What can I do to get us out of
this mess? The Tyvar fae guiding me still has a hold of my elbow, so I decide
to ask him.

“Do you mind telling me where you are
taking me?”

“I am taking you to our leader,
Bayleon,” he replies in a low voice.

“Why?” I ask curiously, but I have a
feeling my fate has already been decided. I want to know what’s going to happen
to me because not knowing is going to make everything so much worse.

The Tyvar answers, “Any female we
capture gets taken by our leader first and foremost, and then to me next since
I am second in command. It is the way of our people.”

I try to act calm as the realization of
what is about to happen to me sinks in. On the outside I think I am playing it
off well, but on the inside I’m screaming.
“ASHUR, they are taking me to
their leader to give me to him, as in...give me to him in the sexual sense.
Then after that I will be passed to the man holding onto me. I don’t know what
to do!”

I’m sure if I could see Ashur right now
he would be flinching from my screams in his head. I have to figure something
out, NOW. I can hear the murmurs and feel the lust pouring off of the Tyvar as
I walk through the crowd. Their desires are thick in the air caressing my skin
making me feel exposed and bare.

“You are almost to their leader, Princess.”

“No need to worry, my lady. We will take
very good care of you,” the Tyvar fae says. I swallow hard and I take in a
deep, shaky breath. Yeah, I’m sure you will,
I think to myself. I know
how they plan to take care of me and I beg to differ. I huff in return and he
laughs, low and seductively in my ear. “I promise you will enjoy it,” he
whispers.

I hold my head high and I thrust my chin
forward.

“I don’t think so,” I hiss back. Inside
I am terrified of what’s going to happen to me and my men, but I refuse to show
defeat. We come to a stop and the group grows quiet. I can hear someone
approaching and my body instantly goes rigid. I’m frozen in place and my chest
tightens so I can’t breathe. I know my hands are shaking and the Tyvar holding
my arm gently takes my hand and holds it tight. If I knew he wasn’t planning on
seducing me, I would find the gesture endearing, but all it does is make me
more terrified.

An exotic and sensual voice speaks and I
notice that his voice sounds exactly like my escort. “I see you brought me a
visitor, Bastian. I must say you have done very well, brother. Where may I ask
did you find this beautiful she-warrior?”

That explains why they sound
alike...they’re brothers. “Aye, she is a beautiful fae woman. Her face is by
far the most beautiful I have ever seen. I found her after she crossed the
bridge into our territory with her two warriors,” Bastian replies.

The group of Tyvar hollers out their
victory of my capture and hearing it makes me cringe in fear. I don’t want to
imagine what it would be like to be taken by so many men day and night. Bastian
releases my hand and passes me along to the leader, Bayleon. He moves closer
and I can feel his breath against my face. If Bastian wasn’t behind me I would
have moved back. “Open your eyes, my lady,” he urges.

“No!” Ashur and Finn both scream
simultaneously. I hear a struggle going on behind me and it kills me that I
can’t help them. I worry for their safety and it sounds like something bad is
happening to both of them.

“What’s going on, Ashur?” I demand.

“Finn tried to get to you, but they
knocked him out cold. He seems to be coming around as we speak. Don’t worry
about us, Princess. Whatever they threaten you with you better not open your
eyes. They never physically force women to open their eyes, but they will
threaten you to do it. Stay strong, do you understand?”

“Yes,”
I reply shakily.

I shake my head at the leader and with a
strong voice I say the one word they are not going to want to hear.

“No.”

Bayleon releases a sigh and if I could
see him I’m sure he would be shaking his head. “I see we are going to have to
do this the hard way,” he suggests. “If you do not open your eyes I will have
one of your men brutally tortured and killed. I can promise you that. I’ll even
let you pick which one lives if you would like.”

I gasp in shock and my knees go weak. I
knew they would go to any lengths to get me to open my eyes, but I didn’t think
they would go to this level. The fae have to keep their promises, and Bayleon
promised to kill one of my men if I did not look at him. I have no choice. I
have to open my eyes or one of my men will be killed.

Before I have the chance to answer, I
hear Ashur’s voice in my mind. His desperation makes the tears build up behind
my eyes.

“Don’t you dare open your eyes,
Meliantha. I will gladly offer myself for your safety.”

I can’t see him, but I shake my head in
response.

“He promised to kill one of you, Ashur.
I can’t lose you or Finn, I just can’t.”

“Time is wasting, my lady,” Bayleon
taunts.

I take a deep breath and answer as calm
as I can, “I will give you what you want, but in return, all I ask is that you
let my friends go. I will give myself to you for their freedom.”

Finn must have woken up because his
screams pierce the air. “NO, MELIANTHA! I refuse to let you do this!” I clench
my teeth hard to keep from crying out as I hear another struggle taking place.

“Very well,” Bayleon agrees.

“They will be let free and escorted from
our territory. That was a wise choice, my lady. What of your wolf? Do you want
him freed as well?”

I can feel Aki rubbing against my legs
and I can sense that he wants to stay with me. I don’t want him trapped here so
I say, “My wolf has a mind of his own so let him come and go as he chooses. He
won’t be a bother to anyone.”

I can hear Ashur and Finn struggling
against the Tyvar as their voices drift farther away. I can’t believe I will
never see them again, and what’s worse is that I didn’t even get the chance to
say goodbye. There is a way I can at least tell one of them.

“Please forgive me, Ashur, but I have to
do what I can to keep you both safe.”

“Please don’t do this, Meliantha?”

I have never told either one of them how
I felt because admitting what was in my heart made me feel vulnerable. Being
with Kalen and experiencing love again has opened my soul to a whole new world
— a world I had once known. If this is my last chance to tell them how I feel,
I am going to do it.

“I love you both so much, Ashur. I know
I have never told you before, but I do. Please make sure you tell Finn that I
love him too, and that I am so sorry. Goodbye, my Guardian.”

“No!”
was all I heard before I put my
shields in place with an unbreakable wall. The absence of my guardian feels
like a hole in my chest, but soon I won’t even remember him when the Tyvar’s
power takes hold of my body. The only thing that will be in my mind is lust and
sex.

“Let us go to some place more private,
my lady,” Bayleon suggests. He takes a hold of my right arm while Bastian takes
up with my left. I can barely walk for being nervous, but they keep a tight
grip on me leading the way. If I knew I could escape without looking at any of
them I would be out of here in a second. I gave the Tyvar a quick glance when I
crossed over the bridge, but it was only for a few seconds before Ashur yelled
at me to close my eyes. I guess that glance wasn’t enough to take me under.

I don’t know where I’m going but I can
tell we have entered inside one of their dwellings. It’s a drastic change from
the outside. This part of the Mystical Forest is warm and humid, but inside
where we are is cool and dry. It feels better in here, but I would rather be
out in the blistering heat than in here about to be taken.