The Goddesses' Gifts (Elves Of Alaire Book 2) by M.M. Rees

Author:M.M. Rees [Rees, M.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

LHORIS

Lobikno and I didn’t speak for the rest of the journey to the fortress. Keeping with non-verbal communication really had helped prevent tempers from flaring. So did maintaining a certain amount of space between us. It allowed me to rationalize that Lobikno was my ally and not an obstacle. Though I worried about how effective he would be after his panic by the spring. He’d never had an episode out of the blue, that I was aware of, and I couldn’t help but consider him a liability.

We easily avoided the outer patrols by virtue of having occasionally worked them, aware of the weaknesses, and came upon the fortress gates before dawn. It was my first glimpse of them since the first thaw signaled the coming of spring. A surge of unpleasant memories bubbled to the surface of my thoughts, leaving a heavy knot in the pit of my stomach. An unwelcome addition to the weeks long throbbing pain in my chest. The woodland people had done an excellent job of healing my mental wounds, but there would always be things that brought the old pain to mind. Particularly after five years of refreshing those memories and gaining new ones.

The lashings the adult males received when the general came with her entourage of clergy to remind us of our place. The beatings the adult males then doled out to remind the boys of their place. Cruelty trickled down, passing the pain and suffering along drop by bloody drop. And the only escape was a vicious climb up that miserable chain or death.

I hated that place and what it did to us. Not everyone embraced the cycle, but the ones that did—with a song in their heart—were murderers, rapists, and merciless sadists.

And they have my Ozanna!! cried my inner animal.

And with that, the burning in my chest turned into a writhing beast. Something vicious and foul with gnashing teeth and tearing claws. It ripped at my insides and left me breathless for a moment.

Then came the thump-thump of Emma’s blessing. The sullen little monster recoiled and withdrew its claws … for now.

I tore my gaze from the gates and glanced at Lobikno. There was dull weariness there in his eyes—haunted by his own memories, no doubt.

“We should get some sleep,” he murmured and retreated farther into the shadows of the pre-dawn forest. “No good now.”

The sound of his voice grated my nerves, but the small, barely rational part of me knew he was correct. We needed food and rest before setting out to destroy our older brother. Rushing in would not bring Ozanna to safety.

We camped in the forest, well beyond the patrols. There moss grew thick and dense beneath oversized fern fronds, carpeting the ground for as far as the eye could see. If not for the chill, we could have slept comfortably without our bedrolls.

Once settled a reasonable, safe distance from one another, I resituated the scrap of Ozanna’s kerchief to lay closer to my face and pulled my silver chain out from under my shirt.

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