Love & War

Elliot

“Prince Elliot, are you worried about Illiana?” Obsidian asks me as I adjust the last pin on the map.

“I am always worried about those I hold dear. Why?” I look at him and raise an eyebrow.

“Because I’m worried about her too. The babies are draining her magic, and that’s dangerous you know.”

I’m sorry, what?

“Pardon?”

Our children are killing her?

“The babies. They’re draining her magic. She needs her magic to live here. Its what’s keeping her alive. Her kind can’t survive here for long because of the air.” Obsidian furrows his brow.

“What’s wrong with the air here?” I ask.

“It’s polluted. Toxic to fae if they’re in it for too long. Or that’s what the elders in my village told me. They said that’s why we had to sell people to the fae as slaves. Because their soldiers kept coming back sick because of the air. So they made a deal with Barfolomew.”

Obsidian struggles with the word. I laugh to myself because he’s not wrong with how he pronounced it. Barf is right.

“The deal was that if my village sold the fae healers, the fae would leave us alone.”

I frown and look at Obsidian. “That’s not how you treat another living being, regardless of their race.”

“I know it.” Obsidian gives me a sad smile. He looks at the map Illiana drew and then back to the carved wall. “You got all of them.” He holds out the map for me to look at.

“You’re right. I do. Now, let’s go home to Illiana, okay? I don’t feel right leaving her by herself for too long. Especially when she hasn’t been feeling well. What do ya say?” I smile down at Obsidian.

He sits the map on the table behind us and nods. Obsidian rushes to the door and I jog to keep up with him. He pushes the door open and looks out toward the main road.

He points. “She left Lucinda.”

Of course she did.

I look at him. “That just means you get to ride her home.”

He grins excitedly and takes off running toward Lucinda. I catch up to him and help him up into the cushioned saddle. I grab the reigns and click my tongue. Lucinda trots beside me as I lead her onto the main road.

“Do you and Illiana have names for the babies yet?” Obsidian asks looking over at me.

“We haven’t really thought about that. Or I haven’t anyway. What do you think?” I look ahead of us and faintly see the market in the distance.

“I really like the name Annalise,” he says excitedly.

Annalise. I like it.

“I like that name too. We should tell that one to Illiana.” I smile over at him.

“What about for the boy?” Obsidian asks.

Boy? He can tell the genders?

I look over at him and raise an eyebrow.

“You know the twins. I’m pretty sure one’s a boy and the other is a girl.” He scratches his neck.

“Uh, what do you think about the name Greyson?”

I look up at him. He sticks out his tongue. I guess that’s a hard no. I chuckle to myself.

“Maybe Illiana will have a name in mind,” I say looking ahead again. We are nearly to the market. “You said you could see both auras. The one with the weaker aura. Which twin is it?” I look up at Obsidian.

He frowns and looks at Lucinda. “It’s the girl.”

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

I feel a knot forming in my gut. Lately it has been one blow after the next. First, Zander gets taken, and now there is something going on with my baby girl. I feel like I can’t win at this point. The last thirty minute stretch home is in complete silence. My thoughts are racing through my mind and I can’t keep up with any of them.

“Do you want to tell Illiana about the name Annalise?” Obsidian breaks the silence.

“Oh, yeah. I will bring it up to her.”

I stop Lucinda in front of our home. I help Obsidian dismount and take the saddle off of Lucinda. She trots off happily into the field across the street. I hang her saddle on the mount to the left of the steps and turn to Obsidian.

“I need you to be honest with me. Can you do that?” I look him in the eye.

“Yes!”

“Is the girl twin going to die?”

Obsidian frowns. ” I don’t know. I think she will be born alive if she’s born soon. I can’t tell more than that.”

If she’s born soon? What the hell does that mean?

“Okay. Will you keep this matter between the two of us unless Illiana specifically asks? I don’t want her to be sad if she doesn’t have to be.” I glance over my shoulder to the house.

“I can do that, Prince Elliot!”

Obsidian happily skips to the door, skipping the middle step as he goes. I shake my head and smile. He opens the door and holds it open for me to go in after him. I grab the door so he doesn’t have to hold it open.

“Thank you.”

He nods in response and kicks off his shoes before moving into the living room. I kick off my shoes as well and follow behind him. Illiana is folding green and yellow crocheted baby blankets and putting them into one of the several baskets along the wall. Those are new. I guess I didn’t really pay much attention to it last night. She turns around and smiles at me.

“I’m glad to see the both of you back! I put a better pillow and thicker blanket in your room, Dian.”

Obsidian jumps up off of the couch and grins. “Thank you!” He quickly walks to his bedroom and closes the door behind him.

Maybe he needs time to collect his thoughts? That conversation was a little heavy for a boy his age.

“Did you finish up the meeting?” Illiana asks walking toward me.

“I did. Everyone knows what they need to do. In three days the archers and two patrol units will overtake the two guard towers. From there, we will have the meeting requested and have the decoy ransom,” I explain.

Illiana stops in front of me, her belly poking mine. “And you will be safe the whole time? You will come back to me, right?” She looks up at me. I can see tears prickling in the corners of her eyes.

I cup her face and smile at her. “Of course I will. Nothing in this life or the next could keep me away from you.”

“I just got you back. I don’t want you to go again.” She sighs and lays her head into my hand.

“I know, Kona. After this, I am not going anywhere for a long while. I promise.”

Illiana looks up at me and gives me a weak half-smile.

“Okay. I’m going to go to bed. I am so exhausted from today, I could fall asleep standing right here,” she says.

“Okay, Kona.”

I take her hand and lead her to the bedroom. She walks in ahead of me and sits on the bed. I watch as she pulls off a few layers of shirts and stretches her arms above her head. Her shirt lifts slightly exposing her belly. She’s so pale, she’s almost translucent.

“Are you going to stand there and stare at me or are you going to join me?” She pats the bed beside her. I smile and walk to my side of the bed.

Theos, I love this woman.

I take off my pants and push the blanket down far enough so that I can sit. Illiana lays down and tugs on my sleeve. I lay down beside her and pull her into my chest. I can feel the babies moving around against my stomach. That’s a really weird feeling. I look at Illiana and she’s already fast asleep.

She wasn’t joking. She really was exhausted.

The next two days pass in a blur. Illiana and Obsidian accompany me to the barracks again on day three. When we arrive, Joben and his unit mount their unicorns. He has an agacrice in his arm with a letter attached from the archers.

“Prince Elliot.”

He takes the letter out of the pouch and offers it to me. I take it and break the seal. Little bits of wax crumble in my hand as I open it.

Both towers have been secured. We are in position for the next phase. The fae suspect nothing. Their tents have already been put up.

Saphira

Saphira is the second-best archer we have behind Jessilyn. I look up at Joben and nod. I hand him the letter and he tucks it into his saddlebag.

“They are in position and you are ready to move out. Remember to wait for my signal before breaching the border. We will await your agacrice.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He bows his head.

“Fight with courage,” I yell out over the patrol unit.

“Vanquish our enemies!” They respond in unison as they set out for the meeting place. Each of them bow their heads to us as they pass.

“Is that your version of ‘be safe’ that you yelled out?” Illiana asks after the last soldier rides through the gate.

“Yeah, something like that.”

I smile over at her and hold her hand. She looks beside me to something I can’t see again. She’s been doing that more often than not these last couple of days. Maybe it’s a pregnancy thing?

“I have decided that I am going with you,” she finally speaks up.

I choke on air for a moment. “Pardon?” I ask in utter disbelief.

There is no fucking way I’m gonna let her go to that meeting with that lizard scum and glitter shit.

“I said I am going too.”

“No, you’re not. You’re going to stay here with Obsidian and relax. It’s safer here for you and the twins.”

She raises an eyebrow at me and puts a hand on her hip.

Oh, Gods. Here we go.

She stares right at em. “Well, I suppose it is a good thing that I never asked your permission on the matter then.”

Theos help me.

“Lia, please,” I beg her.

I can’t guarantee her safety. I couldn’t even prevent my best friend from being abducted. I would die if something were to happen to her or the twins. No. Absolutely not. I can’t let this happen.

“No. I am going. I am telling you now so that we can pack appropriately. We leave tomorrow, yes?”

"I leave tomorrow. You are staying here,” I reiterate.

She looks at me and narrows her eyes. “Again, I did not and will not ask your permission. If I want to go, I will. There is nothing you can do or say to make me stay behind. Do you understand?” She pokes my chest.

This woman is the single most annoying person on the face of Fyoria. What does she not understand? I just want to keep her safe and protected at all costs. I can’t do that out there. Gods!

“Fine. But you stay by my side the whole time. Even to use the restroom. You can’t ever be alone. They are sneaky cowards and will attack anyone at any time and they fight dirty.”

Illiana smiles at me. “I will agree to your terms. Now we need to find someone to watch Obsidian. I can ask Lori to!”

I look over at Obsidian who is feeding a random unicorn a handful of hay by the road. “Okay. Make arrangements for Obsidian and I will make arrangements for our travels. I know you get uncomfortable on Lucinda, so I need to plan for frequent stops.”

Illiana stands on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek before turning to Obsidian. “We are going to go find Lori. She is usually at the market at this time of day. I will see you at home tonight, Maður,” she says smiling brightly at me.

Theos help me. I can’t say no to her.