Forbidden Devotion Ch. 02

Jayden cracked open the door with an eye pressed to the opening. The hall was vacant aside from candles whose light waved against the cracked rock walls.

With his fingers counting one, two, three, Jayden snatched Ilana's hand and they dashed into the corridor.

Tiny rumbles of fear rolled through their stomachs with imminent danger surrounding them. They rushed for daylight with all they had.

Ilana soon planted her feet to the floor and slipped free of Jayden's grip. "Wait! If they want us, they can have us!" She whisked her hand through the air and apparitions of the pair appeared to be fleeing away in the other direction.

"Let's go!" Jayden shouted and they raced for freedom but brought their steps to a brake with the clattering of metal coming from around the corner.

Knighted elves wielding spears with gleaming tips, battle axes, and bows with quivers loaded with arrows over their backs cut off their steps.

"Don't let them get away!" one of the knights ordered from behind his helmet.

Ilana panicked while searching for detour.

She tugged on Jayden's arm once she found one. "This way!"

They raced for the stairs that peaked at the foyer. Up they went and they made a mad rush for front doors when a threesome of warriors armed with swords and morning stars darkened the path to independence.

They made a swift reverse but skidded across the glass surface into the five pursuers at their rear.

Ilana drew her staff and stood back to back with Jayden whose dukes were up ready for a skirmish.

They may have showed their adversaries their bravery but it was shielding their anxiety and dread of facing their possible last breaths.

Jayden rotated his head and quietly spoke to Ilana. "Tell me you still have some more ideas."

"If you're the praying type, it might be a good time to do it."

"What if I wasn't?"

"Might be a good time to start..."

Coming down the spiral crystal staircase in front of them was King Zoran, again taking steps like he hadn't a care in the world.

When his boots hit the foyer floor, he strolled with his weight shifted to his scepter like it was a walking cane. Ilana was in his sights and the pair tensed.

The king lifted a hand and smacked Ilana with its back.

Ilana cried from the shock and the pain shooting into her. She held the blood seeping from her lip and snapped her head back at her king. If looks could kill, he would have been a pile of bones by now.

Jayden jumped at Zoran with gritted teeth and clinched fists but the eight sharp weapons inches away gave him pause.

The king shook his head in pity at his former advisor. "Tsk, tsk. I give you a life of royalty when you were once festering in garbage for a few morsels of food. Now, you want to throw it away for this human filth?"

The king pointed at Jayden who might as well have had steam blowing through his nostrils and fire spewing from his mouth.

Jayden said, with a lifted voice, "I am only here to help! Your lives are in danger and I can't stand by and watch the harm of innocents! How many times do I have to explain myself?"

King Zoran slid from standing before Ilana to being in front of Jayden. Though he was looking up at Jayden, not once did he waver from his position.

He shrugged. "And why should I believe you care about some elves? I know you believe you are above all other beings!"

Jayden snapped, "No! Not all of us believe that! I think all beings add to the beauty of existence. For anything to happen to Nevin or its people would be a tragedy I could not bear."

Ilana was content with waiting for the right moment to interject. She smiled warmly at Jayden's apparent desire to fight for the place she called home and held in her heart.

The king was planted to the floor while he processed Jayden's words and emotion.

Ilana figured to influence her ruler's feelings about the situation. "He came alone! You think he's going to take on the whole world by himself? Please consider that!"

Zoran came out of his contemplation slamming the end of his scepter into the glass floor. "I can't take any chances! He could be a spy working for an army for all we know! No, he cannot leave here alive!" The king slowly rotated his head to glower at Jayden with his cold, gray irises.

Ilana was in a moment of paralysis and cramps in her stomach with the reality she was opposite the side of more than a few elves in the room. Some of those elves she called friend, student, and king. The latter of which sported such an arrogance that she was about to forget the title he carried.

She stepped forward hoping to sway the jury surrounding her. "I have served all of you with everything that I have. I've never let any of you down and I never will! Join me! Put your trust in me and you'll be rewarded!"

The king smirked. "You dare try to incite a mutiny? Nice try but even they are not that stupid. I give you one final chance. Come back to us or your fate will be that of your friend." Ilana, with a slight bend in the knees, readied her staff with its end aimed at her king. He was nearly blown off his feet in surprise but took little time gathering himself as though he noted this as a possibility. "Ilana, I'll do you a favor and not allow you to live with your regret over this decision."

Ilana was rushing with adrenaline. "I'm happy because I chose my people even if you're too blind to see it!" She nudged Jayden with her elbow. "We're getting out of here. Ready?"

Jayden cracked his knuckles. "Let's do it."

Caught in her periphery was Feris in the rear corner of the room who walked away like his life was at its end. It swiped Ilana like a serrated blade but retrained her focus the best she was able.

King Zoran swiveled with his robe flying behind him and walked past his warriors. "Knights, you know what to do. Take care of them."

Eight adversaries became six when a pair's weapons clinked against the glass beneath their feet and their owners fled past Ilana offering encouragement.

"We believe in you, Ilana!"

"Give 'em hell!"

Ilana smiled with a rush of determination through her veins.

There were three facing her and another trio at her rear with their sights on Jayden.

All foes with a war cry charged!

"Ahhh!" Ilana and Jayden matched their roar.

Ilana swept her staff across her body to fend off her attackers. On her left, a knight lunged with a spear and with a sidestep like a dancer, he jabbed the air while she launched him from his feet with her weapon and chopped upon his head in one motion.

Jayden had his paws clutching the throats of his opponents and a toss with his left hand followed by a right sent them tumbling across the floor like tumbleweed.

Ilana's heart rate was flying off the charts and she hit the zone where her instincts and love for Nevin guided her strikes. She clanged weapons with the sword wielder at her front. Sparks flew after each clash—high clash, low clash, mid clash. She taught him too well. What he couldn't learn was how Ilana channeled her natural magic energies into her staff. It glowed with a royal blue hue. The power speeding throughout her was like a drug that had her on high. She thrust her weapon ahead and at its end, a discharge of her magic blasted her enemy across the room and he crashed onto his back. He lifted a head but thought better of initiating a round two.

The illumination flickering off Jayden snared his attention. He glanced at Ilana but shifted his focus back on the elf who opted to fire arrows from outside of range.

Jayden balled his fists, popped his chest forward, and he emitted a reddish orange hue of his own and the projectiles broke into pieces like they hit a wall of stones.

Ilana peered over her shoulder for a blink. Questions spilled into her mind.

How did he do that? Who is he really?

Jayden was on the elf archer in a flash and used his head to bash a way out when he sent the front doors of the palace crashing to the ground. He let the elf rest peacefully at his boots.

Ilana held her sparkling palms before her and a pit so deep and dark that a bottom could not be seen "appeared" beneath the last standing resistance. He cried forth in terror, his armor and bones clacking, and he collapsed to his knees.

"Hiya!" Ilana zipped through the air and smacked him with her rod.

To the land of stars he went and finally, Ilana exhaled though she was still in hostile territory.

Jayden called to her and when she turned, a wave accompanied his call. "Come on! We can get out..."

When his voice trailed away, his eyes locked onto something...or someone.

Before Ilana knew what was happening, Jayden snatched her and turned her away from a danger that had awakened from his slumber to slash at her with an axe chop that used the last drops of his strength.

"Ahh!" Jayden yelled and reached to comfort the bleeding cut across his love handles.

Ilana gasped in empathetic pain and turned to fire a ball of magical energy at the first elf she battled with. It ripped through his armor at the chest sending metal shards flying. He wouldn't be getting up again for at least another sunrise.

Ilana laid her hands upon Jayden's arms to soothe him. "Are you alright?"

"Ohhh, I don't think it would be too hard for you to guess the answer to that. Owww..."

"Oh, yeah, sorry!" she said with an arm sliding around his waist. "Come on. Let's get out of here..."

"Okay...ahhh..." Jayden said as they shuffled away together.

They took a few agonizing steps when Ilana was swooped off her feet and smashed onto the ground.

Jayden, hand on his laceration, turned to see it was the king's vengeance. After bringing Ilana down with his scepter, he used the same weapon to crack her jaw.

Ilana wept with the soreness resonating from his strike. She reached for her back to alleviate her pain but a wrong move only served to accentuate her discomfort.

Jayden leapt for the ruler but with a hand lifted before him, Jayden couldn't move and a mere flinch was an impossibility.

With Jayden gripped in suspended animation, the king pressed his scepter across Ilana's throat with extra pressure from his weight pressing against it.

Ilana strained to inhale and struggled against his will. Her life's destiny was no longer in her hands and the very thought sent her into the clutches of ripping fear.

The king scorned her. "You have made an enemy of your own people. I had such high aspirations for you." The king's face trembled and an actual dampness came to his eyes. His voice began to lose its rhythm. "Ilana...why have you turned my heart into a million drops of tears? There's no one elf..." the king rotated his head towards Jayden. "...or human better than you."

Ilana's eyes reddened and sorrow tore through her. "I'm sorry that I disappointed you but I'm doing what I feel I must for my people!"

"No!" the king hollered while bearing down on her with more intensity. "It's for yourself!" Zoran scoffed and rose with a scowl showering disdain at her. "This is not over! Get out of my sight! Get out of Ellistas! You're going to come to your senses or die."

With Jayden still in paralysis, Zoran propelled his fist into him and sent him flying out of the palace. He retrieved his scepter and vanished up the spiral staircase.

Ilana held her throat and coughed but she wanted to rub her cheek as well. She couldn't tell which was worse.

The king's words swirling in her mind kept her planted on the floor for a few long moments.

Ilana eventually gathered herself and shrugged off the throbbing in her calves to hobble after Jayden.

He was climbing to his feet and trying to steady himself.

He groaned and reached for the pulsing in his back. "Oooh, how can an elf be so powerful?"

Ilana fell into his arms and moaned with so many aches, she couldn't tell where they were coming from. "Let's just get out of here. I've seen of enough of this place."

About a half hour later, by sheer will, Ilana arrived with Jayden by her side at her home in the city. Her intention was to grab some extra clothes and supplies for their journey and tend to their wounds. A couple of knights holding swords pointing skyward had different ideas.

Ilana was in disbelief at how far the king was going to make her life like she was living in the pits of Hades.

"I don't believe this!" Ilana said leaving Jayden to confront the obstructions blocking her front door. "Excuse me! You're blocking my door!"

The knight on the left kept his focus forward and face stone-cold. "Yes, we know."

His partner added, "Her observational skills are exceptional, aren't they?"

Ilana was becoming the color of a cherry and was burning hot. "I need to get in and..."

"This place is off-limits by orders of King Zoran," the first knight said. "Move along citizen."

"I'm not a citizen! I'm..."

"Move along!" the second knight demanded.

It finally struck Ilana. She was no longer of royalty. No longer at the king's side. It was obvious but reality sank in. She had to steel herself for this was what she chose. A chance to save the world over a title and its perks.

She gingerly made her way back to Jayden. He had a hand bracing himself on the side of the house with his other one covering his slash wound. Streams of blood spilled from it.

"I...can't go on like this!" Jayden complained.

Ilana shrieked and felt bad for how he was struggling to hang on.

She laid a hand on his back and escorted him to the shadows alongside her house and held him against it. "Okay, stay there. I'm going to try this..."

Ilana closed her eyes and strained to summon her energies to her hand. When there was enough to cause it to glow blue, she held it over Jayden's wound.

Nothing happened. She groaned as she continued to strain.

"Come on! Work!" she shouted and not long after, Jayden was sighing in relief as waves of soothing energy flowed through him. Ilana was elated. "Yes!"

"Ahhh...I feel like a new man...mmm..." Jayden said as they both looked at his wound.

It was sealing and the bleeding ceased but did not completely heal.

"Oh...sorry. That's all I've got," Ilana lamented.

Jayden curled his finger under Ilana's chin and lifted until their eyes were peering into each other's. "Thank you."

"But it still has to be treated..." Ilana was cut off when Jayden lit her lips with a kiss. He laid a hand on her cheek and kissed her again but she disengaged first. She enjoyed it, oh, yes, but she wanted to see if a morsel of truth existed in the words of her king. She needed to know who he was. "Jayden, we should go."

His brow curled and he shot a confused expression, maybe because of the premature conclusion of their connection at the lips. "Sure, okay, but you want me to be seen in public like this?" He pointed at his pants and their dirt smudges and blood drippings. "I don't suppose anyone sells clothes in my size?"

Ilana held her thumb to her chin and tilted her head. "Hmm, well, unless someone had a crystal ball and knew you were coming, I doubt it." She paused a second and snapped her fingers when a light bulb came on. "I got it! You're about the size of a kid troll! All we have to do is find a seller of clothes that would fit one. I happen to know about such an elf. Come, this will be fun!"

She took off towards the town's exit.

"At least one of us thinks this will be a blast..." Jayden said as he scampered to catch his enthusiastic love interest.

Several hours later, Ilana and Jayden were passing through a great plain surrounded by mountains on either side with trees sprouting green, yellow, orange, or red leaves. The spring air was rejuvenating and made the trek to Nadine's Forest more pleasant though a few purple clouds were gradually invading the whites and the sun was being consumed by both. The smell of moisture was evident.

Jayden stopped in his tracks to admire the view. It was familiar.

"Hey, wait," he said to Ilana while taking in all he could. "This area feels like Earth."

Ilana skid to a brake and hopped to his side. "Earth...is that your home?"

"Yes. We have trees but they're usually green until autumn comes and the leaves change to yellow, red, and orange, but not a whole tree being those colors. We have mountains that reach the skies, too."

Ilana figured it was a natural time to release some of her inquisitive side. "Do you have monsters?"

"We have a lot of wild animals: lions, tigers, bears, snakes, wolves...all can be pretty dangerous like a monster."

"We have monsters. Elves could live hundreds, maybe thousands of years, but it's usually not long before we end up as paste on the bottom of some troll's foot or carried away by a griffin to become a meal for her chicks. How about smashed into meat pieces by a golem? Despite our natural gifts, most of us wouldn't last two seconds in the face of one of them. They don't usually go near cities or where there are too many of us, though. They're stupid but not that stupid."

Ilana was exposed to death like she hadn't been in a long time. It was nothing short of terrifying. She gave up the safety and security of the royal palace and her spot next to King Zoran for the man beside her. She was going to find some answers about him.

Jayden rubbed her back in caring lover sort of way with strokes that lulled her into a brief daze. "Don't worry, Ilana. I'm here. If anything wants you, they'll have to face me first and they won't get by me."

The gestures made her smile warmly and she sensed him being genuine. That provided some comfort but she needed more from him.

Before she could start her interrogation, he was already off in full sprint again. The backdrop for their journey had him in awe and was mesmerized beyond belief. She dashed to keep up with him.

Further down the valley, Jayden was in awe for another reason and what he saw brought his run to a mere crawl prior to him ceasing altogether.

A scorched, black crater decimated the beauty of the once green plain. Trees were only half of their normal selves, barks but no branches, and shared the same darkness.

"What happened here?" Jayden asked with his gaze still trying to decipher the devastation.

"If you wanted to know what dark elves can do, now you do. Do you see those mountaintops over there?" Ilana said pointing to the north. She gave him a moment to look in that direction. "Neither do I. If they find way their way out of Drakkus, we won't have to worry about trolls, golems, griffins, or goblins. They'll just turn you to ash or immolate you with dark fire and it'll be over in seconds—split seconds."

"We'd better hurry and make sure they don't escape..." Jayden said taking the first steps into a sprint when Ilana called him back.

"Hey, what a moment," she said as she caught up to him. "What else are you here for?"

Jayden looked as though she was speaking a foreign language. "What do you mean?"

Ilana stepped back to put some space between them. "You're here to help us with the dark elves you said. Is there any other reason you came to Nevin? I mean there have to be many other worlds that are in danger, right?"

Jayden crossed his arms over his chest and gave a half-chuckle as if to say he realized what was going on. "Oh, I get it. The king got in your head. What? You think I'm a spy? I'm this 'warmonger' waiting to call in my army and destroy everything? Please..."

She heard his words but they faded into static with Ilana taking in what his body was saying. It told her how uncomfortable he was so she kept prying to find out why.

"Can you please answer the question? I need to know," Ilana pressed.

Jayden rolled his eyes white, shook his head, and tossed his hands skyward. "What do you want me to say? I told you the truth but you want to believe the worst in me because that's what he taught you!"