The Seeker and the Source Pt. 06

"Who are you?" she projected into his head.

"Aurelia?" echoed the thought in an familiar voice

"Torius? Oh thank the gods, please tell me you're here to get me out. Who else is with you?"

His mind seemed confused by that statement, as if he were waiting for resistance. Aurelia moved to calm him assure him that while she knew about the prophecy, she was willing to be the sacrifice. Finally he continued.

"Just me but Tiberius has a boat ready for us when we get to the shore. Hang in there. I think I know a way to get you out."

###

Illandriil was at his wits end. Right now, he needed to see her, touch her, be with her. All the things he did just to remain sane, even though she pushed him further away. He could practically picture her perfectly in his mind, distantly staring off into the distance. Everyday brought on a new kind of suffering for him as he watched his mate slip away before him. Never had he felt so impotent, so helpless to stop the clear pain he put her in.

Memories of her screams of pain during their prolonged sessions in the chamber dogged his steps. Haunting his mind at every turn. Pictures of her beautiful face twisted in agony flooded his vision whenever his eyes closed. He was breaking, before her.

Her resilience would have been impressive to him were the circumstances different. A human trait. His pace quickened as he moved his way to the room he had given up to her.

It had been a fight with every fiber of his being to let her sleep in there alone without him. Even as his own bed remained lonely of her. He missed holding her small body close to his. Feeling her warm slow breaths escape for lips as her chest rose up and down. Soft silky locks brushing his bare chest as his arm hung possessively across her tummy. Eyes never leaving her until he too fell asleep.

At dawn when he woke, he would spend so much time just staring at her sleeping form, wishing for nothing more than to just stay with her and never leave. Before tearing himself away from her to start his day. He needed her with him.

Few more steps.

Two more.

One.

He stopped just before his door. Something felt very wrong. Illandriil opened the doors to his room. He knew it would be empty the minute he turned the handle. Gone. His own Seeker instincts swirled within, telling him so. He muttered a curse, turned and dashed back down the corridor.

###

Aurelia couldn't believe it worked, she had been able to successfully cloak them both as they slipped through the looming eyes of a nearby watch tower. They were in the midst of leading two horses through the quiet palace lawn that they had stolen from the castle stables. They were headed toward an exit at the back gate of the palace. They stopped abruptly at the sound of cold metal unsheathing from its scabbard.

"Halt! Who goes there!" came an authoritative voice just in front of them.

So much for successful. Aurelia thought as she tugged the hood of her sage green velveteen cloak down, obscuring her face. She carefully reached into the guards mind before he was even within range and easily commanded him to stand down and lower his weapon. The guard unknowingly did as he was told, eyes glazed over unaware of the hold she currently held on his mind.

Torius released the rein of his horse and reached for his sword to finish the defenseless guard off. Aurelia's eyes widened as it became apparent what he intended to do and reached out to grab him before he did.

Torius looked back at her confused. Her eyes stared into his pleadingly as she shook her head motioning for him to stop.

"Please, don't kill him. He's not hurting us."

"It will stop him from hunting us down"

"No, no one dies, not while I can help it"

A tense moment passed between them as he sized up her request, it was obvious to her that he was annoyed to be denied this kill.

Finally Torius let out an exasperated sigh, a sound of frustration but he put his sword away before mounting his horse. Aurelia let out the breath she unknowingly held through the heated encounter before she too climbed on her horse.

Once outside the city, she spared a glance back the palace shrinking in the distance, wondering if Illandriil had discovered her absence yet.

###

The council chambers were alighted with frantic activity as Illandriil walked in. Advisors talked above each other, each voice drowned out over the raucous. Illandriil's deep booming voice punctuated the air, penetrating the chaos as he commanded the room.

"What is going on in here?"

"Didn't you hear? The Cyrrhod Order launched an attack on our coastal garrisons. They've managed to capture the southern outpost." Cerrella told him in a panicked lilt, looking up at him before returning to staring at the map.

"We've got bigger problems"

The moment he said that the whole room stopped what they were doing to face Illandriil, worry and horror etched on their faces at what could possibly worst. Illandriil inhaled a sharp breath as he delivered his news.

"Aurelia's been taken"

The news of a human managing to sneak through palace grounds under their very noses sent the whole chamber into an uproar. There was bickering back and forth over the next best course of action, each minister jockeying to be heard over the other. Illandriil stood amidst the chattering disorder straining to think above the discord. His eyes landed on the somber expression of his mother as she took in the information around her.

When it seemed that no one would give way to the other the Quene raised her hand, pausing her speech, as each conversation in the room seemed to die out around her, garnering a hushed silence amongst her discordant nobles.

She finally spoke when it was certain that she had everyone's rapt attention.

"Those damned humans." She muttered pursing her lips before looking up at Cenath. "Well? You are the general are you not? What are your thoughts?"

Cenath circled the map with his hands firmly behind his back, his forehead creased, deep in thought at the events that had just taken place. His hand reach up to stroke his smooth, pointed chin as if pondering their next move.

"If the Source has been taken then it should rightly fall to the Seeker to bring her back, that much is obvious. They cannot hope to keep both the girl and outpost, not with us on the way. They will very likely abandon it in favour of hiding the girl away." He said.

"Very well, Cerrella will go secure the outpost while, you will sail to reinforce the rest of the coastal garrisons." Said the Quene referring to Cenath

"As for my son" she said turning face Illandriil who had kept an sober expression up until this point. "You will go after the Source, I trust they will not get very far with your powers further augmented by the bind that you share."

The Quene moved to dismiss the councillors and exited the chambers herself through a path of the respectfully bowed heads of her ministers.

One by one each advisor filed out of the chambers, until Cerrella at last left, sparing one last concerned glance at Illandriil.

Illandriil stood staring hard at map before them, a thousand questions racing through his mind. A small part of him wanted to believe this had all been done against her will, yet he knew better than to entertain that thought. No, she fled. Because he knew; if it came down to a decision between a sheltered, restricted life with him and freedom through death.

His wayward human mate would have chosen the latter. He would deal with that later, right now, he needed to focus on getting her back.

Illandriil had just left the chamber with Malloryn in tow when they came upon his uncle flanked by his closest guards.

Even outnumbered, between Malloryn and Illandriil, they stood a good chance at winning this fight. But a physical fight was not what they were avoiding even as the tension seized the atmosphere as they tried to duck past his uncle in the wide burgundy carpeted hall.

"You do know this whole mess is your fault." his uncle said right as they passed him.

Malloryn grunted and placed a readied palm at the hilt of his sword while Illandriil closed his eyes, letting out the breath he found he held as they tried to pass. He spun around to face his uncle, fixing him a dark look. The tension hung over the two relatives like a thick menacing cloud.

His uncle looked at ease despite the scathing glare, shrugging it off as though the topic had been about the weather or some other mundane thing.

"And why pray tell, is that" Illandriil said through gritted teeth

"We could have avoided this if you had just wiped out the entire camp that night. Leave one or two alive and soon you have another infestation."

Cenath moved close to Illandriil, passing him to take his leave. As he brushed by the general took one last dig at his nephew.

"Say hello to your rat wife for me, when you take her back" He mocked before walking away.

Malloryn growled and moved to his blade to strike at Cenath, but a solid hand on his shoulder sobered him back to the present. Malloryn looked to his senior commander who shook his head, a silent warning that it would do them no good to fight his uncle here, despite wanting to do so himself.

###

Aurelia looked up at the burning outpost, pitch black smoke billowing into the horizon casting a darkened shadow. Her stomach turned in dread as she took in the sight of the wooden and stone building rolling with bright embers escaping the ruined keep, the remaining evidence of what was likely a bloody battle stretching just before it. She felt an unfamiliar hand tighten around her arm as Torius maneuvered her across the beach toward the seaside cliff on which the outpost stood.

The building itself seemed to shudder and creak from the flame weakened foundation. Bodies both elven and human dotted along the sand and close to the gated entrance.

In the distance Aurelia could make out more corpses that littered the field just before the treeline. A massacre that no doubt took the inhabitants by surprise. Aurelia couldn't tear her eyes away from each body, human or elf, despite wanting to. Her eyes scanning for signs of life amongst the pale death that laid scattered around her.

The sound of a choked cough from one of the corpses caught her attention.

She turned in the direction of the sound and hastily walked toward the barely alive body that made it. An elven private judging by the gold rings embroidered into the cuffs of his dominion armour. Amber eyes looked up in shock, no doubt in seeing her face in this wretched place.

Aurelia kneeled down in front of the wounded soldier examining his body. He was in rough shape, his right arm was missing, beneath his armour she could faintly make out the beginnings of a large gash that without the tightened leathers she could tell would have lead him to bleed out. He was gasping for air, having been left to rot here for who knows how long.

Aurelia placed her hands on the wounds, but before she could summon the magic to heal him, a sword lodged itself deep into the gullet of the soldier. The boy's face contorted in fear as he choked on his own blood before his eyes paled and his spirit departed for the Aether.

Her head jolted up in shock that quickly faded to fury directed at the man who wielded the buried blade.

Torius shrugged nonchalantly, explaining that it was better that the boy die a merciful death, than be left to suffer in agony. Every part of Aurelia cried out in protest as she argued that she could have healed him. Torius again shrugged ignoring her sharp protests and admonishments.

"Besides, that was an elf. You wanna heal? There's likely a dozen wounded in the outpost that need it more."

Aurelia stood up, ignoring his offered hand to help her up. She stalked off miserably to the inside of the smouldering outpost keep.

A softly whispered sound of protest escaped her lips, as her feet came to an immediate halt as she upon seeing the mournful sight. Dread bubbled up in the form of bile as she fixed her eyes on the gruesome mound in the center of the courtyard.

The outpost's residents.

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