Terrin couldn’t stop thinking about his fight with Elurra. It took a while for his anger to simmer down. Subsequently, he could finally rationally consider her strange shift in behavior. One moment she was desperately pulling him in, and the next she was making weak arguments to push him out. He remembered how she went limp in his arms and the strained quality in her voice. He remembered how she’d simply taken every insult like a beaten dog. The more he replayed the scene in his head, the more unnatural it felt. The Elurra he knew would’ve defended herself and her actions, not stared at the floor in surrender.
You’re letting your feelings cloud your judgement, Terrin. You’re remembering what you want to remember because you don’t want to believe you fell for such an insufferable girl. Stop letting her manipulate you.
Lira kept him busy with his studies, but he couldn’t focus on economics or Tipettian exports. As the days ticked by, he realized he couldn’t leave things the way they were. He deserved an explanation. Terrin squared his shoulders and headed toward Elurra’s room, determined to get answers. He fidgeted with his shendyt nervously, practicing his speech in his head. He was too distracted to notice there was a surprising number of guards on duty. However, the armed detail surrounding her door captured his focus and snapped him out of his internal musings. He approached the nearest straight-backed guard flanking the room.
“What is going on?”
“The princess seems to have vanished, Prince Terrin.”
“Vanished?”
“She is no longer in the kingdom, sir.”
Terrin’s heart plunged into his stomach as he barged through the door. Lira was standing in the middle of the room, her brow furrowed as her eyes skimmed a crumpled page. She looked up at Terrin’s entrance. He noticed the bag on the bed, and he put the pieces together.
“She was planning to leave without telling anyone. Sounds like her,” he grunted. “But why did she leave her bag?”
Lira raised one hand, silencing him. “She was abducted a few minutes ago.”
Terrin’s mouth fell open. “Why are we standing around here, then? We need to save her before—”
Lira gave him a hard stare. “We are not going after her. The perpetrator escaped using teleportation. If I wanted to, I could trace his signal and retrieve her instantly, but that was not her wish.”
“What?”
“She let him abduct her. She informed me there was an intruder, but when I contacted her, she told me it was all under control. Apparently, she wished to be captured. I simply complied with her wishes. I hate to see her go under such circumstances, but she can take care of herself.”
Terrin balled his fists as his temper exploded. “She is an eleven-year-old! She may look like an adult, but she is still a child! She is going to get herself killed!”
Terrin saw the door guards exchange confused glances. Lira caught the gesture as well.
“Leave us.” She waited until they departed before she hissed, “Why do you think Elurra chose to grow up, Terrin? You know she is no ordinary child. There are many people in this world who cannot see true courage, even when it is right in front of them. That little girl has the tenacity of a thousand souls. She lost her parents and was exiled from her land, yet she did not give in to grief. She has witnessed death and faced monsters, but she never let her misgivings slow her down. She even gave up her childhood so she could stop Nitiri from summoning Incari’s deadliest foe. Elurra’s ways are unorthodox, but she understands the need to take risks in order to succeed.”
Terrin didn’t know his mother very well, but from what he observed, she wasn’t the kind of woman to bestow praise where she didn’t think it was deserved. Her speech astounded him. He never expected her to defend Elurra’s erratic behavior.
“You do not have to tell me what she has gone through. I was there,” he countered. “She is courageous, but she is also extremely impulsive, especially if she has only a short time to consider her options. She always chooses the most dangerous option in a crunch. I think she did this out of desperation. She needs someone to help her get out of this. Nitiri is not to be trusted, and her plans for Elurra will assuredly end in her death. I can’t let that happen.” The last sentence came out as a whisper.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Lira sighed and opened her hand to reveal the note.
“Do not worry, my son. She will have the help she needs.”
He grabbed the letter and read it to himself.
Dear Queen Lira,
I have been kidnapped. Do not come after me. I will be fine, but I need you to do me a favor and write Rowan back in Unérith. Tell him to carry out our plan. I ask one more thing of you, Lira. Take care of Terrin. You were right. No matter how much I want him by my side, he belongs in Tipet. Do not let him come after me. I would rather do this alone and fail than have him sacrifice anything more. I have made sure he will be glad to see me go. Thank you for everything.
P.S. If I perish, please tell him this for me:
“If I were a fish and you were a bird, I would trade my gills for wings in a heartbeat.”
-Elurra
A dull throb engulfed Terrin’s chest. He recalled Elurra’s choked voice and the way she hid her face so he couldn’t see her expression. At the time, he thought she was too ashamed to look at him. Now he realized she was trying to hide how upset she was.
She was trying to protect me from Nitiri, and I accused her of being selfish.
Lira cleared her throat.
“As you can see, she will have help. She apparently has a plan and seems to have given this a lot of thought.”
“It will not be enough. The dwarfs will take too long to get to Tor’ac Roh. Nitiri will kill her before they arrive.”
“That is a risk Elurra is willing to take.”
“But not one I am willing to take,” Terrin said, averting his gaze to his fidgeting hands. “Mother, I cannot let her do this alone. If I don’t go, and Nitiri kills her…I will never be able to live with myself. The regret would follow me the rest of my life.”
Lira turned away from her son and gazed out the large windows dolefully.
“You have too much Guardian in you. My worries were correct; you have bonded.”
“Bonded?”
“Although we are genetically similar to the Prath, or the Guardians as you call them, there are biological discrepancies. Unlike us, the Guardians can only fall in love once. When they reach maturity, they pick a mate and create a life bond. Even after death, it remains. They can only truly love one person, and those with Prath blood often suffer the same fate. Many do not realize the downsides to accessing Magic. Because of our differing genetics, a half Incarian losing their bondmate can quite possibly drive them to suicide or insanity. The bond is never one-sided, but it can be created unintentionally. Zavier did not realize it was possible with me, but after he shared his nanites, we became linked. The Guardians use this bond to reproduce, and because he did not realize it was established, the reproductive cycle began without our knowledge. Nanites synthesize the best genetic combinations between a couple, then the parents are presented with two options: a boy or a girl. Unfortunately, Zavier died before we made the choice, and I did not know how to stop the process or make a selection. We never had intimate relations. I have never known a man in that way, and I never will. Even though Zavier is dead, I am still bonded to him. Many wonder why I did not find a husband to stabilize the kingdom. The reason is simply because I can never love again, and I have already sacrificed everything else for my people. Losing him hurts me as much today as it did the day he died. Despite the anguish, I have no regrets. Without our bond, I would not have you and Raeya. The bond is simply the price I paid for the happiest moments of my life.”
Terrin felt his eyes tearing up, but he forced himself to stay calm and in control of his emotions. He wished he could meet his father but knew he would only ever see the emotional trauma Zavier’s absence left. Terrin tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he worked up the courage to ask the question hanging between them.
“What do these bonds have to do with me, aside from my birth?”
It was a pointless question. He already knew the answer. Lira turned away from the window, her eyes glistening.
“You are going to leave Tipet, and I will risk losing my son again. I was hoping you were still technically too young to bond given your artificial aging process, or she did not reciprocate your feelings, but I tested you both. I can beg you to stay, but I know you will blame me if she dies. You would resent me, and I cannot bear the thought of causing you this eternal torment. I only regret that I did not get a chance to know you better during your stay.”
Tears spilled down Lira’s cheeks and dripped off her chin. He wanted to tell her she was wrong, but he had to go after Elurra. In a sudden gesture that surprised them both, he closed the distance between them and hugged his mother tightly.
“I promise I will come back. I’m sorry.”
Lira’s head came only to his shoulder, which surprised him. Her confident air always made her seem taller than everyone else, but she felt so small in his arms. She took a few minutes to compose herself in front of the mirror. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she turned back toward her son.
“Anything in her travel bag is yours to keep, and any supplies you need will be given to you. I pray you have a safe journey, my son. Do not forget your promise to return.”
Terrin nodded somberly and turned back to the half-unpacked mess on the bed. He was about to leave everything, but a scrap of blue fabric caught his eye. He delicately pulled the blue dress from the pile of garments. He knew the sentimental value was founded on lies. It belonged to a woman of no relation to him whom he barely remembered, but it was a connection to his childhood, to his foster mother, and to Elurra. Clutching the ragged garment like a lifeline, he squared his jaw and left the room.