The Elven King's Consort

Chapter 44: Foe or Friend

Cesteil packed everything in a hurry, and each time I tried to speak and calm him down, he'd ignore me, walking back and forth and throwing whatever he saw into a bag without so much as a pause in between. Keyair broke down the tent and gathered anything we had left behind outdoors. Cesteil's orders were simple: clear the place and move out.

"Think about it for a moment, Cesteil!" I raised my voice and rushed to stand in front of him. He stopped and stared down at me, and it was almost like when we had first met. Those eyes of his soulness made me feel queasy.

"Please, Cesteil." I reached out to grab his free hand; the other held on to the bag's strap, but he pulled away. Nevertheless, I wasn't letting him have his way. Wrapping my arms around him, I looked up to him, pleading. His eyes softened finally, and he set his bag down so he could hug me back.

"I can't sit around and do nothing, Nadalia. Please," he let go and grabbed both of my arms gently," let me go to them. If you are afraid, you can remain here and wait for me to return."

"No, I'll go with you if that's what you truly want to do."

Letting go, he reached and grabbed the bag again, heading out, leaving me there in a suffocating bubble of emotions swirling around like a vortex. Something wasn't adding up. It felt wrong. How did they know we were here? Even if Cesteil had sent a letter earlier without my knowledge, wouldn't those escaping have said they were heading to us? Or retreat to another location hidden? Surely, they had to have had some sort of backup plan. Instead, looking at the document on the table across the room, wrinkled and a mess, they simply stated that everything was gone, many lives were lost, and required his immediate return. It was too vague.

Clenching my fists tight, I turned on my heels, closing the door to the cabin behind us softly. Whatever was going on, we'd find out soon anyway, but the nagging feeling to stop Cesteil from rushing there was overwhelming. Looking at the two setting everything in a pile, I pushed the urge away, ignoring it. Even if I pulled at him or tied him down, he wasn't budging. He was too hard-headed and stubborn to think clearly right now.

They turned to look at me, waiting. His eyes pleaded for me to hurry while Keyair remained calm and collected. I raised a brow. Wasn't he concerned and afraid just a few minutes ago?

Cesteil held me close while Keyair placed a hand on his shoulder. The light flashed from within his hand, two traveling stones rested in an open palm, and the world before us began to disappear. But the dread and anxiety grew inside me, my heart rate racing; I turned to look up at him, and he looked down, confused.

"Why do you look so...? " he began to ask, but the strong scent of something burning filled our nostrils, and his attention was stolen.

The once bustling town engraved within the valley lay in disarray now. Homes were destroyed and burnt down to ash, and the floor was littered with broken and damaged items left behind. Cesteil squeezed me tight, his eyes raging with anger. He was unable to speak, and his jaw clenched shut.

"This is terrible," Keyair said, stepping away closer to the edge to get a better view.

Cesteil let go and walked down the path to the scene while I trailed behind, searching around, afraid we were being watched. I don't know why I felt like there were hundreds of eyes on us. Entering, empty hooks hung, swaying back and forth lightly. Cloth that once held vibrant colors was now an assortment of greys and black, no life ran by, making the makeshift city appear as if it were a ghost town.

The alleyways became smaller and more compact the deeper we went. We were headed to the poorer area. Even in this thrown-together town, there remained levels of how rich or poor one could be.