Abandoned (Born From Shadows #2)

Riley sat amongst the pulchritudinous tall trees; thicker than any forest he had encountered on their journey. Four months. It had been four fucking months since those backstabbers took her.

“Are you ok?” Freya asked from beside him. He looked over to his sister, thankful that she could finally manage to walk around although her muscles were still weak. She would recover, he would not.

“I have to be,” he replied.

“No, you don’t. Not in front of me,” Freya replied. He knew he was supposed to be the older brother, but just from her words he wanted to collapse into tears into her arms.

His mind then drifted off into a different memory.

“It’s ok,” Lyla hod once whispered and wrapped a bandage around the cut on Riley’s arm. He wanted to be like her, he wanted to follow her up the tree, but he couldn’t. He cried harder into his sister’s arms.

“How do you do it? I can’t do anything,” he whimpered.

“You just have to believe. Stay strong and try again,” she said and wiped away his tears. Mother was gone yet again, and father was busy like always. But Lyla? She was always around to hug him.

Riley looked at the tree, it was so big and scary to his six-year-old self. “I think Freya is crying again,” Lyla mumbled. “Are you ok?” she asked. He nodded his head and watched her leave to take care of his baby sister.

He stared into Freya’s blue eyes and knew that he had to take care of her, just as Lyla did. “Her name was Lyla. Our sister,” he said. “She may have been only eight, but she was the smartest person I know, also curious for answers. She always told me that I had to stay strong and keep trying. To believe and that’s what we have to do.”

Freya smiled. “I wish I could remember her,” she replied. Lyla’s beaten body pressed forward in his memories.

“No, you don’t,” he replied. “It’s easier that way”

“You can’t always do something because it is easy. Keep trying right?” Freya said, repeating her sister’s words. Riley nodded.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” Kayter asked walking over to the only two humans in the city.

Riley smiled at the Elf. “Enjoying the peace,” he replied.

“Well, everyone is waiting for you. This is after all a historic moment, there’s a whole party for you,” Kayter told him.

“I’ll be there soon,” he replied to the Elf.

“You are going to be late to your own guarding. That’s almost as bad as missing a person’s awakening celebration,” Kayter exclaimed.

“What’s that?” Freya asked.

“Does that matter right now? We are late,” the Elf exclaimed. He grabbed their wrist and started to drag them to the awaiting party. He looked at Kayter, he had gotten to know the Elf over the past few months but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t forget the betrayal. Riley took a deep breath forcing away the pain, happy that he was one step closer to seeing Tatianna again. That is if his plan went accordingly.

“Why hasn’t she come back yet?” Riley asked. He stood in front of Kayter who had left hours ago with Tatianna only to return without her.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t allowed in,” the Elf replied. Riley had a feeling that something was wrong and that Kayter was withholding information from him.

“You’re lying,” he said directly. “You know something is going on, you just refuse to tell me.”

Kayter’s silence corroborated his thoughts as the Elf grappled for the correct words to explain himself. “What are you going to do with her?” Riley demanded more than asked. The girl didn’t deserve any more pain, she deserved happiness and he was willing to do anything for her to get it. Riley knew once that he had liked her, viewed Tatianna’s lucious caramel hair and svelte body with desire, but now that image of her had changed. He sought to protect her, to be her guard just as he is Freya’s.

“I’m sorry, I truly don’t know what the Queen plans. I fear it’s not good though, above that I can’t say anything more.”

Anger ripped through him as he stared into the Elf’s eyes. “You betrayed her, didn’t you? You’re a piece of shit you know that?”

Kayter was silent for a moment taking in what he just said, he didn’t care if he hurt Kayter’s feelings. The Elf should had never played her like that, played him.

“I am loyal to my Queen,” Kayter responded as if it described everything.

“After our journey here, I thought we were friends. How about loyalty to your friends or does that not exist to you Elves?”

Kayter looked down not protesting Riley’s statement. Having had enough of the conversation Riley went to seek out Freya who was stuck in her room in the Inn.

“Riley,” Kayter called out to him. He paused but did not turn to face the Elf. “I’m just trying to do what’s right. Tatianna isn’t what you think, she may seem-.” Riley started to walk away at that not letting the Elf’s lies fill his head. He had had enough of tricks and manipulations for one day.

He knew that he shouldn’t leave the city, Tatianna was still in that castle locked away and he couldn’t leave her. He had to find out more about the Queen, but first, he needed to get to Freya.

He opened the Inn’s door, moving as fast as he could to get to her door. Screaming all sorts of profanities in his head on the way with every limp on his ankle that slowed his movements.

“Riley?” Freya said in surprise as he burst into her room. She laid immobile on the bed, her crutches resting against the wall beside her.

“I’m going to need you to listen very carefully,” he started to explain the entire situation they were confined to. They may not have had chains around their wrists, but they had just entered a game where they were the prisoners of war and needed to break free. He had just the plan to do so.