Abandoned (Born From Shadows #2)

Riley pushed Ida forward to keep up with the rest of the guards. The humans were finally within their sight. They hadn’t even left to go back into the Hollow Plains, instead they stayed in that male Elf’s house, raiding all of his supplies.

Their horses encircled the broken-down home, Riley noticed a female lying dead on the ground. She was left out in the open, not even given a burial. Suddenly killing these human’s did not seem like such a bad idea to Riley. All the guards drew their swords, Riley gripped onto his tightly, pointing it towards the small group of humans. There were nine that he could see.

“Who the fuck are you?” One of them cursed.

“By degree of the acting King of Lyracris, you are to be executed for the crimes against our kingdom. If you have any last words, feel free to speak now,” the guard to Riley’s right declared. Refverné was his name.

“Fuck the Elves,” the man cursed. On that note Refverné raised his free hand, a small tree grew out of the ground straight between the man’s legs. Magic. Riley stared for just a second before he noticed another human charging straight for him and Ida. Using his sword he blocked the attack, a few more strikes later the man left an opening in his guard allowing Riley to stab the individual cleanly through the neck. He looked around and noticed the rest of the human’s laid dead on the ground. Their work was done, Riley thought. The Elves each got down from their horses, and Riley followed their actions. However, when they started to slice the heads off of the corpses bodies he did not follow.

“Are you actually going to put their heads on spikes?” Riley asked in disbelief.

“We do as we are commanded. If it displeases you, then perhaps you should start making the spikes,” Refverné replied to Riley’s horror. To not follow orders is a traitorous act. So he made his way into the woods finding a collection of thick branches. Each one he carved the end of using the small knife Nick gave him last year in Faithorn. Riley wondered what the dead Prince would have thought of his actions. Had he known that Riley would use the knife to carve spikes for human heads, Riley was certain the Prince never would’ve given him the blade.

When the final strike was done he look up and saw the Elves muttering in their language. He watched as a hole began to dig itself in the ground. The female Elf’s body levitated into the air, hovered over the grave before gently falling back down. The hole was then sealed over, and a stone appeared at the head of the grave.

Refverné walked over to Riley, grabbing the carved sticks from his hands. One of the Elves whispered, “weak,” under their breath, but Riley heard their words.

“They are right. You are weak, and if you want to survive the coming years your stomach needs to be of steel and your heart as stone. There’s a war coming. And the way you are going, you won’t survive five seconds of it,” Refverné said.

“War?” he asked, shocked at the idea of such an event.

“The shift in the winds. Humans in our lands. The prophecy. Everything is being pieced together now, getting ready to be torn apart by conflict.”

“Wait…what prophecy?” Riley questioned, remembering Tatianna saying something about a prophet on their journey to Lyracris. Refverné did not reply as the other guards had returned from putting the human heads on the spikes at the border of the kingdom. They then turned around and finally started to make the two-day journey back to Lefernen.

On that trip Riley decided that he didn’t care his sister was having relations with another female. All he could think about was getting out of this place, running and never looking back. But the question was, running to where?

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The steady trot that Ida moved at quickly caused Riley’s ankle to burn. He knew he had been too demanding of it the past few days, but the ache was a reminder of the pain he had to live with the rest of his life. The worst part is, he couldn’t do anything to fix it, he could just relieve it for a moment.

The group entered Lefernen, clothes still bloody from their task.

“I will go report to the Prince, you guys can have a rest,” Refverné said to Riley’s relief. He immediately turned Ida to head towards the Inn and changed his pace to a walk.

Dismounting was a difficult effort, and going up the stairs was even worse. He clung so hard to the hand rail his hands started to turn white.

“Riley,” Freya said in surprise. She was standing in the middle of the hallway, looking like she was about to go somewhere. “Look. I can explain.”

Riley did not say anything, he just wanted to sit down. He walked past her, making his way into his room. First went his sword, then the armour, then his shoes. He collapsed tired on the bed, but his ankle still burned with an intensity that water could not put out.

“Riley, please let me explain what you saw,” Freya said coming into his room. Her blonde hair, looking shorter than before. Did she have it cut? Why? he wondered.

“Look, I really don’t care-,” he groaned.

“Ok. So Kayter and I were never really a thing. He was just trying to be nice and give like a diversion from my relationship with…her. Please say something,” she begged after her short rant.

He sat up from his bed and looked at her in the eyes. “Yesterday we went and slaughtered a bunch of humans, decapitated them, put their heads on a spike, then buried a dead Elf. Now my ankle is killing me and I just want to sleep. I could not care less who you are in a relationship with.”

Freya’s eyes widened in shock, before her shoulders relaxed back down. “You want to leave,” she stated, staring at his crystal blue eyes.

He sigh, “I went into the guard hoping I could see Tatianna. Now she has left the Kingdom and I am going around murdering people.”

“I know nothing has gone to plan, but we just can’t give up and become an apathetic statue.”

“Why not?” Riley replied. “Why not, Freya?”

“Because that would mean Tatianna would be completely alone. Even if she is miles away we have to be there for her. If what Gaviour and the rest of Elves said is true, then she is too important to just be a slave to the Queen. If we-.”

“If we what?” Riley interrupted her optimism. “Kill the Prince and Queen, then she will be on the throne and everything will be sunshine and rainbows? We aren’t even dealing with the human construct of royalty, but the Elven. They would not take the murder of their rulers lightly, let alone give the throne over to the people who murdered them. Freya, we can’t do shit. We may as well leave.”

“Then we will spend the rest of the life on the run from both the human’s and the Elves. The Dwarves wouldn’t be welcoming, and the Fae…who knows what they will do. We can’t run from every kingdom on this continent. If that is the life you want, then go. I am staying,” she said. He did not reply, knowing the argument was getting them no where, literally.

There was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Kayter’s face to Riley’s dismay. “The Prince is demanding for everyone to meet under the Calavté.”

“The what?” Riley asked.

“The big tree in the centre of the city. The one where you had your guarding ceremony,” said the Elf. To that Riley nodded his head in understanding and hobbled to his feet.

The Prince’s hair burned in the afternoon sun, a beacon as if telling everyone ‘listen to me’ and they did. Riley stood a far distance away, hidden amongst the crowd with Freya by his side. There were hushed whispers, rumours as individuals hypothesised the outcome of this announcement.

“Did something happen to the Queen?”

“Are they returning soon?”

“Did they find the answers in the Hollow Plains?”So many questions raised, all waiting for the Prince’s answer that would most likely disappoint every single one.

“Most of you, are probably wondering what this is about,” the Prince called out to the swarm of Elves, using magic to amplify his voice. “Just a few days ago, a group of humans invaded our lands, killed a female and stole all of her belongings. Reports of humans getting closer to our boarders, news of creatures roaming around the light lands, instead of in the dark. It can not be denied that our peace is at an end. Therefore, from this day forward every Elf, male, female, young and old, are to practise with a sword at least two hours a day. Then for another hour every two days, there will be classes on defensive and offensive spells that is mandatory to attend. Anyone who does not attend without a logical explanation, will be deemed a traitor and sent to the dungeons. Most of you may remember the last war, lived through it and seen how hard it is to watch Elven blood spilled. Your family, children and friends die. We will not have that happen again.”

Riley turned his head towards Freya, who was looking absolutely terrified. The first piece was set and their was no telling what the next move would be.