Page 43 of Kissing Potions and Elves (Oakvale Ever After #1)
ISOBEL
W arm sunlight fills the kitchen as I prepare a tray with a few slices of honey cake and lavender tea.
Lyrion has been working diligently on his book today, and I doubt he’s taken any time to eat or drink anything. Rhystan’s been helping him as well, and I thought it would be nice to bring them some food.
I’ve never felt so happy. I think of the way he smiled at me this morning, when I woke in his arms, and the soft look in his eyes before he pressed a lingering kiss to my lips.
A sharp knock sounds at the front door, startling me from my thoughts. Curious, I hurry toward the entrance.
When I open it, I’m greeted by a stunning Elf woman, tall and slender, with green eyes and blond hair. It’s intricately styled into two delicate braids tied back and adorned with tiny glittering gems while the rest hangs loose, cascading down her back like molten gold.
Her red Elven dress tunic and pants hug her body perfectly, accentuating every graceful line. She is as stunning as she is intimidating.
She eyes me briefly, barely registering my presence as she thrusts her elegant cloak into my arms without a second thought. “You’re new. When did he hire you?” she asks, mistaking me for a servant.
I stare at her, speechless, my face burning at her dismissive tone. Before I can correct her, she continues, “Never mind, just tell me where Lyrion is.”
Something inside me bristles. “Excuse me, but… who are you exactly?”
Her icy gaze locks onto mine, an elegant brow arching in subtle disbelief. “I am Lady Elyssia. Lord Lyrion’s betrothed.”
Her words land like a brutal slap. Betrothed? I gaze at her in confusion. Surely, I heard her wrong. I open my mouth, but I cannot seem to find the words to speak.
“Lady Elyssia?” Hilda’s surprised voice carries from behind me, and I turn to find her standing frozen in the hallway, eyes wide.
Footsteps echo as Lyrion and Rhystan round the corner, their conversation stopping abruptly as they spot the Elf woman.
Ice floods my veins as Lyrion’s face pales, and Rhystan’s mouth drifts open.
“Lyrion?” My voice shakes as I force the words past my lips. “There’s someone here to see you. She says… she’s your betrothed.”
“Isobel,” Lyrion begins, hesitation and guilt easily read in his features. “Please, let me explain.”
My stomach twists. “Is it true?”
Before he can answer, Elyssia steps forward. “Is this what your ridiculous message was about?” Her gaze flickers dismissively toward me. “I thought you were working on your precious compendium, not amusing yourself with a human.”
She looks me over critically and then turns back to him, arching a condescending brow. “I never thought you would be one to have a sordid dalliance with the help, Lyrion.”
“She’s not the help,” he snaps.
“Oh?” Elyssia’s gaze narrows, appraising me with cold judgment. “Then, tell me, human, what exactly is it that you do?”
Heat floods my cheeks as I lift my chin, forcing strength into my voice. “I work in a café.”
Elyssia’s lips curl in disdain, and she turns back to Lyrion. “Is that supposed to be better?”
My chest tightens, humiliation scorching through me as I look at him. Lyrion is engaged. Everything between us was a lie.
My gaze sweeps to Rhystan, then to Hilda. They both avoid my eyes, shame clear on their faces.
Pain spears through me as I realize that I’m nothing but a fool. A na?ve girl who believed in fairy tales and dreams too big for someone like me.
But what hurts even more is that I trusted Hilda and Rhystan, and they knew. They had known all along.
“Please, Isobel,” Lyrion pleads, “let me explain.”
Anger surges through me, rapidly replacing my devastation. “Don’t bother,” I snap. I refuse to cry in front of him. I’ve survived worse than this. And I’ll survive him, too. “You’ve said enough, or rather, said nothing at all. Why would I be interested in your explanations now?”
Turning, I storm toward the stairs. “Errol!” I call up to the second floor. “Errol!”
“What on earth is she doing?” Elyssia’s voice is sharp and incredulous.
“Isobel, I beg you,” Lyrion tries again, his tone desperate, “just let me—”
“You had plenty of time to explain.” I glare at him accusingly. “And instead you chose silence.” I turn to Rhystan and Hilda. “ Each of you did.”
Rhystan’s expression darkens with regret, and Hilda’s eyes glisten with remorse before she lowers her gaze.
I blink back tears, anger blazing within. “Errol!” My voice cracks as I call again, desperate to leave before despair crushes me entirely.
A loud yowl echoes down the stairs, and Errol races toward me, feathers trailing in his wake. Confusion briefly flickers through me, but I ignore it as I scoop him into my arms, holding him close.
“Isobel.” Lyrion reaches for me. “Wait.”
“Don’t touch me,” I snap, stepping quickly out of his reach. “I don’t want to hear it.”
I glance toward the stairs. My belongings are still in my room, but I’m not going back for them. I want nothing from Lyrion—not the beautiful clothes, not the warm, safe home... not the lies.
He follows as I storm toward the door. “Please, don’t—”
“No!” Devastation wars with anger as I spin to face him. “You lied to me, Lyrion. You made me believe that you cared for me. That you loved—” My voice breaks.
“I trusted you.” A traitorous tear slips down my cheek, but I brush it away, refusing to let him see me fall apart. “I gave you my heart. And all the while, you were engaged to someone else .” Sadness tightens my chest. “No one has ever hurt me the way you have.”
“I didn’t mean to cause you any pain, Isobel.”
“But you still did.” I swallow back a sob. “And that’s all that matters.”
I force myself to look at him one last time, memorizing the shadows in his face, before turning toward the door and wrenching it open. The air on the other side feels colder somehow. I pause on the threshold, my hand tightening on the frame to keep myself steady.
“Whatever we had, it’s over.” The words scrape out of me like glass. “The potion’s effects are gone. Go back to your life—” My breath catches. “And leave me to mine.”
Stepping through the door, I slam it shut behind me. My heart feels heavy as I walk away from the manor, but I refuse to look back.
I stumble through the village streets, my vision blurred by tears. Everything hurts… every heartbeat a painful reminder that I was never really his.
Stopping abruptly, I press a trembling hand to my aching chest. Elyssia is everything I’m not. She’s an elegant Elf noblewoman who fits effortlessly into Lyrion’s world.
Errol reaches his paw up, resting it against my cheek as his green eyes meet mine, full of sadness.
“Oh, Errol,” my voice quavers, “I was such a fool, letting myself believe someone like Lyrion could ever truly love someone like me.”
My knees buckle, and I sink onto the bench in the village square, memories overwhelming me of Lyrion’s soft whispers in the dark, his tender kisses beneath the stars.
What hurts most is knowing those moments might have been nothing more than magic. An illusion.
“Lyrion,” I whisper his name, tears streaming down my face. “Was any of it ever real?”
My heart aches terribly, longing warring with betrayal. How can I trust anything we shared when I don’t know if the warmth in his eyes was ever truly meant for me, or if it was simply the potion’s cruel joke?
I hug Errol, grief and humiliation burning through my veins. What if this was always meant to be my fate… loving someone who could never truly belong to me?
Errol purrs against me, trying to offer comfort.
Drawing in a deep breath, I glance down at him. “We’ve survived hard times before.” I swallow against the lump in my throat. “And we’ll get through this as well, Errol. I know we can.”
When I reach my apartment, I set Errol down on the bed. This used to be my sanctuary, but now it feels small, cramped, and painfully empty after the warmth of Lyrion’s manor.
Despite trying to be strong, I collapse onto my thin straw mattress and curl into a ball as emotions rise to the surface once again. It hurts to breathe. Devastation unlike anything I’ve ever known washes through me.
I love Lyrion. Stars help me, I still do. But if he kept something this important from me, what else did he hide? Did he ever truly feel for me as I did for him?
Errol moves to my side, and I bury my face in his soft fur as tears stream down my face. His gentle purring vibrates against me as sobs wrack my body.
A painful realization settles in my chest. The proximity spell is gone and the rest of the potion’s effects are almost completely faded as well. I’m finally free, but this freedom is hollow and cruel.
Errol curls closer, as if trying to shield me from the agonizing truth. But nothing can protect me from the terrible ache in my chest. I thought I’d found love. A home. A family. But all of it was a lie.
Because now I know the truth: None of those things were really mine. They were never meant for me. I’m free because I was never truly meant to belong.