Page 18 of Ties of Starlight (Tethered Hearts #2)

I donea was surprised at how well Nyrunn had taken everything. To be fair, she'd never had anyone to measure by, but she'd never anticipated it would go so well. She'd always imagined there would be more claims of insanity, being locked up, turned into some kind of spectacle to be studied by physicians. Things of that nature.

Although, she supposed that wasn't off the table. He could just be putting on a good face for now since no matter what they needed to finish the ceremony, then he might declare her insane and have her locked up. Which meant she needed to get ahead of that.

They’d fallen into silence as they rode, still far ahead of the group.

She could feel the turmoil swirling on the other end of the bond. She was highly tempted to use the time to put another wall up, but given her precarious situation, any intel on what Nyrunn was thinking—or rather, feeling—could be crucial.

But it also meant being subject to him making use of it as well, like he had that morning, using that strange feeling to calm her down.

She’d known it was possible. Every lifetime the Constella mentioned it, but she’d never experienced it before, the person on the other side using their memories and emotions to comfort her.

Of course, it was in Nyrunn’s best interests to placate her. If he believed her, that meant he was stuck with a murderer who could snap at any moment and kill him. If he didn’t believe her, then he was stuck with a madwoman who believed she was six other women as well.

She watched Nyrunn out of the corner of her eye.

The silence continued to stretch on and on, the sun having crested past its peak hours before. It would start setting soon. They’d been silent longer than he’d been questioning her.

How much time did an elf need to think?

If he didn’t believe her, why wasn’t he asking her questions to poke holes in her story? Asking her things she could only know about his father or uncle if she’d been alive when they were near Nyrunn’s age?

If he did believe her…

Could he really believe her?

She opened her mouth, turning to face him, but before she could get a word out, something whipped past her. She felt the vibration through the air hit her cheek as she turned her head.

She looked over her shoulder to see the arrow embed itself into the dirt behind her.

Her heart turned to stone. She would recognize the silver and white fletching anywhere.

Moon Elves.

“Get down!”

Before she could blink, she was pulled down from her saddle and to the ground. She gasped and immediately started to twist and break away, but then the arm around her waist tightened. Her back was pressed flush against his front. Nyrunn.

She looked over their shoulders to see more arrows flying and Moon Elves dropping from the branches above them. They weren’t even trying to hide their race, their silver hair undisguised and the markings on the edges of their faces uncovered.

As soon as the barrage eased, Nyrunn pulled her up with him, forcing her into a run as he sprinted them back toward the guards now racing to them. A scream tore through the air and the sounds of combat took over, drowning it out.

Idonea looked around as she ran, trying to count the Moon Elves.

She’d really been hoping to go this lifetime without encountering them. She’d seen more than enough of them in her past lives.

There were quite a few. Of course, it was never an insignificant number of Moon Elves sent to attack. Their king knew well just how large the retinue was and how well guarded the Cometa Couple always was.

But it was still day. Why were they attacking now when they were at their weakest?

The five guards circled around Nyrunn and Idonea on their steeds. One, an archer, shooting and striking a Moon Elf that was coming down from the trees overhead.

Idonea looked up. In a gap in the branches, she saw it, the moon rising before the sun finished setting.

The captain of their guard was on their other side. “Your Majesty, we need to get you both out of here!”

But Nyrunn’s eyes were focused behind the captain. Idonea followed his gaze to see Frode being dragged off his horse by a Moon Elf. Lady Asa screamed as her horse reared back, an arrow sinking into its chest.

Nyrunn’s hands flew, creating a small star and pitching it toward Frode and the Moon Elf. It landed at their feet, exploding and sending the Moon Elf stumbling back with a hiss. He looked around at the chaos. “Take Idonea to safety. I’ll be right behind you!”

“Your Majesty—”

But Nyrunn was already darting into the gap, running toward Frode as his horse struck him in the back in its panic. The Moon Elf was already recovering, drawing a sword.

Then Idonea was being grabbed by her dress and with a yelp she was hoisted into the air by the captain and thrown onto his horse. Her head was shoved into the horse’s neck as he hissed, “Stay down!”

But she was still looking behind him to see Lady Asa thrown off her horse. The archer who had taken down her horse perched in a tree nearby and started nocking another arrow. Asa hit the ground, crying out as her horse went down on top of her, crushing her beneath the weight.

Nyrunn reached Frode, drawing his sword and reaching him just in time to block the Moon Elf’s swing.

What was he thinking?

The second the captain kicked his horse into a gallop, Idonea threw herself over the other side. She hit the ground with a jarring thud, tearing open the scrapes on her hand from the night before. She didn’t waste a second though, scrambling to her feet and sprinting across the trail.

An arrow whizzed by again, missing her. Well, not completely missing her. She hissed as the tip grazed her shoulder, cutting through her sleeve.

She ignored it, running over to Asa and the dying horse suffocating her, its pained cries deafening. She dropped to her knees, right by Asa’s shoulder. She dug her hands under the horse’s flank, huffing as she said, “I’m going to lift, and you’ll have about three seconds to get out from under it before I drop it!”

Asa’s only response was a wheezing groan, but her eyes were open and locked on Idonea. So she dug her feet into the ground and pushed up against the horse, lifting it just an inch. Asa sank her hands into the dirt and hauled herself out from under the beast. Idonea’s grip was about to slip when another arrow whipped through the air, this time landing square in her shoulder, forcing her to drop the horse.

She fell back, slamming into the ground as she reached for her shoulder, hissing.

“Idonea!”

“I’m fine!” Idonea gritted her teeth and took a deep breath.

It might not be accurate to say she’d survived worse, but she’d certainly experienced far worse injuries.

It was a shame that the arrowhead didn’t go through to the other side. If she survived this, that was going to be painful.

For now, she reached up and snapped the shaft so at least it couldn’t get caught on anything.

“The arrowhead—” Asa started reaching for it, but Idonea swatted her hands away.

“Is still in me, I am aware. Until we’re out of danger and the healers can attend it, it’s going to stay there.” Idonea got her knees under her. She fumbled with her good hand until she’d hiked her skirts up enough to expose the two daggers strapped to her thigh. She drew them both and shoved one in Asa’s hands.

She took the other one and located the elf that had shot her, already aiming again .

Idonea aimed faster.

She threw the dagger, a twitch of her fingers activating the starlight that had been forged into the metal, allowing her to improve the accuracy. His arrow clipped her arm, another graze, but her dagger sank into his heart.

She’d been killed too many times on this trip not to bring some protection.

The guards she’d abandoned came circling back right as her dead elf fell from the tree and hit the ground.

“Lady Idonea, the king ordered—”

She didn’t really care what he ordered.

She ignored him to find the king who’d done what she had first. Frode was desperately trying to get back on his horse without it trampling him, likely to be able to reach his bow and quiver strapped to the back of it. Nyrunn was stuck dueling the Moon Elf whose sword’s slight glow seemed to be increasing his speed with each second the moon grew more visible as the sun began setting.

Another Moon Elf was running toward them, dagger in hand.

The only thing worse for Adastra than losing the Cometa Couple and weakening for another two hundred and fifty years would be to lose their king.

Nyrunn had no clear heir.

It would condemn them to a war they would lose.

Idonea would be coming back in two hundred and fifty years anyway, assuming there were any Star Elves left for her to come back to. What did she have to lose?

The captain’s hand missed her by a hair as she took off once more, running faster than she had in any lifetime.

Her shoulder burned as her arms moving—even just to run—caused the arrowhead to dig in deeper. She ignored it and pressed on.

Nyrunn hadn’t even seen the other elf yet .

“Nyrunn! Behind you!” Could he hear her over the sounds threatening to drown her out?

His eyes landed on her, widening, and not looking around like he was supposed to be in order to see the second threat.

But the other elf drew his hand back and threw the dagger. Idonea was faster.

She grabbed Nyrunn by the shoulders, using her whole weight to throw them both to the side. They hit the dirt, Nyrunn grunting, fumbling to grab the hilt of his sword again. The first Moon Elf was right on top of them, drawing back. Idonea rolled onto her side and slammed her heel into his ankle.

Her vision went black and a scream fell out of her throat at the motion, something hot and sharp tearing through her. When her vision returned, it was blurry, but the Moon Elf was right in front of her. A sword through his stomach.

Nyrunn had his hand around the hilt, his other pushing up off the ground. He grunted and ripped his arm back, the sword pulling out with a sickening squelch, condemning the elf to death as he began to bleed out. Nyrunn shoved him to the side, pushing up to see the second elf was drawing another dagger as he reached them.

But before Nyrunn or Idonea could act, an arrow sank into his back. Then another.

Frode had reached his bow.

A third arrow.

The elf fell to his knees.

The captain and his guards surrounded Idonea and Nyrunn. Right. They had an archer too. Frode ran up, leading his horse by the reins, bow in hand. Asa was with one of the guards, clutching the dagger Idonea had given her with a shaking hand and a ghostly countenance.

“ Your Majesty — ”

“I know, we’re going now! Both of us!” Nyrunn sheathed his sword.

Idonea tried to get her arms under her, but they weren’t moving as quickly as she wanted them to. She hissed, the arrowhead in her shoulder tearing through more of her.

“Idonea, come on—” Nyrunn grabbed her and started to pull her up. Idonea screamed as the sharp pain returned and her vision vanished.

A gasp ripped through the air and something clattered to the ground.

“Idonea!” Hands were on her, but she couldn’t figure out where. All she could feel was something digging into her ribs, clawing at her.

She furiously blinked as another agonized grunt fell from her lips. She looked down to see a hilt sticking out of her ribs. Nyrunn’s arms were around her.

She hadn’t dodged that first dagger then.

Now she was about to die in Nyrunn’s arms almost the same way she had died in Bror’s. Maybe when she came back and remembered all of this there’d be some kind of lesson in it. Maybe this was a consequence of her actions. She’d killed two people. Maybe she needed to die twice for it. Or maybe this was just some great cosmic irony.

Dying because she’d saved the life of her killer’s nephew? Was someone out there laughing at her?

She muttered, “Huh. Not quite the same spot though.”

Now that would have been ironic.

Then a flood of emotions slammed into her, ripping a gasp from her throat.

Her vision cleared as she started hyperventilating, but the panic causing it wasn’t hers. Nyrunn was holding her one second, then he was gone the next.

She reached with a shaking hand for her burning side. Another hand caught hers and stopped it in its tracks. Frode’s voice was in her ear then. “Don’t touch it. You’ll only make it worse.”

She laughed and a heavy metallic taste flooded her mouth. “I’m dying, Frode. It can hardly get worse.”

Then he was picking her up. Another wave of pain ripped through her and she cried out. She was blinded by it, screwing her eyes shut as she huffed for every breath. Another pair of arms wrapped around her, and she was propped up against a warm chest, legs hanging off the edge.

“You’re not dying.”

Idonea blinked her eyes open to see Nyrunn holding her, Frode’s horse under them, reins in his other hand. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Frode scrambling up behind one of the other guards.

“Nyrunn, I know what dying feels like. I’m something of an expert at it.” She laughed again, more blood spilling past her lips. “Maybe… Maybe you’ll live long enough I’ll at least see you again?”

The captain whistled and they took off, racing through the skirmish of arrows flying from both sides. Idonea hissed as another wave of white-hot pain tore through her as Nyrunn kicked their horse into a gallop. She grabbed at his shirt, clenching her fist, partially from pain and partially to keep from falling off.

With the hand holding her, he pulled her even closer, curling around her and shielding her as they galloped.

“You think you get to die after I finally get you to start using my name?” His voice was low and ragged. “Come on, little lily, are you really going to let the Moon Elves be the cause for your death again?”

“That’s not how it works,” Idonea whispered.

“I don’t care. Hold on, just a little longer. That’s an order.” He looked down and locked eyes with her. “I’m not letting you go. I’m not waiting another two hundred and fifty years just to watch you do this again. You’re staying with me. Do you hear me?”

“Nyrunn…” Idonea’s voice faltered.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

It wasn’t up to him.