THE CHAINED GIFT XXVII: Rebirth

Lioges' bedroom was in silence, except for the sound of Caradhar's breath. He was sleeping in his bed, as usual, and the healer was sitting besides him, staring at his face, his brow knit with concern. Outside the midday sunlight was shining, filtering through the tops of the trees, but the shutters of the windows were closed and everything was in semi-darkness, still, taciturn like the Silvan's mood.

In the shadows the youngest elf's tresses, messily spread on the pillow, seemed to be of the same colour as his companion's. A lock had slipped down to his nose and mouth and his breathing was making it sway; Lioges carefully moved it aside but couldn't force himself to let it go at once: instead he let his fingers become entangled in it, and the soft brushing along his skin made him shiver, stressing the sombre quality of his mood at the same time. Because had the gifted been awaken, he wouldn't have allowed him to do it...

'It wouldn't be a bad idea if you slept a bit as well and stopped behaving like a molester,' quietly advised Vira's voice from the staircase. The healer didn't bother to answer. 'My, my, already two hours... did you put him to sleep yourself? I am surprised at the development of your abilities, Lio: it isn't easy at all to knock down a gifted like that.'

'Our guide came to do it herself,' remarked the elder brother. 'She said it was a normal reaction, an awaited and even necessary one... but a whole day crying and shaking like that can't be good for anyone. No, I didn't develop my abilities; in fact I was completely unable to help him.' Lioges pursed his lips and let the lock go on the pillow. 'Luckily Tirsseil...'

'In my opinion she's right.' The newcomer stood besides his brother. 'You should have let him do it. He has a whole life of weeping to recover...'

'What kind of heartless person could see him suffering like that and not get moved?' asked the other elf with harsh voice.

'Right now the boy isn't what I'd call my favourite person. You should have seen what he's been able to do to others. And he's lucky: his eyes won't even get swollen as a memento. No; I assure you some tears are nothing but the beginning.'

'Some tears... how can you be so cold-blooded? You surprise me, Vira. That Darshi'nai killer must have made a deep impression on you... did you decide to settle down and chase a single elf instead of half the city?'

'You also surprise me,' answered the tall elf with smooth, sarcastic voice. 'Did my brother the moralist, the one who spent a half of my life lecturing me about my unnatural impulses, lose his head for a handsome red-haired boy?'

'It isn't like that... I just worry about him, because...'

'You can't lie to me, Lio: my empathic talent may be less powerful than yours, but it's more than enough to allow me to know what crosses your mind now. Congratulations, you proud father and husband: welcome to my world.'

'If you got here with the purpose of torturing me,' warned the healer with trembling voice, 'you better go back the same way you have come before you force me to do something you won't like...'

'Oh, come on... why would I want to torture you? You are doing fine on your own. What I came for was taking you out of here. What good is it to stay languishing besides his bed? It's not worth and you know it.'

'I think I am free to choose where I want to stay, if you don't mind.'

Lioges gently held Caradhar's hand in his own, brushing it with his thumb. He knew he was being judged by his brother, but he didn't care. Right him of all Dervharn inhabitants should know how difficult was to fight certain feelings.

'Lio,' the youngest elf's voice wasn't sarcastic any more, but serene, 'you have to accept reality. You know as well as I do what was the reason of that crying. You know what he needs.'

'He returned to us... our guide wants him to stay... I want him to stay...'

'What are you going to do? Keeping him asleep forever? Guess what will happen later, once he wakes up.'

'I was hoping... I was hoping he would forget that lover of his. How could a Darshi'nai be a good company for one of our people? They live soaked in potions; they aren't better than assassins... I thought it wouldn't take long before he became a thing of the past.'

'That lover is one of our people's, as you call them, adopted son. Stop speaking about him as if he were a stranger, you don't even know him.' Vira looked down, slightly embarrassed. 'Fine: I admit I am a fool, but you are one as well. And the main difference between you and me is that I accept it, and I'm trembling because I know it will be painful, but I'll do the right thing. I can't stay any longer, Lio. And there's something I need to carry with me.'

Caradhar twisted on the bed; upon shifting position, he let go of the hand holding his. The small accidental gesture caused the healer to look at his own empty hand, and made him grimace with sorrow.

***

Sül retired to that bedroom he had been using since Dainhaya and him stayed in Argailias, keeping each other's company. It was simple, but its atmosphere was different from any other one could find in the city: the shades of green, the fragrant wood, the warm light of the few candles, the vases with branches and leaves picked from the plants that were growing in the courtyard, the scented oils she used to burn to make him feel better... Nowhere else had he felt safer and calmer. If only...

Dainhaya had behaved in a curious way for the last days. And so had he, no point in denying it: since that episode of inexplicable weeping a strange distress had seized him, and for no apparent reason he used to wander the house like a ghost with a heavy heart. As for the female, she seemed to be nervous and forgetful. It was curious indeed... He looked at the wooden shelf on which oil was burned every night, as a greeting for him; it was empty. Dainhaya not only had forgotten to light it that night but also had taken the burner and the pot away. Oh, well... It wasn't that important anyway, the young elf had thought. But those small rituals that had become part of his life were the only thing that brought some peace to his battered mind, and he couldn't help but missing them. He clung to them as much as to his companion's sweet voice, to the daily little hope of having some news, to his memories... A subtle scent of wood wafted in the air; it'd had to be enough.

The elf took off his boots and lay on the bed without bothering to strip. He closed his eyes. He had been counting the days and hours since Vira had left. How many days did he need to get there? What was taking him so long? Dainhaya, who was keeping the contact with the Silvan's mind, had told him Caradhar was still there but Vira hadn't had a chance to talk to him. At least nothing bad had happened... But the lack of news was worrying him. Gods... How he wished he could have gone himself...

An unexpected tingling made the hair at his nape stand on end, and went down his spinal cord to his legs; some kind of cramp that made him feel uneasy, unable to adopt a relaxing pose... He rolled over onto his side but it was no use, and it became even worse as he noticed his cheeks burning. His heart started to beat very fast...

He opened his eyes and sat down, holding on the edge of the mattress so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He breathed deeply, and the muffled hammering of blood on his ears became stronger and stronger, and more deafening...

A sound of hurried steps came from the corridor. The door opened suddenly.

Caradhar.

Caradhar, who caused everything to turn silent during the second his heart stopped beating.

The red-haired elf walked towards the bed and stood in front of him, between his legs apart. He placed his hands on his shoulders and slid them along them to his nape, going deep into into his black hair. Sül didn't dare to open his mouth, terrified that the vision, dream, or whatever that was could vanish in front of his eyes.

The gifted stared at him captivated, his lips half-open, his crimson gaze... No, something was different: the warmth of those eyes, they way in which they flamed, as if they were fixed on a fireplace... That wasn't the gaze he was used to... so, what was it? Yet another one of Vira's tricks? But then the younger elf leaned down and buried his face into his neck, and for a moment he caught a glimpse, from the corner of his eye, of the Silvan's tall silhouette outside the room, his face expressionless, as chiselled in stone, before he reached for the door knob and closed it, cutting them off the world.

Caradhar kissed him under his ear, right the way he used to do it. May the gods help him, but if that was a trick, it was the best he had ever seen, because the tact of his lips was as he remembered, the one he dreamed of in his lonely nights, when his mind and body missed him so much... And his tongue... And that whispering sound, as if he were breathing in deeply...

He was inhaling. He was absorbing his scent. He couldn't be wrong: the whisper besides his ear couldn't be clearer... That nose suddenly made its way through his hair and breathed in as deeply as it could... and a moment of silence, and a new whisper as it exhaled and anxiously went back for more. It glided down along his neck and his collarbone and stopped on the hollow between. The gifted's hands moved to unfasten his shirt; then he fell on his knees and kept exploring his chest, with such an ecstatic visage that the Shadow doubted again if that elf wouldn't be but a figment of his imagination, or a magic creation... As he reached the spot on his heart Caradhar moved his ear closer and listened to the accelerated music, trembling with the sound that echoed through his skin.

Sül couldn't resist any longer: he wrapped his arms around his sides and tried to lift him, holding him so tight that the younger elf sighed.

'Adhar... Adhar... I...' There was so much anguish in his voice that he wasn't able to emit but a murmur. 'Don't kneel down... It's me who should be on his knees... I acted like a beast, but I promise I'll...'

He couldn't go on because the redhead raised his face and quietened him with a kiss. He didn't take his time as usual before entering his mouth. He seemed to be craving for tasting his tongue once more. Tasting... Sül again said to himself that wasn't possible... But the way he slid it along his, not leaving a single inch of wet skin untasted; those so delicate moans resounding in his throat, that were driving him crazy... what else could that be? The pale hands rested on his cheeks, seizing them, moving his face from side to side as he pleased to gain access to every corner. Their tongues became so hungry that the gentle strokes turned into a violent fight to prove who would conquer who's mouth, who would penetrate deeper inside the other one. The Shadow coiled his strong arms even tighter around his body; his legs trapped his hips... They both broke the kiss for a moment, panting, mixing their warm breaths in front of their faces, barely apart, piercing each other with their gazes, lost into their depths... That red look that burned, asked Sül to himself, whose bright was entirely made of fire and not of ice... whom did it belong to? To you. It belongs to you.

The words sounded so clear in his mind... almost as if he had pronounced them close to his ear. Gods, he didn't want to be harsh, he didn't want to risk hurting him in the least, but that simple sentence spurred up his long-repressed desire so much that he felt himself capable of crushing him inside his arms. Caradhar managed to get rid of his shirt; upon twisting against his body their crotches came into contact, and their hard members, pressing against their clothes, brushed each other through the fabric. The gifted bathed Sül's lips with the breath of such a maddeningly sensual moan that the dark-haired elf became little less than a predator...

Grabbing the redhead's waist he threw him on the bed and voraciously stared at him, before his hands ran to his trousers and untied them; there they got entwined with Caradhar's ones, who was as eager of getting out of his clothes as Sül was of stripping him, raising his hips so that the Shadow could quickly get rid of them.

That familiar body, unveiled under him, would have been enough to push him to the point of no return of desire. But the way he spread his legs to offer himself even more... the way he looked at him, as if he no longer belonged to himself, as if Sül had him in his power to do whatever he wanted with him -for it couldn't be his imagination: the feeling screamed so loud inside his head that it was overwhelming- made him let out a throaty grunt, practically tear off the strings of his trousers to uncover his slippery member and penetrate him almost in one go, placing his forearms both sides of his partner, so close to his face that he could still feel his heat, but far enough as to relish on his expression. The gifted held a painful whimper that made him close his eyes for a second; Sül froze inside of him.

'Did I hurt you?' he whispered inside his mouth.

'Since I left I haven't... please, don't stop...'

Sül opened his eyes wide. Therefore, all that time... His fingers became entangled in his red hair, caressing it tenderly. He forced himself to move gently, slowly going in and out of him, making sure he shivered with each touch.

Caradhar was about to complain. He didn't want his companion to hold himself back: he wanted him to crush him with his desire, to make him feel so much pleasure that he'd become numb to anything but his fingers digging into his skin, his tongue stroking him, the swinging of his hips, his heat... His mind unconsciously opened, soaking up his lover, absorbing his thoughts in the same way his nose brought him those intoxicating perfumes... and the Shadow entered it, as deeply as he had done it between his buttocks. When he found himself like that, doubly full of him, knowing Sül was feeling him from the inside, Caradhar was rendered breathless.

He knew what the young elf felt for him; to the most intimate and fundamental level; inside his head, fire-engraved on every idea; buried inside his heart under layers of flesh and blood, so deep it was impossible to remove it without ripping it off... He didn't know what name to give to that feeling, it was as new to him as his scent... but it was unmistakably Sül, the Sül that had lived, had killed, had bled, had suffered... that would die for him. The Sül that always forgave him, even when he got his entrails twisted in such a cold way...

The Sül that loved him.

A tear trickled down the corner of his crimson eye. His face contorted with pain, with remorse, with the certainty of knowing he would hardly get to forgive himself. The Shadow observed that shiny trail and stopped, in shock.

'Gods... Adhar! Am I hurting you?' He wiped the wet mark with his thumb but a new tear ran down the other side. 'Adhar! Why...?'

'Forgive me, Sül... forgive me... forgive me.... I'm sorry... I'm so truly sorry... Oh, Sül, I'm so sorry...'

The Shadow didn't know what to do until he understood it was his turn to kiss him and quietened him, to show him with his body words weren't needed. He had no idea about what had happened during his absence, but he was under him right then, and might he be damned if he would ever see him leaving again. He lay on Caradhar's abdomen, slipped his arms under his head and held him as if he were about to run away. The gifted also tightened his grip around his sides, and when the thrusts started again he wrapped his tense legs around his hips, crossed his ankles over his rear and pressed his heels against his entrance... The warmth along his stomach and the loud moan inside his mouth proved the dark-haired elf that he was still able to please the redhead... Motionless inside of him, melted into that impossibly tight embrace, he also climaxed, wondering how could he have survived all those days without him.

Caradhar's fingers went from digging into his flesh to sensually trace the curves of his scars... Sül looked at him. His eyes were still tear-filled, and may gods forgive him but he found them beautiful, sparkling in the candlelight... He kissed them as delicately as he could, his lips barely brushing his eyelashes, pearled with tiny transparent drops. That salty flavour... it was the first time he let it spread along his tongue and it was so... perfect... He pulled out and rubbed the gifted's slippery member, making it hard again.

'I need you inside of me,' whispered the Shadow, getting rid of the shirt that covered his arms and his trousers; straddling his partner, he started to guide his moist weapon through his entrance.

'Sül... wait a bit... too fast...' said Caradhar, placing his hands on his firm stomach. 'It'll hurt...'

'I don't care... ah...' The elf whimpered, but the stiff flesh disappeared inside of him down to the base. 'I... hmmm... I need you...'

Leaning on his thighs Sül started to take impulse over his lover's groin. Caradhar followed the movement of that appealing body, of his muscles waving under his skin, of his rod, raising again... There was a hint of pain in his excitement, but he embraced it as a present, because there were things worth suffering for... The Shadow's moans became louder and sharper. He opened his eyes, tightly shut so far, and lowered them to his companion; they were like the pool of Dervharn clearing, deep and dark, able to capture the light of a god...

Caradhar couldn't resist, even that distance was too much... He sat up using his elbows and held him; pulling his nape he pushed his tongue again through his half-open lips. That taste... He also wondered: he wondered how could he have survived all his life without it.

'Am I dreaming?', doubted Sül for the hundredth time, and for the hundredth time he stroked the ruby-coloured locks spread along his chest, while Caradhar nestled up to him, like preventing him from vanishing, his nose deep into his black hair, into every hollow of his body, getting familiar with his scent same way he had done it with the reliefs of his anatomy. The Shadow lifted his chin and looked into his eyes once more: yes, it was him, undoubtedly him, even if he had never displayed such a wide and sweet smile before... He kissed him again, despite his lips were slightly swollen after so many times touching his; but he couldn't care less, he couldn't stop.

'Sül... I don't think I could ever find something better flavoured than you,' whispered the gifted, his tongue softly licking his chin and the skin of his neck after leaving his mouth. 'When I think of what I have missed through all these years...'

'That's my line... Besides you'll change your mind once you've tasted the pleasures of the world, Adhar.' The Shadow smiled.

'All the pleasures I need are in this bed...'

Sül's heart started to race... Yes, he ought to be dreaming: it was impossible he were back, and had miraculously acquired that sense he had never possessed before, and were embracing him like that after they were done with making love. And that feeling wrapping his mind like a warm mantle, was really a reflection of the one dwelling his? What have those elves done to Caradhar? There were so many things he needed to understand... He lifted that beautiful face again, and again he curved his lips.

'Can you... can you really read my thoughts, like those Silvans?'

'I'm sorry, I don't do it consciously.' Caradhar looked down in confusion. 'I didn't learn to control it... And I'm scared of doing something I shouldn't, of projecting on you a feeling that doesn't belong, but... I couldn't wait to see you...'

'I've got nothing to hide from you. Only that wretched thing, and I hope you'll come to forget it, 'cause never again I'll do something like...'

'Sül! How could I ever deserve your apologies? On my way here I couldn't stop torturing myself, thinking you could have decided to close the chapter and had no wish to see me again... I hurt you so... I don't deserve your forgiveness...'

Again Sül felt his sorrow, unstoppable like that torrent of tears. He was so grateful for the warmth of his feelings that he could barely contain the urge to stand and raise a prayer to the gods; but not like that, not that way... not if he had to see the face he loved convulsed with suffering. He seized his cheeks and forced him to look into his eyes, to read in them. Could he also force him to look inside of him? Adhar, he thought, Adhar, look at me... forgiving you? Do you think I could live without you? You might also ask me to rip my own heart off. But you're the kind of person who'd be able to put it back into place and give it back its beating. That's you. Once you've known someone like that it's impossible to go back...

'Adhar... I accepted my feeling long time ago. It was my mistake to try to force my desires on you, to tell you I loved you and then try to impose conditions. Love must be unconditional...'

'No, Sül! That isn't true! What we have can't be unconditional. You have every right to demand from me the same things what you always gave me... that's the way it should be! Unconditional? That's the cold idea I had conceived in my mind. And look what I've done to you...'

'But I was about to get laid with Vira...'

Caradhar shut up at once. The image started to appear vividly in his mind. He frowned slightly and pursed his lips.

'But... but you didn't... and it was my own fault after all and... and even if you had,' his voice became a bitter murmur, 'I wouldn't have had any right to reproach you... neither then, nor the next one hundred times, I guess...'

'Moron...' Sül made him lie on top of him,' do you think there's anyone out there who could compare with this?'

Again the kiss. And again the desire, caused by the brushing of both sexes waking up once more. The Shadow's hands went down and took possession of those two perfect pale globes, and made them slightly apart; the redhead moaned softly, rubbing their bodies together as he shivered... His hands dived between the mattress and his partner, intending to provoke him the same sensation...

'What will we do now, Adhar?' shyly asked the eldest elf once they were satisfied... one more time. 'What... what are your plans?'

'We'll leave, Sül. We'll go to the forest; that is... if you agree... There you can get rid of the horrible Darshi'nai potions and they won't lay their hands on you any more... You'd be amazed at how close it really is. And I have many things to tell you and show you... And if you don't want to live close to the Silvans we'll find our own private place. No cages, Sül; no chains...'

'That sounds too good to be true...'

'But it is.'

'I'm thinking...'

'Hmmm?'

'One hundred times, huh? So many? Well... then I'll have to find a method to charge for them.' Caradhar stiffened. 'And since it'll be practically you and me alone, the trees and maybe some squirrel, I can only think of one.' His hands went to rest on his backside again. 'You better start thanking the gods for giving you the Gift; otherwise... there'd be no way for you, either divine or mortal, to manage to sit down in a long, long time...'

Caradhar smiled, and his smile became broader and broader until he burst out laughing. Sül felt how his breath was taken away. The sound of his laughter...

Was it possible to love him even more?

'There's one thing I must do before we leave,' said the gifted once he calmed down. 'I have to talk with Navhares. I know this is going to hurt him, and I wish I could take him out of here, but I guess it isn't possible any more. He... I am sure he will become a great elf. I confess I am nervous: they warned me most probably I'm no longer immune to the commanding voice...'

'And still you'll...? Sül swallowed. 'I know it isn't your fault but... what if he decides to use it on you?'

'He didn't do it in all this time, nor even a single time. I trust he won't do it now.'

'Now it's different... If I... well, if I were in his place... I'd do anything not to lose you...'

'Then I'll have to trust harder. I promise everything will be fine.'

He kissed his companion on the neck and sat up, starting to get dressed. The Shadow held back as much as he could, but in the end he jumped on him, clinging to his back.

'I'm sorry, Adhar...' he said, clasping him tightly. 'I know I'm behaving like a brat, but... you've got to forgive me. Can't help it... I'm scared thinking you'll cross that door and I might be unable to see you in a long time, and I...'

He shut up, because Caradhar turned around and whispered something in his ear. Only three words; three common, simple words... A tiny sentence that Sül had pronounced several times but had never heard before.

Something he had craved for his entire life.

The gifted couldn't leave the room that day either.

***

Lord Navhares twisted and turned in his sleep. It had been weeks since his last peaceful night; in the mornings he used to wake up tired and thoughtful.

That night wasn't an exception. In fact, it was much worse than ever, because dreams wouldn't stop haunting him. Weird dreams, but too vivid to be easily ignored. He rolled onto his left side, restless. Then he suddenly opened his eyes; the moon lit up that side of the bed with beautiful silvery brightness. And he was there.

Caradhar.

The gifted was lying besides him, on his right side, his head comfortably resting on the pillow. Despite his back was to the light Navhares noticed he was looking at him. And he was smiling. For the first time he could see such an open smile on that normally expressionless face. And it was for him. The Maede became momentarily speechless.

'I had a dream,' he said finally, as if finding Caradhar there was the most natural thing in the world. 'When I went to bed I dreamt of a forest, and I thought it was strange because I've never been to one. Something was telling me I had to be ready, something might happen, so I left my bedroom and came to this one. Somehow it was the right thing to do.'

The gifted was puzzled: had any of the Silvans sent him that dream? Vira had helped him to sneak into the Palace, and it had been much easier than expected through that window... But he'd think about it later.

'Hello,' he simply said.

'Hello,' answered Navhares, using the same tone and curving his lips in the same way. In the semi-darkness they looked like original and mirror image. 'Seeing you was my biggest wish, but... do you know how much it hurt that you left?'

'I have no words to tell you how sorry I am.' Caradhar reached for his face and stroked his cheek, and the boy closed his eyes for a moment and abandoned himself to the caress. 'I've been the most despicable person, and I don't know how I'll ever get to make up for it.'

'Did you miss me?'

'Yes. You're one of my two most important people, Navhares.'

'But I'm not the first...'

The gifted's hand froze on his face; a shadow of grief darkened his eyes. Navhares grabbed his hand and kissed it on the palm, and then placed it back on his cheek, covering it with his own.

'I'm not the Maede of Elore'il any more,' he continued. 'Almost... My wife is pregnant again. Once the baby is born he or she will be the new Maede, and I will belong to the Prince's House.'

'And that doesn't make you entirely happy.'

'I feel I'll lose some things. Somehow, Elore'il... was a place we could always return to. Although it no longer matters, right? You didn't come to stay, I know it. You came to say goodbye.'

Caradhar's eyes shone, and his lips became a tight line. He moved closer to his companion, forehead against forehead.

'If I could take you with me I would. But you and I know this is your place, your position here is too important...'

'Do you want to tell me where are you going?'

'Yes. I'm leaving to the forest, with your... grandfather's relatives. I brought you a book, though you shouldn't show it to anyone. It tells the story of some elves whose blood also runs through our veins. It will surprise you, yet it's nothing but the truth.'

'War isn't over, Navhares. It will go on, the gods know until when, for a piece of land they desperate cling to, not even knowing its true value. One day your son will be the Prince, but before that you'll have to teach him what's truly important; one day Argailian people will have to know things must change, and for that you'll play a crucial role in this story. You will see. In the meanwhile, promise me you'll keep your children away from alchemy. Please, it's very important: promise me.'

'Please... I don't want us to be separated. Please...'

'I give you my word we'll meet again; more often than you think. And I give you my word I'll never be separated from you in here.' He gently pressed Navhares' forehead with his own. 'But we both have our duties: you, with your people, and me... with someone who has been silently waiting for too long...'

'Caradhar... I need you to tell me something: if you... if you hadn't meet him earlier... would you have stayed with me?'

'You know I would. But I can't stay in this city, in the end I would hurt him again...'

'But you will hurt me...'

'It's true. I despise myself for it, but you have your position, your children, an important task to carry out. He only has me.'

'It's not fair.'

'No, it isn't. But it's what my heart tells me.'

'Caradhar... I always...'

The gifted kissed the boy's forehead. There was so much gentleness in his lips, so much tenderness in that simple gesture, new for him, that Navhares closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down the left corner. As Sül had done with him, the gifted pressed his lips on that point and wiped it away. The Maede clenched his teeth and embraced him, burying his face into his neck; he embraced him as strongly as he could, so tight there was barely any room for air... Caradhar placed a protective hand on his nape and the other on his back, and held him against him, inhaling the scent of his hair.

When he was about to leave the room, one hand already on the window, the Maede said:

'I had another dream, Caradhar: I dreamt I had a brother...' The gifted's hand froze on the metal frame. 'Maybe you'll explain me the meaning of it; maybe the next time we meet. Soon. Sooner than I think...'

Navhares smiled slightly.

***

Four horses stopped outside Argailias, close to dawn. The city was still a huge dark block that was recovering its shine under the rising sun. The highest tower of the Palace of the Forty-nine Moons was starting to lose its night sparkle. It was a beautiful sight; no doubt a fine picture to take away as a memento...

'Won't you miss them, Adhar? Your... son; your mother... your...' asked Sül.

'I'll see them again. We aren't very far, it will be a stroll once I learn the way. We'll always have things to do here, now and in the future. And Corail... well... Corail is like a light that always managed to trap me... I guess I'll see her again, and she might try to trap me once more. But Sül, you will always bring me back to you. And that's the way it has to be.'

The former Shadow let go of the reins and leaned towards Caradhar, held his cheeks and kissed him. And as every kiss he had given through those last hours, it was the best one of his life...

'Keep behaving like newly married teenagers and saying cheesy stuff and you'll make me puke.' Vira's voice interrupted the magic of the moment. 'If you don't start to move it right now, I'll grab Dainhaya by the ear, clear off like greased lightning and ditch you here, and let's see how you manage to get to Dervharn. What the blazes... screw you. Catch me if you can!'

The Silvan spurred his horse and disappeared from their sight. The other three elves looked at each other, smiling, and imitated him, leaving a big cloud of dust behind.

     Previous chapter                                                                                                             Next chapter