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“What sorcery did you inflict upon her?!” demanded the Guardian. “You’re not our kind.Howis she withyourchild?!”
Travus inhaled sharply as his eyes filled with grief. “Because she’s my mate reincarnate. And she’s not immortal, your highness. But I am, and I must change that.”
The Guardian’s eyes fell upon his hands, narrowing her eyes as she deciphered the stones and let out a soft gasp.
“How did you get those?” she growled. “I would’ve been told!”
With a restrained grunt, he tightened his grip around the stone and stepped back, and from the shadows came armed Elves in droves, surrounding the lake with their weapons ready.
“You all must leave immediately,” he said ominously. “I have no intention of stopping when I’ve come this far.”
Aria shoved past her mother and made her way over, beads of sweat running down her face as it contorted in pain. Arthur rushed forward to grab her, but she threw her hand back to halt him.
She looked at her mate pleadingly. “I’m sure there’s another way, Travus. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“I’ve been alive forcenturies, Mie–Aria…” he sighed with visible distraught. “I would’ve found another way if it did exist. This is my last resort, and I won’t allow history to repeat itself. I won’t stand by and watch you and ourchild age, fall ill, get injured, or pass away while I remain invincible.”
To Arthur’s surprise, he watched as the whites of Travus’s eyes turned red and his irises darkened into an endless abyss of so much grief it could swallow him whole.
“Living with this fear and grief is a fate worse than death,” Travus finished, and then suddenly raised his free hand. An Elf knight ran right into Aria and disappeared with her into the darkness of the woods…and the chaos began.
Chapter 23
Everything had been prepared for. Travus was sure Aria would attempt to stop him, and his best knights were employed to take her away to a safe place when the time came.
He heard her calling out for him as his best knight, the one she almost killed once, took her away, and then watched as his Elves clashed with the Fairies. The Fairy Guardian glared at him and flexed her arm by her side, a shimmer of golden curling down her arm and away from her hand to materialize into a magnificent sword of crystal.
“There was a reason it took five whole people to open the portal within the Enchanted Lake, your majesty,” the Fairy Guardian said dangerously. “I understand you’re trying to put an end to your immortality and your life, but don’t take us with you.”
It was then that more Fairies arrived onto the scene with much darker and more familiar energies to them, taking on his Elves with vigor. They were Faes, and one of them ran in between the Fairy Guardian and him just ashe’d brandished his sword. This Fae was unarmed, but his hands glowed with green flames, and he had a desperate look on his face. There was a slight scent to him that reminded Travus briefly of Aria, to which he assumed her, and the Fae were close in some proximity.
It made him jealous. Because Aria had lied about her identity, he couldn’t be sure if she’d lied about not having lovers when she came to his castle. The Fae before him could be one of her secret beaus.
“Say youdoopen the portal to the Realm of the Dead,” said the Fae as a protective barrier of ashes began to rise between them, “do you even know what you’re looking for? Do you know what to do?”
“The River of Mortality,” Travus said confidently. “What departed souls sip on when they’re ready to reincarnate.”
“You don’t have evidence.”
“Aria is evidence,” he said, and the Fae’s face fell. “Her existence, and our future child, is undeniable proof. So, please, don’t compel me to force my way through.”
With that, Travus brandished the large sword on his back and charged for them. The Fae attacked, sending green flames soaring that Travus smacked away with his blade. The Fairy Guardian flew into him with her sword, and they clashed their weapons sending sparks of blue and gold everywhere. He swung and dodged, yet still caring to onlyland hits with the blunt face of his sword to not maim the Guardian. She seemed to have realized this and expertly evaded every blow he tried to land.
“Even if you succeed in reaching the river, it will kill you!” Hector yelled over the sounds of battle. “If your curse of immortality is true, you’ve long outlived your lifeforce and will immediately age and die!”
Travus was forced to go stealth, turning invisible to avoid being in the Fae’s line of sight as he became more and more accurate in his shots. The Elven King narrowly missed an arrow of green fire that passed over the bridge of his nose, and the Fairy Guardian almost caught him in the back had his speed not propelled him out of her range.
If he thought Aria was the only one strong enough to take him on at all, he was wrong. The Fairy Guardian, surprisingly, was far nimbler than the Captain Sentinel he’d taken on all those weeks ago in Vihnmen.
Nevertheless, the tide was turning in their favor as more of his men barged through the woods, taking on the Fae and the Fairy Guardian to allow him to get to the Enchanted Lake.
Travus ran for the water, the stones in his hands becoming hot and starting to glow the closer he got. He could feel himself getting tired for some reason, his muscles slowly growing weaker the more the stones glowed. It was then that he understood that the stones werefeeding off his energy to activate, and he wondered if this could possibly kill him.
He dug his feet into the ground and came to a halt at the bank, the stones in his palm practically searing his skin off. It caused him to throw them to the water, and he watched as they soared through the air and descended toward the surface.
To everyone’s surprise, they only bounced off and left behind a ripple each as they began to glow and float just above the water. Travus watched in awe as the stones remained suspended only a hair’s breadth from the water’s surface, feeling the energy in the air shift.
“Leave…” whimpered the Fairy Guardian, her voice picking up panic. “Everyone,LEAVE!”
