Forces Collide - Jamie Wilson (ebook reader macos .TXT) 📗

an end too quickly.

Then Galan came over to dance with me. "Welcome to the family Gem," he said, tone polite.

"No other family I'd ever join Galan," I informed him. "I already was part of your family anyway, Nuala is my aunt."

Then the third dance came to an end. Five more dances came to an end and I found myself face to face with Lindan Marcos.

"Might I dance with you?" he asked.

"You are one of my guests, so yes," I replied, taking his hand.

For a little bit we simply danced and then I asked, "Why did you really come today?"

This I truly wondered about. I knew he did not just come for mere celebrations. That much I knew was not in his nature.

"I wanted to see what you look like, as it has been more than a decade since I last saw you."

"Back then I was only a child. Now I am almost fully grown up," I replied. "Surely you have other motives?" I seriously doubted that he would simply have come to see how I looked.

"That was the only reason," Marcos replied.

Over his shoulder I saw Drannor's eyes darken. I knew that meant he'd smelt a rat in Marcos thoughts. "I know you're lying Lindan Marcos."

Luckily for him the song ended and a tall male elf came walking towards me. Drannor was by his side. Marcos moved off without a word. This new, tall elf looked extremely uncomfortable being here.

I guessed that it was Drannor's true father. Then Drannor was beside me and had reached for my hand, which I willingly let him have.

"Drannor," I purred. I was happy to be with him again, I always seemed at peace with him.

"I would like you to meet someone," he said in my ear. "This is my father, Wistari Silverleaf." He then looked at the tall black haired, blue eyed elf. "Father, might I introduce Gem Hawksong?"

"It is an honour to meet you, Princess," Wistari said in a very quiet voice.

"It is a pleasure to meet you too Wistari," I replied courteously. For indeed it was. Though his voice seemed different to the one I'd heard back in my room. His breath entranced me, like the leech back in Ciarbera's had.

Also I knew that Drannor had taken on my surname, he would not answer to his father's name any more. He liked Hawksong much more.

So this man was meant to be a king as well, but he did not seem that way. It was certainly obvious that he was not the one of royal birth.

"Believe it or not, we are related. My mate is a distant relation to your grandfather Sudryl," Wistari said.

"Well, that I never anticipated," I muttered. Indeed, the idea seemed strange to me, it seemed I was not really joining a new family at all.

The celebrations lasted long into the night. My mother and father had moved all their personal belongings out of my tree, so Drannor could move in. That was their gift to us both.

When everyone finally left, Drannor scooped me up into his arms and carried me away towards our tree. When we reached the closed door, I reached out with one hand and opened it.

He walked through the house, until we reached the bedroom. There would be no more action tonight, we were exhausted.

"I'll just go say goodnight to Saryla and Cohnal. I'll be right back," I said, kissing him. By those names, he knew I meant Sam and Collin.

"Hurry back," he said, setting me on my feet upright. In less than a minute I was back by his side.

I smiled and gave him another kiss. He returned the kiss, this time around.

Quickly I got changed into my pajamas and scooted into my side of the huge bed that was now mine. I had given my old room to Sam.

Drannor joined me a moment later and I drifted off to sleep with my head on his shoulders. I felt very comfortable like that for some reason.

My dreams were very pleasant that night. Mainly I simply went about storing my memories carefully in my head. That way I would never forget today, in the rest of eternity. For that could possibly be how long I had to spend with my husband. It was good that Drannor had agreed to join my family.

With those memories fresh in my head, I drifted off into oblivion.


Chapter 16

When I woke up the day after my wedding I smiled as I rolled over in my bed to look at Drannor.

He was just waking up and his eyes were already on me. That was sort of surprising for me.

“Good morning,” I sighed. We had a whole week to be unaccompanied; Nuala was in charge of everything for the meantime. I wanted some answers and this was going to be the best time to get them.

He smiled very cheekily and then gently moved his head to kiss me. I responded but was surprised that it was not any part of my face he kissed but instead my neck.

“What are you doing?” I asked when he withdrew.

“Do not be worried darling,” he replied in a more musical voice than I remembered him having yesterday.

The unfamiliarity of his voice frightened me and I knew that he was definitely trying to hide something from me. What a shame it was I did not have his gift right now; mine was giving me no clues as to what he was.

I looked up at him, my eyes showing my sudden distrust of him. “Tell me what’s going on, Drannor,” I said. I really wanted to know. I looked more carefully at him for once seeing past that which lured me to him.

His eyes had changed. They were black as the night sky. “What’s with the eyes?”

He seemed to gulp as he read the fury in my thoughts. “I don’t know exactly what’s happened here. Something in me has changed, but I do not know what.”

Guessing that there was no way he could lie to me, I sighed. Maybe some time on my own would help to fit the puzzle pieces together. “I’m going to go for a walk, to think about this,” I said. I half smiled at him. “I’ll be back soon.”

With that I got up and went to where Axilya usually grazed. Finding him, I mounted the stallion and rode away from the town. I knew Drannor trusted me now, but I did not trust him. This whole change that had happened in him just did not seem to be right at all. How could something so sudden happen and change someone so completely? I felt like I barely even knew him, now that he was so different, though I knew it was him.

I was not one to fall for tricks that were flawless to others. No I was getting too smart for that sort of thing to work any more. Sure things were not the same with Drannor, but did I have to hold that sort of thing against him? No I did not, though it seemed so easy to do at the moment. I sighed as I rode Axilya through the woods, seeking one of the trees I used to go to when I needed to be alone. At least Drannor had not followed me. He was a bit unnerving in the fact he could listen to any one person's thoughts at any chosen time. It would only make me nervous if he came with me.

We were meant to be able to talk about these things, but I feared that if I went too far, he could hurt me. That was a very real possibility and I knew that. I loved him, but that was no reason to make him be that tempted to hurt me. He said he would never be able to hurt me, but what if he lost control? That would not be a time when he could stop himself from doing that. Plus there was the fact he needed blood to survive. Just who did he think was going to let him bite them, so he could sate his thirst? Very few would and I knew that. We were all repulsed by his kind, a well known thing..

Finding the tree I used to go to when I wanted to think, I climbed up it, letting Axilya drift if he wanted. I sat there for a long time thinking about the bizarre changes that had happened to Drannor. I looked unseeingly down at the ground, several feet below as I thought. Time flowed rather slowly as I sat in the tree, thinking to myself about the past few months. I knew one thing after sitting there for a while, the girl who'd hidden her identity from the humans had grown into a mature adult now.

When I climbed back down after dusk to the ground I found myself instantly surrounded. What is going on? I thought, preparing to protect myself. Before I could do anything to protect myself, a red beam of light collided with me.

I fell to the ground completely out of it.


Chapter 17

When I came to I found myself in the same sort of situation as what had happened in Ciarbera. Rage ripped through me when I found that out. What did he want with me this time? He’d get no more information out of me this time than he had last time.

Footsteps echoed down the passageway and the door opened. I glared in that general direction, incapable to see seeing as I was blindfolded. No one ever dared to do that to an elf, it was wrong to treat someone of my kind that way.

Someone’s hands had me then and they pushed me along into another room. Here I was forced to sit down on something made of cold iron and something was clamped around my ankles. Only when the footsteps echoed back to the door did the blindfolded vanish from my eyes.

I blinked, looking around. I was in what seemed like an old house’s bedroom. Only there was only one piece of furniture in the room and that was the unsightly cot I was sitting on.

Also the room was tiny, it just had enough room for two of these cot’s to be placed touching along side each other. That really appalled me.

Where was I and why was I here? What did the humans want from me this time? If it was nothing bad then I would give it to them no questions asked. However if it was the other way around, well, nothing would they gain from me.

There was no way that I would give any information willingly if it involved my people. No doubt, they new that already, whoever they were.

I looked down at my feet, wondering what they were restraining me with this time. At what I saw I groaned. Thick silver shackles rested there and when I used my mind to make sure if they were just metal, it bounded away from them. Something repelled my mind and I had no idea what.

One way or another they knew that I had certain strengths that the usual human, that they must have to lock up, did not. Magic repelled the magic in my