Ashe

  Ashe

  Fuse #2

  E. L. Todd

  Ashe

  Copyright © 2021 by E. L. Todd

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For Stevie,

  * * *

  Sor-Lei

  One

  Eden Star

  The farther they marched, the denser the forest became.

  Birds went silent. Sunlight was blocked by the thick canopy of trees. Their footsteps turned quiet, cushioned by the brush. Cora was in the lead, but she might as well be entirely alone because she couldn’t hear the elves behind her.

  When she stepped into an open clearing underneath a large tree that covered the skies entirely on its own, she was forced to halt. The tree had hundreds of thick trunks branching off it, twisting and turning as it reached toward the sky, carrying green leaves that made it so the sunlight could barely poke through.

  There was a building inside the tree, built around the branches. On the balcony stood two archers, their bows in one hand, an arrow in the other. They weren’t placed at the string and ready to launch, but that would only take an instant if she made the wrong move.

  With short blond hair and a muscular physique, the person guiding her looked like a man from the rear, but when he faced her head on and grabbed her by the arm, she could see he had features softer than hers. Eyes blue like the sky she couldn’t see, soft cheeks like a doll, lips curved like a bow—he was prettier than the prettiest woman.

  But he grabbed her and shoved her forward. “Move.”

  “Jesus…I’m going.” There was a peaceful resonance to this area. Like a cool breeze on a warm day, it brushed over her skin and brought her a sense of comfort. It just…felt good. She’d never seen such a beautiful place. Didn’t know they existed. Perhaps that was why she wasn’t as afraid as she should be.

  Another elf emerged around the thick trunk of the tree. Clothed in attire different from the three elves who had retrieved her, he wore a black tunic decorated with metallic flowers, like badges of honor. His belt held short daggers and his sword. His cape was dark green, the same color as the lush landscape. He clearly had a higher status than the elves who surrounded her, based on the differences in their uniforms.

  This elf was a warrior.

  The others were watchmen.

  Her eyes took him as they faced each other. Like the others, he was pretty, but he had a distinct hardness to him.

  He stared her down in return, as if it were her obligation to speak.

  She hadn’t rehearsed her speech. Hadn’t thought it through whatsoever. Now she realized that was a mistake. “Hi…”

  His eyes narrowed harshly, his cape shifting slightly behind him in the breeze. He exchanged a quick look with his comrades, slightly bewildered by her oddness. When his eyes shifted back to her, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. “Who are you?”

  “Oh, sorry.” She rolled her eyes. “Where are my manners? Cora.” She extended her hand to shake his.

  When he looked at her hand, it was with disgust. His eyes returned to hers. “Identify the man who accompanied you.”

  Her look slowly waned, afraid for Rush. “There was no other—”

  “Do not lie.” He stepped closer. “Not if you want to live, child.”

  “Child?” she asked incredulously. “I know my clothes aren’t flattering, but trust me, I’m a woman—”

  “You’ve intruded on our borders without permission, and now you’re at the mercy of my sword. The only reason you live and breathe is for your youth—because we don’t execute children. Now, answer me.”

  Not only was she outnumbered by elves, but also by intelligence. They reminded her of Flare, having years of experience on their side. She never felt like a child, but the farther she inched out of her village, the more she felt like one in comparison. “A friend—”

  An elf emerged out of the brush. “He’s escaped, Callon.”

  He regarded the elf for a moment, his muscular arms by his sides, his hands hidden by gloves and vambraces. When he turned back to Cora, he was even more annoyed.

  “I paid him to guide me to your forest. He means you no harm.”

  “No one means harm—until you have something they want.”

  Her face burned at the intensity of his stare, her flesh slowly melting off her face. “There’s nothing you have that I want, so I mean you no harm. All I wish is to speak to your king.”

  “Our king?” His voice dripped with derision, his face tightening in anger. “We have no king—because he was murdered.”

  “I…I’m sorry.”

  “You can’t mourn someone you never knew, so no, you aren’t sorry.” Blunt like an ax and sharp like a falcon’s talons, every rebuttal was vicious but slightly poetic.

  “Then can I speak to whoever’s in charge here—”

  “Queen Delwyn. Like all other humans, you’re ignorant, entitled, disrespectful. You come here asking for an audience with our leader, and you don’t even know who our leader is.”

  Beggars couldn’t be choosers. She should be kissing some serious ass right now. But when she was provoked, game over. “And how was I supposed to know that? It doesn’t look like you invite people over for dinner often.”

  He inhaled a sharp breath, his eyes tensing. “She’s been our queen for hundreds of years. That’s common knowledge. If you simply opened a textbook, you would have known that.”

  “You just said your king is dead—”

  “And now his queen rules us.” His nostrils flared.

  Once the king was dead, he wasn’t replaced by a male relative or by someone voted into office. His queen ruled on. Cora needed a moment to process that because Anastille had only been ruled by men. King Lux. The stewards. The guards. “That’s…badass.”

  His eyebrows immediately rose. Hostility left his face, replaced by confusion, like he didn’t understand the word.

  “Let me speak with her.”

  The fury returned. “Entitled…”

  “Please?”

  “No. Humans have no business in our forest.” He nodded to his guards to take her away.

  “Wait, hold up.” Two elves grabbed her by the arms and prepared to drag her away. She kicked one in the knee then threw her elbow up to hit him right in the nose.

  The elf jerked back and wiped his nose.

  The elves on top of the balcony had their bows up with the arrows stringed to the quiver.

  “I’m only half human.” She pushed the other elf away so she could continue her conversation with Callon. “The other half, I’m elvish—like you.” She relied on Flare’s assertions and hoped he was right.

  Callon’s eyes combed over her face with the same indifference. “The only reason you’re alive and well is because we aren’t barbaric. You repay our kindness by assaulting my watchmen, insulting our queen, and demanding your desires with your immature sarcasm. The only traits I see are human.”

  “Then look harder.” She stood her ground in front of him, staring him down as he did the same to her. “I was abandoned in a village and taken in by a human as my guardian. I don’t know who my real parents are—but one of them was an elf. I admit I’m rough around the edges, but I simply speak my mind because you have to speak your mind to survive out there. I may not act look exactly like one of you. But I know I’m one of you. Knew it the moment I stepped into this forest because my heartbeat matched the heartbeat in the trees. I have something very important to discuss with Queen Delwyn, so please don’t impede my journey.”

  His stare was endless, digging deeper and deeper through her layers, getting to the foundation underneath. Still as stone, cold as ice, time passed with painful slowness, growing longer and longer. Then he turned around and walked off.

  Confused, she turned to the two elves on either side of her.

  They ignored her.

  She turned back to Callon, who disappeared behind the tree. “Uh…was that a yes?”

  She sat at the base of the tree with her back against the trunk.

  A cup of water was given to her, the vessel constructed entirely of leaves glued together by some invisible material. A plate of berries was also provided to her, the fruit sweeter than anything she’d had back at home.

  As she waited for news, she was entertained by the forest.

  The sound of the birds in the canopy was so loud that it echoed like a wild cacophony. They flew from one branch to the next, chirping at one another, and then flew to another branch to do the same. A rabbit was visible in the field, bouncing through the clearing and disappearing into the bush. Kaleidoscopes of butterflies flittered through, orange monarchs with big, beautiful wings.

  She’d never seen so much wildlife.

  And they weren’t afraid of her at all.

  Normally, she would string her bow and hunt down that rabbit for a meal. But she didn’t have a bow or a fire.

  The elves kept their distance from her, but their eyes never lost focus on their target.

  If she tried to run, she’d be shot.

  Callon reappeared, coming from behind the truck that supported her back.

  She saw him and immediately got to her feet, but then she tensed as she felt the tightness in her lower back. “Damn roots were up my ass…”

  Eternally unimpressed, he regarded her with indifference.

  She stretched to get th
e kinks out. “Is she coming?”

  Both of his eyebrows rose. “She does not come to anyone. And no, Queen Delwyn has rejected your request. The elves will escort you to the edge of the forest. Do not return—because we will not offer you immunity again.”

  The elves grabbed her things and prepared to march her away.

  Cora stood in disbelief. “Why?”

  With his arms behind his back, he stood tall, his cape behind him. “She doesn’t need a reason.”

  “When I’m half elf, you bet your ass she does.”

  His eyes widened at her crass language.

  “I just need to speak to her, and I’ll be on my way—”

  “Are you suggesting I disobey my queen’s orders just so you can say how badass she is?”

  “I mean, who doesn’t love flattery?”

  He closed his eyes slightly and shook his head. “Flattery is ineffective on those who already flatter themselves. Goodbye.”

  The elves moved to grab her.

  “Wait, wait.” She ripped off her gloves then tugged on the green ring Dorian had given to her a long time ago. It was unlike anything she’d seen in the village—or anywhere else, for that matter. She hadn’t taken it off since he gave it to her, so she struggled to get it over the knuckle. “I don’t know how much this is worth, but you can have it—if you help me out.” She yanked it off with a grunt then displayed it to him on her open palm.

  He didn’t glance down. He blinked here and there. Bored. “My loyalty can’t be bought. The loyalty of any elf can’t be bought—because we have no system of currency.”

  “Then give it to her as a gift.”

  “You think she’d be impressed by this—” He stared down at it and shut his mouth.

  Her hand remained steady, hoping the emerald in the center of the birchwood was valuable enough to turn heads.

  He continued to stare. Eyebrows furrowed. His eyes shifted back and forth. Slowly, he reached his hand forward and took the ring by his fingertips. He brought it closer to his face, turned it slightly left and right, examining it. Then his eyes lifted and looked at hers once more. “Where did you get this?”

  “My guardian gave it to me.”

  “And where did he get it?”

  “He never said. He gave it to me for my eighteenth birthday. Why…?”

  He pocketed the ring, motioned to the elves, and then took the lead. “Follow me.”

  Two

  Queen Delwyn

  The changes became more distinct the farther they moved into the forest. The trees thinned at the center, flowers bloomed everywhere with the increased sunlight, and the dwellings in the trees became more common. But instead of elves positioned outside with their bows and arrows, there were pots of flowers, birdhouses, sculptures. Little homes in the trees with ladders constructed out of tree vines.

  But the biggest difference was something she could feel—not see.

  Like an invisible fog that wafted over her face on a winter morning, the droplets of peace and serenity moistened her cheeks and lips. The sound of the birds grew louder, unafraid of the elves who took up residence right below them. The farther she moved, the lighter her heart felt, as if she’d forgotten the reason she’d come here in the first place.

  Because she never wanted to leave.

  Larger structures became visible, all constructed out of wood and vines, flowers growing over everything. Monarchs flew through the patches of sunlight and floated by. The sound of a harp was audible but invisible. Falling water could be heard too, but there was no waterfall in sight.

  In disbelief, she could hardly take it all in. She needed hours. Days. A lifetime.

  Callon approached the main doors of the largest structure then turned around to regard her. “Queen Delwyn is referred to as Her Majesty. Bow when you greet her. And don’t ever try that obnoxious handshake again. Physical contact is an honor, a form of intimacy that must be earned, not given without reserve.”

  Now she was actually nervous, so she gave a nod. “Thanks for the heads-up…”

  He nodded before the elves opened the double doors, and they entered.

  The left side of the wall had windows spaced throughout, and vines of beautiful flowers grew in the spaces between them. White flowers in full bloom covered most of the wall, bringing the forest directly inside the dwelling. On the other wall were paintings of people and landscapes.

  At the top of the last step was a wooden throne, also overgrown with green vines and flowers. Open orifices were in the wall behind her, letting the sunlight pierce the inside of the building.

  And there she sat—the queen.

  With legs crossed and a straight back, she wore a white dress with sleeves that hung off her shoulders and hugged her arms. A muted print of flowers was on her dress, very subtle so the whiteness of the dress wasn’t masked. She was thin, elegant, with dark brown hair in beautiful curls. She didn’t wear a crown made of gold or silver.

  But one of flowers.

  Her poise and beauty were poisoned by the look in her green eyes.

  She was livid.

  A guard in full battle attire stood beside her and a step down, dark green armor mixed with black vambraces. Her eyes looked the same as the queen’s.

  Vicious.

  The guard’s blond hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and slowly, she unsheathed her sword, the sound of metal-on-metal reverberating in the room. The threat was unleashed in silence.

  Cora swallowed—truly intimidated.

  Queen Delwyn unleashed a gaze so dark that it dimmed the inside of the building—as if she blocked out the sun with her sheer will alone. Fire burned in her soul, and the smoke danced across the surface of her light eyes. Hatred—pure and true—was all she felt for Cora. “Callon. Were my orders unclear? I’ll make them clear now. Escort this human out of our forest. If she returns—kill her.”

  As if it were about to jump out of her chest, Cora’s heart nearly exploded.

  Callon stepped forward. “Her word is true. She’s of elven race.”

  The queen’s guard maneuvered into his pathway, protecting her ruler.

  Callon halted. “I have something to present. Allow me to approach.”

  The guard turned slightly to her queen, to see her reaction in her peripheral.

  Queen Delwyn never took her eyes off Callon. “Melian, step down. Let’s see what Callon is willing to risk everything for.” Her voice deep like a bottomless well, she spoke in a tone of endless resonance, potent with unbreakable power. She spoke slowly, enunciating every word because anything that came from her mouth was revered.

  Melian stepped aside and sheathed her enormous blade—a blade for decapitating heads.

  Callon stepped forward and extended his palm, the ring sitting in the center.

  The queen dropped her gaze and stared at the ring, her arms flat on the wooden armrests on either side of her throne. The stare lasted a long time, her fair face having no reaction. But subtly, her breathing began to rise. Her fingertips curled over the wooden edges and gripped them hard enough to make her knuckles turn white. Her full lips pressed tightly together, her cheeks elongating as the anger set in. She was unbelievably beautiful—but her rage turned her ugly.

  Callon closed his fingers around the ring and stepped back.

  Queen Delwyn directed her rage at Cora. With volcanoes in her eyes, ferocity in her grip, she looked like she would take the sword from her guard and decapitate Cora herself.

  Cora was a thorn in a lot of people’s sides, but she’d never received so much hatred from a single person. Even Rune and the Steward of Easton respected her resilience, though they didn’t like it. But this form of pure hatred was the kind that would never dim—not with time or reason.

  Queen Delwyn rose to her feet.

  Cora flinched slightly.

  Her bare feet stepped down once.

  Then again.

  And again.

  She stopped directly in front of Cora and unleashed that furious stare up close. Her light eyes showed billows of rain clouds, hurricanes, tornadoes, an unstoppable apocalypse. Whatever Cora had seen from a distance was even more repulsive up close. “You’re exiled from Eden Star. Return, and your life won’t be spared.”