Long Live the Elf Queen (The Elf Queen, #2)

by J.M. Kearl

“Remember the colorful blossoms of summer on the darkest days of winter. Remember the smells of lavender and citrus, and sweet smiles, for they will get you through that endless night,”

The dragon’s yellow eyes seemed to shimmer in the dark. She clicked her tongue. “You don’t have all the pieces to this game of chess yet. My favor won’t be to bring him back. It will come after. All will make sense when Zaurahel is with us again.”

Leif tapped one boot on the ground. “Uh, I hate to break up the reunion, but it won’t be long before they come looking this way. Also, if you two could refrain from jumping off cliffs in the future that would be great. Even if you knew you could fly, I didn’t.” He put a hand to his chest. “I threw up a little.”

“I love him,” Layala said. “And I will go where he is. As much as I love Briar Hollow and you, and the others, Thane is my home now.” She looked at him. “He’s my everything.”

“Maker, Layala, you’re beautiful. And the way you say my name, that alone can make me come undone.”

“Promise me forever, Thane,” she said. “Forever and always,” he said against her lips. “I will never stop loving you. I will never stop craving you.”

“I want to look into your eyes when you say my name, when you let yourself go.”

“I love you, Laya.” He took hold of her hand and kissed the engagement ring he’d slid on her finger weeks before. “And one day soon, I will make it known to the world.”

“Wow,” Layala said, inspecting the pommel made of ivory and inlaid with ivy-shaped jade stone. “It’s remarkable.” “I’m glad you like it. It’s yours.” Layala leaned back and looked at Kail then Thane. “Mine?” Thane smiled and nodded. “It was made by your father about a hundred years ago. There aren’t many swords forged by his hand left.”

“I may have danced with them, but it is you that dominates my every thought. You are the fire that burns inside me and without it, I’d surely die.”

“Males think they can rule over us because of physical strength, but guess who holds the power between me and you, pig?”

“Layala,” Aldrich said slowly. “Remember whose fate rests in your hands.” Without uttering a word, Layala thrust out her other arm and vine shot forth, coiling around Aldrich’s chest and neck like a boa constrictor. “Your fate by the looks of things.”

“But I knew what we had was real or what I felt was real, anyway, after the funerals and we stood out there in the rain and you slipped in the mud into my arms. You remember?”

“It means after I held the thing in my hands and tried everything I could imagine to get it to do something—anything, nothing happened. So I did some in-depth research. Turns out for it to work it has to connect with a scepter which was deliberately kept separate from the stone. And only two mages can get it to work even with both. This is a power the ancients didn’t want us to have.”

“Go and be the fierce warrior this world needs you to be.”

“On the last night before we left, he was lying on the ground unable to get up. I was crying because I thought that was it. That he wouldn’t get up ever again. It was dark and I could barely see his chest rising,” her voice broke. “He said ‘if we don’t ever get out of here, I need you to know I love you, Piper. I’ve loved you since I was seventeen.’”

“You’re a descendant of one of the gods from Runevale. I can smell it in your magic, in your very blood.”

“Maybe your soul is mated to mine. A soul mate.” He inhaled deeply. “I’ve felt like I’ve known you for as long as I can remember. And maybe it was because of our mate bond but sometimes I feel—more. I would find you in every life, in every realm. I will be drawn to you for eternity. So yes, call me your mate. I will always call you mine.”

“Varlett and the rest of them can rot in hell. I am the Warrior King, and you are Layala Lightbringer, and this is not where we will meet our end.”

She was Layala Lightbringer; the blood of the gods ran through her veins. Lay down and die? Never. She thrust out her free hand and roared with the fury of the dragon’s fire that careened toward her. Her body felt ablaze, not with the dragon’s breath but with the might of the sun. The squall of blazing orange flames arched around her the same way water spread around rock. It crackled and sizzled, deafening in its violent assault, but she felt none of the scorch.

The queen smiled and lowered to her knees and the king followed. “They’re—they’re,” she could hardly believe what played out before her very eyes, “kneeling to us. The entire dragon court.” Thane cleared his throat. “I believe they’re kneeling to you.”

“I am the goddess of knowledge. I can give answers as I please as long as it doesn’t disrupt the balance in Adalon.” A direct line to the gods… so it was true. It was all real.

Without moving her mouth, she said, “Soon you will know a detail about Zaurahel and me, something you saw. You must never tell him or anyone. You’ll know what I’m talking about.”

She gasped. The rushing of her blood throbbed in her ears. She gulped and took a step back. His ashy, near black hair brushed against his shoulders, curling slightly. His fair skin looked exactly like someone who hadn’t seen the sun in hundreds of years, but he wasn’t milky white like a pale one, and he didn’t have black lips or the dark circles around his eyes. She blinked several times, scrutinizing every inch of his remarkably beautiful face. Maker above, he looked so much like… Thane.

“I knew you’d come to me.” He paused. “Valeen.”

He smiled again and tapped his finger on his chin. “Thane?” he purred. “Maybe I’ll let you go to him if you say, please, Hel let me go. Please, Hel, most wise, handsome, and all-powerful god, show me mercy.”

“See, a queen should never be on her knees.”

“Why? I did it because I could, love,” he said in a tone that sounded flirtatious. He stared at her face as if he couldn’t look away. “Gods, you are even more beautiful than I remembered. The envy of all in Runevale.”

“You may be known as Layala Lightbringer but that’s not who you truly are. There is only one person who could bring me back. One single female in all the realms. And her name, your true name is Valeen. A goddess reborn.” He tugged down the collar of his shirt to reveal a lily mark exactly like hers on the left side of his chest. “And you are my wife.”

His piercing gaze locked onto Thane. “I should have known it would be you, War. Oh, I should have known. The gods wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I forgot to introduce myself. How silly of me. I am Hel, god of magic and mischief. The magic I was born with, the mischief was earned. King of Villhara, husband to Valeen, goddess of night. You know her as Layala.” His tongue slid across the edge of her ear. “Don’t worry, love, together we will get back home, and all those who sought to punish us will bow and profess, long live the queen.”