Page 29 of Elves and Espresso

“Possess the…?” Horror filled me as my eyes widened, shock washing over me like an ice-cold waterfall. “No,” I whispered. “No…” It was too awful for words, too horrific to say out loud.

“When the moon is but a sliver in the sky, all I must do is sacrifice an elf of star descent to claim my place among the immortals.”

It was then I noticed the long dagger at his side, pointed at me. My breathing quickened, but I didn’t dare glance at the sky.

“Judging by the moon tonight, you have a few moments of wedded bliss before you make me immortal.”

“But… But…” I sputtered, trying to find anything I could say to wake up from this nightmare. This couldn’t be real. “What will that solve? It won’t bring her back!”

“No,” he stated, a smirk seated on his perfectly, terror-inspiring face. “But once I'm immortal, it will only be a matter of finding another star shard elf and a bargain with the afterlife Realm Guard to have my sweet Fiorra returned to me. Forever.”

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream, throw a tantrum, cry out to the wind in an effort to be rescued. But there was nothing I could do. He’d said so himself, and we were in the dark, haunting forest with no one around to hear my cries.

I was to be sacrificed to the afterlife Realm Guard, and I’d be dead before I’d even had a chance to mourn Aleixo, to mourn my own life.

There was nothing more.

I was done.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

We ran until I begged for respite and, surprisingly, he granted it. “I don’t want your last hours on this side to be unpleasant.”

“How gracious of you.” The sarcasm dripped from my voice and he smiled a slow, sadistic smile at me.

“I’ve arranged for the Realm Guard of Death to meet me. I will give your body to him as he grants me a fuller life. We’re nearly at the meeting place now.”

So this was really happening. I’d run from my father’s home with a human, been pursued by the Realm Guard, fallen in love with the human, watched him be killed as the Realm Guard took me captive, and now my life was to end in this sorry state—worn out, brokenhearted, and alone.

Well…not entirely alone. I glanced up at Nilsorn, who wore a cheery smile on his face. It was the happiest I’d ever seen him, and it frightened me. His joy meant I was closer to death than I wanted to be.

Our pace was slower now, and I knew in his excitement, he was putting every effort in to making my last moments somewhat enjoyable.

“She was a lot like you, you know.”

“Was she?”

“Except she would have attempted to flirt her way out of this sort of situation by now. I don’t suppose you’d like to make an attempt?”

I stopped walking and looked over at him, my brows raised. “Would you like me to flirt my way out of this?”

“It wouldn’t work; I'm far too committed to Fiorra. I suppose if I had no hope of seeing her again, I would be more interested in you. You certainly possess some fine qualities…”

I would have thanked him for the compliment if he wasn’t about to kill me, but instead, I opted to stare at him, the gears in my mind turning. Slowly, I moved to approach him. He wasn’t the option I would have taken as a husband—had I been doing the choosing—but it was him or death. Someone had to make him see reason. Someone had to show him he couldn’t trade a life for immortality in some sick hunt to bring back his dead wife.

“And what qualities do you find so fine in me?” I asked softly.

A smirk. “You’re so resourceful…it was one of the first things I noticed about you. Even as you hid in the bushes and I looked right at you, you managed to remain mostly hidden. I wouldn’t have even noticed had I not been looking for you.”

I smiled sweetly as I stopped in front of him. It was survival mode time, and something between us was crackling in the air. I wanted to name it awkwardness, but unfortunately, it was tension. I silently apologized to Aleixo as I forged ahead. It was Nilsorn or death, I reminded myself as guilt creeped in. “You could have come for me then. Why did you not?”

“Truthfully?” he breathed out, his eyes softening ever so slightly. “I enjoyed the hunt. It brought something out in me I thought had long since disappeared. With her… You were so like her that, for a moment, I allowed myself the chance to imagine what it would be like to approach you, not as the Realm Guard, but as myself.”

“And who are you as yourself?” My head tilted as my curiosity showed, but this was a side of him I didn’t know existed. He was not what I expected. I fought to keep the horror at bay as I inched closer to him. I could mourn later, I could think later. For now, I had to live. I sent another apology to Aleixo’s memory, hoping he would understand that if this worked, I could save the life of the next elf he would hunt.

“Someone who wants love, I suppose,” he whispered as sorrow filled him. His shoulders fell and he shifted his feet. “My heart has not allowed me to move on. All these years that have passed, and my heart holds on to her as though she has tied a string around it and has carried it to the beyond.”

Hesitantly, I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I do feel for your loss.” My thoughts moved rapidly as I tried to think of something else to say. Anything else. I was fighting for my life here, and this couldn’t be the end. “But perhaps you have been given a chance to move on with someone else…” I held my breath as I waited for his response.