In Dreams
By Pyreite
Chapter 5: Between Fate, Frost and Fire
Avallac'h stared at the nest of bare brown twigs. A fluffy chick nestled inside, its spotty plumage grey against the sand. It was small, dull and drab as a rock even with its pale red-orange beak. The only point of colour between its beady black eyes. It squawked at him, fanning its stubby wings.
Ellana cooed as it if were a baby. "Gorgeous little thing. Isn't it?"
"It's a bird".
She raised a slender forefinger as if to correct him. "A baby seagull".
He glanced from the chick to her, brows arching in concern. "You said that you dreamt of Lara blasting me through a portal".
"I did". She gestured to the nest and its nestling. "Lara is Hen Llinge for seagull. Ergo we have a nest with a baby gull in it. Mum will return from the sea with a fish, then she'll notice something lurking in the grass".
She pointed to the sky that'd turned a dreary grey. The wind picked up, washing the smell of salt, sand and sea inland. It ruffled his hair, carrying with it a large sleek seagull. She was white as snow, though her wings were grey. A fish wriggled in her beak, its scales glinting in the sunlight.
Then the grass at the edge of that sandy shoreline parted.
A shadow crept between the rocks. Its paws soft as velvet, its fur a ruddy-red. Large ears swivelled left and right, pale aquamarine eyes searching the gravel. It paused still as a statue when it spotted the rough bundle of twigs. A turn of its ears and it heard the chick's hungry piping.
Avallac'h frowned when the fox darted across the beach.
The adult gull, spying the danger tucked her wings. She dove like a falcon, catching the fox in the shoulder. The fish was lost in a frenzy of feathers and fur. Needle-sharp fangs snagged a wing, while a red beak tore into a bristly tail. They barked and shrieked while the heavens thundered overhead.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
The fox fought the gull, snapping and snarling. Blood splattered the nest, soaking the chick. It screeched in distress. The adult gull dragged itself across the sand, its wings shredded. It fell across the nest hissing, its snowy plumage stained red.
The fox circled, sensing an opportunity.
The gull bloodied and broken, squawked in desperation. A lance of lightning struck the fox, blasting it clear of the nest. Its crimson fur ignited in a blaze of flame. The acrid stink of scorched hair filled the air. The fox landed with a splash near the shore.
In that line between land and water, the incoming tide doused its burning fur.
A gurgling white-capped wave carried the fox out to sea. It disappeared from sight, leaving Avallac'h shaken and bewildered. He saw the gull cowering in its nest, a mangled wing draped over its defenceless chick. The gull's chest rose and fell, beak open as it panted like a dog. Its life slipped away with a painful slowness that was difficult for him to witness.
Avallac'h stepped forward, intent on intervening.
"No", called Ellana, catching his hand. "You can't stop it. The gull will die, then another will take its place. There do you see? Lara's end was nothing at all like elven or human legend portrayed it to be".
He stilled when a second gull flew inland. It was smaller than the first, its bill and webbed feet black instead of red. It was white, its wings that same grey yet its eyes were a pale yellow. It landed near the nest, carrying a fish in its beak. It dropped its prize when it saw the ailing red-beaked gull.
It squawked, pecking a torn bloodied wing.
The smaller gull came away with a beak full of white feathers. Torn out by the root, each was red and ragged. The larger gull, weak and wounded neither flailed nor screeched in pain. It lay there quiet as a mouse, its head pillowed on the rocks surrounding the nest. It turned a beady green eye on its winged companion, giving voice to one last plea.
A plaintive trill, so soft and woeful it moved Avallac'h to tears.
He tried to step forwards, but Ellana restrained him again. Her fingers tight upon his hand as she pulled him back. He struggled when the smaller gull touched its beak to that of the larger gull. It was a poignant moment, sweet and bitter with a tragic symbolism. The avian double of Lara Dorren died on a mound of sticks and stones.
Its chick left alone with a potential foster parent.
Avallac'h hung his head, the tears slipping down his cheeks. He turned to Ellana, pleading without words as he raised their joined hands. He squeezed her fingers, brows arching when she regarded him with a steely coolness. He felt the weight of her judgement, those jade-green eyes gauging his worth. A shiver of foreboding crawled down his spine like a spider raising goose-flesh.
Something wasn't right when she asked him an odd question.
"Is that what you want?"
The frigid formality of her tone reminded him of Shiadhal. That sweet fragility was gone, in its place the honed edge of a blade. Avallac'h felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise in apprehension. He returned Ellana's scrutiny, wondering if he was being weighed and measured. He didn't know that everything hinged on his answer.
He said nothing, bowing his head.
Avallac'h raised their joined hands again, noticing how their fingers intertwined. He bent his head, lips pursing as he kissed her knuckles. The simple act of acceptance reassured Ellana. She sighed in relief, stepping into his arms. She closed her eyes when he leaned inwards, pressing his brow to hers.
"Have I traded a wolf for a fox?"
His smile was wobbly, filled with nervous tension. "Is that a complaint?"
"That depends. Are you awfully upset that I'm not Lara?"
Her question startled Avallac'h. She poked at that raw wound again. That Lara had left him for another had been an insult. Had that man been an elf, even one of the Aen Seidhe. It would've lessened the sting of her rejection.
In choosing Cregennan she'd turned him into a jester.
Eredin had delighted in reminding him of his failure to court the princess of the Aen Elle. An arranged match that'd never come to fruition. Auberon their King and sovereign had never forgiven him for failing to do as he'd promised. That Zireael had appeared one day out of thin air, finding him under the trees playing a flute. Had changed both their lives in ways neither had understood at the time.
Avallac'h wondered if Ellana's appearance in his life heralded change too.
Was he disappointed that she wasn't Lara? He considered that point for several moments, unsure as he mulled it over. He was quiet for a time, gathering his thoughts. He was glad that Ellana neither fussed nor rushed him. She was patient and respectful, giving him the time he needed to decide.
That small consideration meant more to him than gold.
He sucked in a breath, the tears prickling at the corners of his eyes again. He was smiling when Ellana's breath hitched in concern. She thought he was on the verge of weeping, the flat of her palm sliding across his cheek. She gazed at him, brow pinching in distress to see him so troubled.
"Maker's arse! Are you all right? I didn't mean to upset you, but you asked to see what I knew. So I thought to show you. I'm sorry if it wasn't what you'd expected".
The façade of composure broke at last, the elation tinged with relief leaking through. Avallac'h beamed at her with a flash of white teeth. While she was a shrew with the tongue of an asp, Ellana had a kind heart. He leaned into her touch, his eyes closing in relief. He was glad that she wasn't like Lara, even if he didn't quite know what to make of her.
"I'm fine. You needn't worry".
"You're not, but you will be in time. Come on. Let's go back. You've seen enough for one night. The past won't change, but the present might".
Ellana led him back to the meadow overlooking the river. Then she walked him down a myriad set of stone steps cut into the hillside. She took him to the sandy bank, to a blanket rolled out in the grass. It was navy blue, stitched with silver-white flowers with six petals in the shape of a star. The mark of Shiadhal's affinity with ice magic, the delicate shape reminiscent of a snowflake.
Avallac'h sank into the blanket with a groan, finding it soft and thick like a down mattress.
He reddened when Ellana smiled, chagrined by his lack of self-control. He often feigned apathy or contempt for things he deemed unworthy of his attention. Yet it was impossible to be aloof around a woman that commanded it. She'd turned more than his head and heart. She'd turned his life upside down and inside out in a span of three days and nights.
A fact that should've upset him.
It didn't for reasons he didn't yet understand. He shied under Ellana's watchful gaze, flustered when she patted his shoulder. There was neither judgement nor derision for his loss of composure. She cared little, smiling all the while as he relaxed. It was strange for someone to be so thoughtful without cause or reason.
People courted favour for personal gain, they were never unselfish.
Yet she was with a refreshing honesty.
"You broke into my laboratory then riffled through my possessions", declared Avallac'h. "You had the temerity to steal what little food I had, then you replaced it with a veritable feast. You showed me a signet ring bearing Shiadhal's flower. Then you introduced me to a world and magic with which I am unfamiliar. Did you come to me to ask for help in finding your mother?"
"She abandoned me", said Ellana, taking a seat on the blanket too. "No matter her reasons, she still left me behind when I was a baby. She didn't bother trying to find me when I got older either. I didn't come here for her, Avallac'h. I came for you".
"Why?"
She sat across from him, knees bending as she crossed her ankles. Her greaves clinked like coins in a pouch as her shins slid across one another. The poleyns across her knees creaked like an unoiled hinge. She arched an eyebrow, inclining her head in a way that reminded him of a hound watching its master. He felt like nothing of the sort, though something about the way she stared unnerved him.
"I need your help".
"You never specified what that entailed".
"No", she agreed. "I didn't. I suppose now is as good a time as any. But first there's something that needs answering. What do you know about dragons?"
The question while unexpected, didn't alarm him. "They're the most dangerous, intelligent and powerful of the draconids. They possess a passive ability that like cats, allows them to absorb magical energies. They are representative of the forces of Chaos, capable of causing immense destruction. They can fly, swim or crawl depending on their type and classification. All have an affinity with a specific element that is often their primary form of defence".
"Such as?"
"A breath-weapon expelled from the mouth. A stream of fire or frost, a cloud of fog, a blast of steam or a gush of acid. Often such dragons have vivid colourations – red, black, green and white. The rarest dragons are myths. Gold dragons for example are legendary shape-shifters capable of taking any form".
Ellana considered him for a moment. "What of silver dragons?"
His reply was dismissive. "There are no such creatures except in folklore. None have ever been seen or recorded in any known historical accounts. If it were so than I would have found it. I did more than research your half-sister's genealogy".
"I believe you".
He was suspicious then, sensing that something was amiss. "Of course you do. I am of the Aen Saevherne, knowledgeable about a great many things. Yet I wonder why you would ask me such a thing. What significance does the subject of dragons have to you?"
"It's a matter of descent on my father's side. It's also part of the reason why that blasted wolf wants to find me".
He was intrigued. "Do you have dragon's blood?"
"Maybe. My father is descended from someone called Mythal. She once led a group of elven mages until they murdered her. She could also transform into a dragon at will. Which might explain something that I have to conceal from most people".
"What do you mean?"
Ellana gestured to her forehead, then with a wave of her hand dispelled a second glamour. Avallac'h's eyes widened when two goat-like horns twisted up and over the crown of her head. The base of each was the thickness of his wrist, each pointed tip the width of a finger. He gasped in shock, recoiling when he glanced at her face. Under the slender arch of each eyebrow was an emerald iris split by a slender cat-like pupil.
She studied him for several moments, wondering why he hadn't taken flight. "Not going to run?"
He swallowed his anxiety, forcing himself to bend his knees. His legs folded beneath him as he crossed his ankles too. He mirrored her poise and calmness, sitting upon the blanket as if it were a throne. He rolled his shoulders back, spine straightening as he lifted his chin. He looked down his nose at her, too proud to turn tail and bolt like a frightened mouse.
He saw that she was itching to play, the knuckles of her bare right-hand cracking.
He heard the bones pop. He studied her fingers, noticing that each was tipped in a thick black claw. He glanced at her face, unnerved when she smiled. Her lips peeled back to reveal a mouth full of jagged white fangs. He frowned more intrigued than afraid, though he was still wary enough to watch her every move.
"Would I get very far?"
"No", replied Ellana with frightening certainty. "I can shapeshift at the drop of a coin. You're free to test the theory of course. Although I wouldn't recommend it. It's harder to control my instincts when I'm chasing something or someone in draconic form".
Avallac'h exhaled a shaky breath, hoping that he was right. "You wouldn't hurt me".
She blinked, a pale nictating membrane sliding across the ball of her eye. "No", she confirmed with a bob of her head, silver curls bouncing. "I wouldn't. I never harm those I claim as my own. I'd sooner hurt myself than risk their lives. But there is a way to make it easier for me to distinguish a friend from a foe".
"How?"
She lifted her hand, crooking a finger as she beckoned. "Come closer".
"Why should I?"
"Scared that I'll bite you?"
"No!"
She laughed, her voice dark and husky. "Then come here. Let me smell you. I can learn scents like a hound. I'll be able to track you if you ever get lost too".
Avallac'h although reluctant to comply, had a measure of masculine pride. "Why don't you come to me?"
Ellana grinned from ear-to-ear in her eagerness. "Playing hard to get. How delightful". She uncrossed her legs, the plates of her greaves clinking. She rolled onto her knees, the steel of her poleyns digging into the blanket.
The soft fabric should've torn as she scuttled forwards like a crab.
He was surprised it didn't when she threw a leg over his thighs. Avallac'h gasped when she sank down till she was astride his lap. The weight of her body, hot and heavy as she pressed her belly against his stomach. She cupped his cheek, the palm of her right-hand rougher than he remembered. He froze when her clawed thumb slid beneath his eye, half-expecting that she would gouge his skin.
His breath caught in his throat when she made soft noises of sympathy.
He was reminded of a cat purring, though hers was akin to shingle grinding on a cartwheel. Loud and deep enough to raise the hairs on the back of his neck. He was stiff as a plank of wood till she pressed her nose into his cheek. She nuzzled him, purring all the while as if he was her favourite person in the world. He heard her inhale as she took several deep draughts of air to learn his scent.
His pulse quickened when she groaned, turning her mouth against his jaw.
Avallac'h heard her teeth grind as her breaths came short and sharp. He felt her gauntleted left-hand grip his shoulder, her gloved fingers trembling. He thought it was from desire until she snapped her fangs, lips peeling back in a bestial snarl. She growled, lifting her head as her nostrils flared. Her eyes were round, wild and rolling till he saw the white of her sclera.
"What is it?"
He smelt water, earth and fresh air. He saw a clear sky, white clouds and an undulating crystal-blue river. He didn't see the pale hand that wound into her hair, or the pale fingers that tugged upon her braid. He saw her grow more agitated, the slitted pupils of her eyes dilating. She looked at him then, a demon in elven form – her irises burning with indignation.
"Damn that meddling, bastard!" she hissed, pushing at his shoulder. "Even here I can't find peace!"
"Is it him? Your wolf?"
"It's his blasted hound! He must have slipped passed my defences while I was distracted! He's a somniari too! If he's here than he was something to say! I want to know what it is!"
"Elaine".
"No matter what you see! Keep him talking! I'll do the rest!"
He didn't understand until a muscled forearm slid under her chin. Ashen grey-hair fell across her shoulder, bright against the green-gold of her pauldron. Molten-lead eyes gave him pause. Pallid skin was stretched across an elven skull with gaunt cheeks and blue lips. Avallac'h recognised the creature glowering at him as if he were an enemy.
"Auberon".
"Liar! Deceiver!" accused the Alder King. "You told me that she died! You said that she passed away after bearing that half-breed mongrel! But she has been here with you all along!"
"That is not the daughter Shiadhal bore you!"
"She is close enough!"
Auberon pressed his cheek to Ellana's temple. "Cáemm a me, luned", he said with genuine affection. "Cáemm a me, Elaine". He leered at Avallac'h, the corner of his mouth curving upward in a condescending smirk. The face shifted, his jaw lengthening, the chin squaring off flat as the edge of a brick.
Those burnished silver eyes turned verdant green.
That ashen hair streaked with white blackened as if burned. A sparrowhawk screeched overhead as white fog washed inland. The river froze beneath it in spiky rolling waves. The blades of grass withered, turning brown then grey in death. Avallac'h exhaled white mist, the cooling air raising goose-flesh on his skin.
He recognised that square-jaw, the angular cheeks and that contemptuous leer.
Only one man among Aen Elle had ever thought so highly of himself. A warrior that'd bested men, beasts and monsters of all kinds. A leader of wraiths that'd galloped across the sky upon skeletal undead steeds. An ambitious soul that'd stolen a throne through deception. A traitor that'd crowned himself after poisoning his predecessor.
"Eredin".
The last King of the Aen Elle grinned at him with flat even white teeth. "Do you even know what you've found, Crevan? The wolf wants her for more than her heart. She is the last seed of a bloodline he'd thought lost to his people. He will wage a war to win her back".
His forearm tightened around Ellana's throat. He ignored her feline hissing, endured the frantic clawing of her taloned fingers. His skin was red and raw when he pressed his mouth to her cheek. She bit him then, driving her fangs into his flesh. Blood blossomed staining her lips, teeth, tongue and chin a dark wine-red.
"Let her go!"
"Remember Ithlinne's prophecy!" snarled Eredin, losing his patience. "Zireael stemmed the tide, but didn't slow the flood! An eternal winter will swallow this world in a hundred years, or in a thousand! You must placate him before he destroys everything we've fought, bled and died for! Va'esse deireádh aep eigean, va'esse eigh faidh'ar!"
"I will not surrender her to anyone!" spat Avallac'h. "Him least of all!"
"You ignorant, fool! I do not speak of some mangy cur, but the Lord of Winter's wrath! The first-born son of the Mountain-Father! The master of frost and steel! He who fights in a field of ice and snow!"
"Name him!"
Eredin's nose wrinkled in disdain. "He's the god of the White Frost, Crevan. The being that froze hundreds of worlds in a fury, after his own was ravaged by war. Zireael came close to stopping him, but she wasn't born of the dragon's fire. Your Elaine alone bears that draconid heat in her breath, body and spirit".
"What are you suggesting?"
"If she is the time when the ice breaks and new spring comes to give life to the world. If she is the first thaw that heralds the advent of change. She is the key to everything. She is the seed of the Hen Ichaer that Shiadhal sowed in another world. The seed destined to burst into flame".
"Why should I believe you?"
Eredin's demeanour changed, he was angry then calm ceasing to spit invectives. That infuriating grin disappeared, the corners of his mouth turning down. The length of his face shortened till his jaw narrowed to a sharp point. Angular cheeks jutted like bone through scarred sallow skin. Eredin's verdant green irises darkened to blue than a bewitching violet.
So like Yennefer of Vengerberg, though Avallac'h doubted they were related.
There was neither kindness nor concern in his elf's expression. He was apathetic as he peered out at the world from under a fringe of coal-black hair. His face was blank and still as stone, though his eyes held a wealth of emotion. In a single glance was a grief so profound that Avallac'h could taste the salt in his mouth. The acrid stink of it filled his nostrils till he could smell the sea.
"Ellana doesn't remember what happened", insisted the elf with eyes like amethysts. "But I do. Hakkon Wintersbreath rampages across the Fade, freezing world after world in vengeance. He is blinded by rage, broken by grief. He will destroy everyone and everything, everywhere unless he's placated".
His candour unnerved Avallac'h. "Who are you?"
"My name was Felassan". He talked whilst Ellana gnawed on his wrist like a dog, never once showing signs of pain or discomfort. "I once served the wolf that loved, betrayed and abandoned the woman before me. He lies at the heart of the White Frost. An elven man who became a monster by absorbing the spirit of a being greater than himself".
"A god?"
Felassan laid his cheek against her temple, below the swell of her horn. The gesture of familiarity roused her ire. Ellana hissed at him like a peeved feline, fangs bared as she lowered her horned head. He turned his face away moments before she could head-butt him. The thick ring of her horn missed his cheek and the side of his jaw by inches.
"I haven't much time left. The more she fights, the weaker I become. Remember Ithlinne's prophecy. Follow its signs. Convince Ellana to lead you back to where our world ended and the White Frost began".
Avallac'h shaken by the revelations, refused to be goaded. "Why?"
"The wolf awaits her there. He thinks that she died because of him. He mourns and rages, consumed by guilt. He is alone and afraid, his despair tainting the Fade around him. In the realm of dreams, the snow falls unending".
"The wolf's blizzard".
Felassan nodded once in acknowledgement. His silence spoke volumes as his lips pressed together in a thin grim line. He closed his eyes as if in relief, pallid face fading till he was transparent like a pane of glass. The black strands of his hair lightened to a dull steel-grey. The bloodied hunk of his mangled wrist falling away from Ellana.
He let her go, evaporating like mist in the morning sun.
A chill breeze picked up, blowing away what was left of him. The blood staining Ellana's mouth dissipating like smoke until she was clean and whole again. Avallac'h shivered in the cold, hunching while Eredin's fog dissipated. Yet its influence wasn't readily dispelled. Winter had touched the edge of Ellana's memory. The river was still frozen, the grass withered and dead.
The sky stormy-grey.
Avallac'h stiffened when clawed fingers touched his face. He peered into a pair of familiar emerald-green eyes that were soft with concern. He saw her brows furrow, then the corners of her mouth turn down. He heard her sniff, then felt her weight shift as she flexed her knees. He slid his arms around her waist, fingers digging into her hips.
"N'te!" he commanded in the Elder Speech, glaring till Ellana relented.
"But".
"A'baeth me".
"What?" she asked, bewildered till he pursed his lips. "Oh". She shook her horned head, thinking that a kiss was quite inappropriate. "We shouldn't". Her eyes widened when Avallac'h insisted.
"A'baeth me".
"Avallac'h".
"I don't care what that violet-eyed wraith said! You are a daughter of the Elder Blood, not that thrice-cursed wolf's chattel! It is not for him to command you to come or go! Do you hear me? If anyone has that right than it is I!"
"That's presumptuous of you".
He arched a flaxen brow. "Is it?"
She reddened, going quiet. She was meek as a lamb when his touch gentled, the pads of his fingers rubbing soothing circles. She shivered arching like a cat being stroked. He smirked, oozing confidence. He was certain of himself, voice soft and velvety.
"A'baeth me".
Ellana made her choice, leaning down to meet him halfway.
The kiss was slow and sweet, ending only when Avallac'h let her draw breath. She panted as if she'd run a mile, bosom heaving inside her cuirass. She leaned into him, clawed fingers sinking into his hair. They breathed as one, noses and brows touching. It was then that Avallac'h knew why she'd come to find him.
"Shiadhal once told me that Lara and I would never marry. I thought she'd said so out of spite after she learned of our betrothal. Only now do I realise that I was wrong. She didn't disapprove because she thought me unsuitable. She disapproved because Auberon tried to marry their daughter to the wrong man".
She smiled with a flash of white fangs.
"Cregennan was meant for Lara, while I was meant for you".
They walked together, hand-in-hand back to Avallac'h's bedroom door. It was framed in brick by a dingy stone archway. Swards of grass frosted with ice fluttered at its foot in that chill wind. He tasted winter on the air, gratified that Ellana had made her choice. Although everything had changed, they'd not spoken of what was or what could be.
Avallac'h hesitated, gazing at the brass latch.
He frowned, wondering what would happen now. They'd known each other for three days and nights, not even a full week. They'd shared kisses, secrets and even an outing in a place that existed inside his head. Was anything that he'd seen, heard, experienced and discussed with her real? It was possible that it'd fade come morning when he awoke alone.
He glanced back at her, seeing her slitted cat-like eyes and goat-like horns.
There was one way to prove that everything he'd seen and done was real.
"Come to bed".
Ellana bit her lip, flashing the tip of an ivory fang. "It's close to dawn. You'll wake soon. I won't be there when you do. I'll be here instead until you fall asleep again".
He squeezed her fingers, voice cracking. "I need to know that this is real".
"It is".
His eyes prickled, the pressure building in his temples. It was hard for him to ask, harder to accept that he didn't want to wake alone. Lara had abandoned him for another. His red-haired lover from Tir ná Lia had done the same. Even Zireael had returned to her adoptive parents Geralt and Yennefer.
He had nothing and no one, like the wolf that hunted her.
"Your word isn't enough. I could be going mad, or dreaming this all myself. I need proof, though I've no right to ask. Cáemm a me, Elaine. Please".
"Avallac'h".
"If you won't come than I'll stay here with you".
Ellana gasped, startled. Her eyes widened in alarm. "No! You can't! You're not somniari!"
He shook his head, vision blurring. "I don't care".
"I do!" she hissed. "Only a somniari or a spirit can exist inside the Fade in safety! This is the realm between worlds, accessible to mortals in dreams or in death! If you stay here than your body will wither and die in the world beyond! You're condemning yourself to a slow and painful end!"
He looked her in the eye, adamant that this was the right choice. "I'm staying with you".
"No you're not", she replied, laying her clawed hand on that brass latch. "Even if I have to send you back myself".
A twitch of her fingers and the door flew open. Light flooded the meadow, so bright and blinding that it burned. Avallac'h released Ellana's hand, stumbling till something struck him in the chest. He fell backwards, grunting as he tripped over his own feet. He heard hinges creak, saw a shadow pass before his eyes in a rush of heat and sound.
"N'te!" he cried, feeling himself plummet downward and away. A figure silhouetted in grey stood in an archway of stone. A clawed hand was raised in farewell. "Elaine! N'te!"
Her voice echoed around him, rebounding off molten white-hot walls. "If I go with you than the wolf will find me. Do you understand? If I stay in the Fade than I can disappear. It'll be safer for us both".
Avallac'h dreading the dawn, called out in desperation. "Will you forever be afraid of him, Elaine? If you hide in the darkness, refusing to come out into the light! You will never walk in the sun again! How long will you let your fear of him define your existence?"
He awoke shaking, shirt and pants wet and sticky. Brocade blankets were wrapped around him in a suffocating cocoon of heat. He writhed in discomfort kicking free, booted feet skidding across dirty sheets. He scowled, spying the smears of filth ground into the blue linen. It glared at the boots on his feet, the socks inside uncomfortably moist.
"Varh'he", he cursed, hating that Ellana had been right. He'd be up to his elbows in suds for hours cleaning his own bedding. "A d'yaebl aép arse".
He lamented his lot in life, rolling onto his back. He glared at the granite ceiling, the lingering fatigue clearing in his wakefulness. He was tired, furious and annoyed with everything in his bedroom. The ugly stone roof over his head. The stink of dirt and sweat clinging to his skin and hair.
The wet and smelly blankets, the sheets crusted with dirt.
He clenched his fists, raising them high. He slammed them down into the mattress, gasping the instant someone squealed in pain. He glanced to his right, recoiling when something materialised inside his stained sheets. He took fright, toppling off the bed with a cry. He hit the floor hard, groaning as his head and back ached from the impact.
The bed-frame creaked, the mattress shifting under a weight that wasn't his own.
He expected the worst when something fell over the edge of the bed. It thumped him in the chest, inciting a curse when it brushed his breastbone. It was softer then he expected, but thick as his wrist. He laid his hand across it, eyes going wide when he found what felt like a coil of rope. He patted it till he found a tufted end bound by black cord.
He pulled on it, hope igniting the instant he heard a vehement curse.
"Fenedhis!"
He glanced at the bed, brows arching in surprise when he saw a familiar brown face. There in a halo of candlelight was a woman with a crown of silver hair. Her emerald-green eyes with their round black pupils were narrowed in fury. She glowered at him, the length of a muscled arm reaching down from the bed. She smacked his hand, grumbling when he refused to let go of her braid.
"Elaine", gasped Avallac'h. "You came back to me".
She lifted her head, sneering at him till her eyes rolled back. She collapsed moments later, the bed shuddering. Her arm went limp, her head lolling on the her neck like a leaden weight. Avallac'h shot upright in a panic, catching her still fingers. He assumed the worst till he checked for a pulse at her wrist.
A heart beat under her skin like a drum.