Share
Chapter 27: Practice Is Over
Related chapters
The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 28: Spending The Night
"Don't even think about turning around," Florian said, as Violet sat on her bed facing the wall.He was taking off his uniform to sleep in his underclothes. It was the best deal they could come up with, given what a tight space they were in."Trust me, not a problem," Violet replied, legs crossed and hands holding her ankles. "Are you done yet?""What's the rush? Do you miss my face already?"Violet fought the desire to roll her eyes. "Yes, Florian, your incredible face is all that gets me through the day. Such beauty.""Knew it," he chuckled.She heard some rustling then the other bed creaked under his weight."Finished," he said.She turned, hanging her legs off the side of the bed. Florian was laying down, one arm behind his head, shirtless with his eyes closed. The sheets hung low to his waist. His brown hair gently framed his face. Violet raised her eyebrows—she had no idea he looked like that under the uniform."You done yet, Bellerose?"She removed her gaze from his tan skin and
The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 29: Ambition And Desire
The bed of a king felt good.Violet woke slowly, stretching her arms out from under the blankets. One foot hung off the edge of the mattress. Pale light streaked the floor, skimming the curtain edges. She sat up, expecting to see Eden's lanky body in one of the chairs. They were both empty.But a hot breakfast rested on the table in between. She walked over on her tiptoes, avoiding the cool floor on her bare feet. Fresh bread and butter with eggs waited for her. The steam filtered through the morning air.Violet tore off a piece of bread, wiping away the butter from her chin. She went to the window, pushing aside the curtains to open the glass. Below, some soldiers were already up, tending to their horses and eating outside. Two were practicing their sword skills. The familiar twang of a bowstring drifted up to her ears. Florian had set up a makeshift target and was coaching five soldiers.More arrows found the target while Violet munched on her scrambled eggs. Two of the maids hovere
The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 30: Greet Your Dead
Eden dragged a thunderstorm behind him.Violet watched the clouds build, swelling with rain. Their dark underbellies marched across the land, overtaking everything. Ahead of the squadron a wall of thick smoke barred their vision. Violet knew this area—they were entering the borderlands—but she hardly recognized it.An unnatural mist, one that Eden couldn't control, wove through the trees, undercutting the smoke and eating the sunlight. Farms sat deserted. Sheep and cattle wandered, abandoned in the panic of Curzon's attacks. Violet wanted to run from it herself—something about the mist stole the breath from her lungs."What is all this smoke?" Violet asked.Eden's face was grim. "Curzon's dead have a habit of torching homes on their way back to Ipsit. The nobles defending the border haven't been able to douse the flames—they think the dead have brought it with them from the grave.""So their fire is as undead as they are?""It looks that way," Captain Augustus said.The three of them r
The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 31: A Blind Turn
Toreva was lost. The blood elves, changed into something deathly by Curzon, had consumed the town. Now, they wanted to consume the squadron."Ride!" Captain Augustus shouted. "Faster!"Hooves stampeded through the smoke and mist. Violet's ears rang with sounds of the chase and the creatures' haunting cries. Her arms ached from firing her bow. Eden was at her side, sweat dripping from beneath his crown, down his temples.They turned a blind curve on the road. Boulders scattered over the dirt. A landslide. Violet's horse jumped by instinct. It landed on gravel, stumbling but righting itself quickly. Eden was right behind her. More soldiers followed. The creatures ran nearly as fast as the horses, speeding through the haze, bloodlust written on their faces."Move!" Eden shouted, on the side of the road, directing the squadron. "Out of the way! There are more behind you!"Soldiers and horses gathered, Captain Augustus directing them, and circled up to form ranks. Their sword and spears wer
The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 32: War Room
Persistent hammers tapped at the inside of Violet's skull. Light kept trying to seep through her closed eyelids. She groaned and rolled over, velvet cushions meeting her cheek. The sharp, spicy scent of cloves filled her senses."Eden, my head is pounding—get that smell out of here," she ordered, trying to bury her aching head in the pillows."Hmm, I thought you'd like it," answered a voice Violet knew even in her stupor.She pushed herself up on her hands to find King Curzon lounging in a chair next to her. He was draped in toffee-brown furs, silver beads braided into his dark hair, and those toxic blue eyes radiating intensity.Memories started returning to Violet—the battle outside Toreva, the blood elves possessed by the souls of the dead, and Eden.Violet jumped to her feet, fighting her spinning head, anger pumping through her. "Where's Eden? What happened to him? Tell me now or I'll make you wish you were one of your corrupted dead."Curzon's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I don'
The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 33: The Favor Of Kings
Ipsit's palace, The Bastion, rose like a spearhead out of the valley the capital city was nestled within. Four wide bridges—fixed on the cardinal directions—sloped down to the city, each laden with green gardens.Violet saw all this from the balcony of Curzon's war room. The gardens had no blooms, only a kaleidoscope of sage, emerald, and olive, freshly manicured. Sunlight pierced through the trees but brought little warmth, even to her high spot in the palace. Ipsit was a cold kingdom, drained of color.The lock clicked open on the door and Violet turned to see two maids enter, dressed in the crimson and silver livery of Ipsit, a tiny wolf head embroidered on both of their left shoulders. One was a redhead with warm brown eyes carrying a pile of dresses over her arms. The other had bronze skin and tightly coiled curls down to her waist. She carried an intricate key on a ring. Violet could see they were both wary of her, just as she was of them. "Come this way. Your suite is ready," s
The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 34: Gilded And Magnificent
Two days passed. Curzon hadn't brought up the subject of joining him since their encounter in the west garden. He simply accompanied her throughout The Bastion's halls, telling her about the history of the palace or recounting stories of him and his younger brother."We stole two trays of meat pies from the kitchens and brought them up here. We ate so fast Atlas had to dart outside to throw it all up again in the north garden's bushes." Curzon laughed at the memory, a wistfulness stealing into his body. "That was the first season in years we had such bounty in the palace. Two little boys hardly knew what to do with it all.""Where is Atlas now?" Violet had asked."He died a year later when the crops failed. Many across Ipsit starved."Violet hadn't been brave enough to ask any more questions about Atlas after that.She didn't want to return to the west garden either. The unseen division between blood and high elf was crumbling around her and venturing back to the place it began didn't
The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 35: A Little Darkness
"Do you want to see what she can do?" Curzon cried.The great hall resounded with cheers. Queen Dalyla and King Caiphas looked uneasy but clapped along with the rest of the guests. Violet wondered where the two of them fit into Curzon's grand plans for just him and Violet to rule the elven kingdoms. He didn't seem the kind to share.Curzon pulled off a glove. "Let us see what The Eye is capable of."More cheering, but Violet hesitated to touch him. Curzon noticed and snatched her hand. Magic poured into Violet. She gasped, Curzon resting her palm against his chest. Violet became a vessel. The magic of death swirled within her, darkening her vision.She stared into Curzon. His soul was bleeding out."What have you become?" she murmured, her free hand passing through the mist invisible to the rest of the hall.It was a breach in the magic she should've found there; a sickened vortex of all the Monarchs' magic he'd consumed. In those charred cracks death seeped in, sending its worst back
Latest chapter
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 50: The Coronation Vows
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 49: One Last Thing
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 48: Dispelling the Dead
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 47: To Be Loved
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 46: Having It All
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 45: Not What We Planned
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 44: Unfinished Business
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 43: Meet The Shifter
- The Elf King and His Bodyguard Chapter 42: Fighting On All Fronts
