Chapter 43 THE SCROLL OF THE EATHEREAL ESSENCE
\[Haven\]
Something twists in my chest as I stare at Auren laying peacefully on the bed. If not for his steady breathing I would have thought him to be dead.
I've always known him to be strong and unbeatable, so watching him lying down, completely helpless, awakens something in me, I don't want to admit.
I turn to Imogen who is packing up the healing supplies in a bag. “What's wrong with him? I thought dragons are unbeatable, not to mention he's the king."
Imogen stares at me for a moment, then sighs. " Why don't you walk me to the infirmary?”
Slowly, I rise to my feet, dust off invisible wrinkles off my dress and follow him out of the door. We walk for a while in complete silence till he finally clears his throat.
" My Lady, the king is the strongest dragon shifter alive. He can go days, weeks even without rest. But…” he trails off, staring into the distance with a haunted expression. " The king is slowly dying.”
My heart stops in my chest, as I try to process the news a second time. Lyle had mentioned this on our way here, but somehow hearing Imogen say it makes me want to throw up.
This is someone's life for fuck's sake! How can they talk about it like it's nothing but dancing in the rain,or fetching wood, or even court matters? My heart breaks knowing Auren doesn't have a lot of time left and there might be nothing I can do.
" His fire is gradually poisoning his system and draining his life force. That explains why he can't function as efficiently as before,” Imogen explains. I can tell by the strain in his voice that he is pained by what he's telling me. " If he doesn't perform the rituals needed and break the curse, he's going to die faster than expected."
He halts in his steps and turns to me, gaze slightly blurred with unshed tears. Of course he'll be in pain. Watching someone you love die, knowing there's nothing you can do about it, hurts like a bitch.
“Listen, Haven." His voice is soft, almost pleading as he stares at me with an imploring gaze. “I know you are the one meant to break Auren's curse. I also know that Auren is never going to perform the mating ritual and fully bond with you because it will mean sacrificing your life for his. But…”
His voice trails off, and he looks away. It's almost like he can't bring himself to think of the fact that the man he watched ruling their clan for centuries is on the verge of losing his life any moment.
He sighs and stares at me, pausing in his movements. “I don't want to ask anything of you or make you feel uncomfortable, but I'll be grateful if you consider helping the King…your husband.”
I sigh.
Yh right! He is my husband and as such I feel like it's my duty to protect him, even if I hate his guts.
I'm about to assure Imogen that I'll do my best to help him, but that is interrupted by the arrival of a servant girl.
“My Lady, My Lord,” she salutes with a bow. " The king requests Lady Haven's presence in the archives.”
I turn to Imogen who gives me a faint nod and walks away. I nod at the servant girl and in seconds we are walking down the long corridors.
I don't know what I expected when I heard of the elf Kingdom, but it definitely wasn't this. Not a beautiful castle with beautiful chandeliers and captivating paintings, not a warm and comfortable atmosphere that makes you instantly at peace, and certainly not the constant hum of positive magic everywhere you step foot.
I follow the girl down a spiral staircase to what I assume is the archive. She knocks twice and tells me to step inside.
I slowly push the door open and step inside. The sight leaves me at a complete loss for words. There are books –almost a million of them – stacked carefully on the shelves. The place doesn't look old and dusty like I imagined a royal archive to look like. On the contrary, it's well organized and spotless.
It looks well taken cared of.
My eyes fall on the figure in the center of the room and I'm awed.
King Tyren!
I expected the elf to be old…real old with white hairs and beard all over. But this man is quite the contrary.
He's as young as Auren, with dark hair containing streaks of silver and pale blue orbs. He's…handsome if I must say so myself. Too handsome for his own good.
“I don't think Auren would appreciate his woman stripping me with her eyes," he says, pulling me out of whatever world I was in. “I really don't want my dick cut off."
I suppress a laugh as I walk towards him. He leans forward and offers me his hand which I take slowly. He smiles, giving me a firm handshake.
“I'm king Tyren of Tir'Narel," he says, dropping my hand, his smile not fading away.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness."
He rolls his eyes and huffs. “You won't say that when you find out half the shit I've done." He offers me a glass. “Would you like a drink?"
“No thank you," I decline with a polite smile. He's too friendly for his own good. I don't trust overly friendly people.
He chuckles and sets the glass down. “I won't poison you, My Lady."
“We can never be too careful, can we, your highness?" I ask in the sweetest voice I can muster. I expect him to get mad. I mean, who refuses the king.
But he merely laughs. “As feisty as your mother, I see."
“You knew my mother?"
“Very well, if I add," he says with a slight nod, pushing away from the edge of the desk and walking to one of the shelves. “We studied magic together under a sorcerer in the mountains. Athalia hated my guts though. I always teased her about her hair and her silly little crush on Eurolys, the stupid ass son of the sorcerer.”
Given by how his tone darkens and his fists clench when he speaks about Eurolys, I know he hates the man's guts. That makes two of us then.
He turns away from the shelf and I see a scroll in his hands. “There are a lot of things you still don't know, Haven. This is the scroll of the Ethereal Essence,” he says handing it over to me.
I stare at it blankly. " What I'm I to do with it?”
" You need control of your powers,” he says. "The Ethereal Essence is the only form of magic both ancient and current that has been found almost impossible to control. That's why it is labeled as forbidden.”
" It's not impossible to control if mother could do it…even for a white.”
" Your mother devoted decades learning how it works. She put down everything in this scroll and left it in my care, asking me to give it to
her daughter.” He holds the scroll towards me. Take it…a step closer to your destiny.”