Elven Oath

Chapter 10

Vevina

A odhan is speaking quietly with Falkor, their voices low as they discuss our route for the day. I keep myself busy tying the last of my things to our horse.

The moments before dawn are always the most tranquil, but they also have a way of making me feel exposed.

That feeling proves to be right when I hear movement. Just a faint sound at first, so subtle that I almost think I imagined it. But then I hear it again. The soft crunch of footsteps moving through the brush.

I spin around just in time to see the first man emerge from the treeline, his sword raised high as he runs toward Aodhan and his men.

My heart thuds in my chest, but there’s no time to shout a warning. Instinct takes over as I yank my dagger from its hidden sheath beneath my dress. My fingers tighten around the hilt as the cold steel presses against my palm.

They attack quickly. There seems to be more of them this time. A lot more than the night before. Their swords gleam in the early morning light. I can hear the clanging of metal as Aodhan and his friends meet them in battle.

But these men are different than before. They’re more skilled, coordinated, and they fight with a brutality I’ve never seen before.

For a moment, I hesitate. A princess wasn’t supposed to fight. But something inside me rebels against that thought. I’m not going to stand by and watch as they cut down the only allies I currently have.

With a deep breath, I rush forward, my dagger gripped tightly in my hand. The man closest to me doesn’t expect me to join the fray. Shock registers on his face when I duck beneath his swinging blade and slash at him with the dagger.

But something strange happens as the dagger cuts through the air, it begins to glow. A sudden flash of light surrounds it, and before I know what is happening, it transforms.

The simple dagger I had been holding moments ago had extended, the hilt shifting in my hand as it becomes a light and perfectly balanced sword.

I don’t have time to question it. The man I’d struck stumbles backward, clutching his side. My muscles move on instinct, my body reacting as if I had always known how to fight.

I step into the battle, my sword slicing through the chaos with a precision I had never known I’d possessed.

I fight alongside Falkor and Drago, but my eyes keep drifting toward Aodhan. He’s at the center of the fight, his movements swift and brutal. Even in the midst of chaos, there was something graceful about the way he moves. Like the battle is an extension of who he is.

But then I see it. A glint of steel, too close to him, aimed at his side.

“Aodhan!” I shout, my voice hoarse as I fight my way toward him, but I’m too late.

The sword slashed through his side, and he staggers back, clutching the wound. The man who had struck him seemed to hesitate, his eyes wide with fear. I realize then that they had known he was a dragon all along. But their swords are coated with something. Something lethal.

Poison. My Elven senses picking up on it automatically.

I grit my teeth, my heart pounding as I rush to his side. I fight off the remaining attackers with renewed fury, my sword a blur of light and steel, but my focus completely on him. He is down on one knee, his hand pressed to his wound.

When the last of the attackers flee into the trees, the clearing falls into a heavy silence. My breath comes in ragged gasps as I drop to my knees next to him.

His breathing is shallow, and his golden eyes, usually so bright and full of fire, seem more dim.

“You’re... hurt,” I say with a shaky voice, though I’m trying to steady it.

He looks at me, his jaw clenched in pain. “It’s... nothing. I’ll heal,” he rasps, but his voice doesn’t carry the usual confidence it usually holds.

I reach for his hand, pulling it away from the wound to inspect it. My stomach twists at the sight of the dark blood oozing from the gash. It’s not going to heal without help. My help.

My mind races as the reality of the situation hits me hard. He is a dragon, yes. His wounds technically should have closed by now. But the poison...they must have known. They had come prepared.

“Your healing isn’t working,” I say, panic creeping into my voice.

Aodhan’s eyes flicker with understanding, though he says nothing. His breathing is more labored now, his face pale.

I look around the clearing, searching for anything, any way I can help. But I don’t immediately see what I’m looking for. I feel helpless suddenly. The surge of adrenaline from the battle fading and leaving me raw.

My gaze falls on the sword I still hold in my hand. The one that had transformed from a dagger into something more. There was something strange about it, something ancient, powerful. I can feel its magic under my palm.

“Aodhan,” I say, my voice firmer now. “Stay with me. We’ll figure this out.”

His eyes meet mine, and for the first time since the attack, I see a flicker of fear in them. He was strong, unshakable, but even he couldn’t fight against the poison.

“I’m not letting you die,” I whisper, gripping the sword tighter as I stand, determination flooding through me.

Panic claws at me as I sit beside him, his breathing shallow and his skin growing colder beneath my touch. The wound isn’t closing. The poison is beginning to spread, and with every passing second, he’s slipping further away.

"Falkor, Drago!" I call out, my voice tight with urgency.

Falkor was already by Aodhan's side, his face grim as he took in the severity of the situation. Drago, on the other hand, looks ready to tear through the woods in search of any remaining attackers.

"It’s poison but I know the cure," I say, my voice steady despite the chaos swirling inside me. "There’s a plant—the Eldara root. It glows bright purple, and it only grows in hollowed trees, away from light." I turn to Drago. "You have to find it, quickly."

Drago doesn’t waste time questioning me. With a determined nod, he vanishes into the woods, moving with the swift, lethal grace of a predator on the hunt.

I turn back to Falkor. "You stand guard. If anyone comes back, you fight them off."

He nods, his usual playful demeanor gone, replaced by the serious, focused expression of a warrior ready to protect his own. He positions himself on the edge of the clearing, sword in hand, scanning the treeline in the direction our attackers left.

I can’t focus on anything else but Aodhan. He is slipping away too fast. His golden eyes, the ones that had seemed so full of life and fire just yesterday, now barely flickered. His breaths were shallow, his chest barely moving with the effort to stay alive.

"Stay with me," I whisper yet again, my voice trembling as I press my hands to his wound, as if I could stop the poison from spreading with sheer willpower alone. But it was hopeless.

Then something inside me cracked. Maybe it was desperation, maybe it was some ancient magic stirring within me that I didn’t fully understand, but I could feel it.

The bond, the connection that linked us. It wasn’t just the marriage vows. It was deeper, something raw and primal, something that connected his dragon soul to me.

Without realizing it, I speak. Not aloud, but directly to his dragon.

Aodhan. Please, stay with me.

I freeze at the realization of what I’d just done. I can feel him. His consciousness, his dragon senses, lingering just beyond the edge of darkness. He’s still there, but weak.

Aodhan, I need you to fight. You can’t leave me. Not now.

The words pour out, unbidden. My thoughts, raw and unfiltered, reach for him, hoping he can hear me.

For a moment, nothing happens. He’s so still, and I can feel the cold dread sinking into my bones. But then, there’s a flicker. A faint pulse of awareness from him, like a spark catching flame.

Vevina ...

His voice is faint, but it’s there, inside my mind.

You’re... in my thoughts...

Tears well in my eyes, but I fight them back, refusing to let the fear overtake me.

Yes, and you’re not allowed to give up now. I won't let you.

His golden eyes flutter open, just a fraction, but enough to show that spark of life. He looks at me, his gaze heavy with pain but full of something else too. Something that mirrors the strange connection I feel between us.

His lips twitch, the faintest hint of a smile, though it was weighed down by pain.

You’re stubborn...

I swallow hard, holding his gaze.

You haven’t seen stubborn yet.

The bond between us pulses again, stronger this time. It wasn’t just words in his mind. It was something more, a sense of shared strength, as if I was lending him mine.

I could feel the weight of his dragon soul, ancient and powerful, and in that moment, I wasn’t afraid of it. I welcomed it, embraced it.

Time stretched on, every second feeling like an eternity.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Drago reappeared, a glowing purple plant cupped gently in his hands.

"I found it!" he shouts, rushing toward us.

I breathe a shaky sigh of relief, my grip on Aodhan tightening as I whisper into his mind one last time.

Hold on, help is here.

I’m trying...But the poison... it’s strong... He says.

So are you. I whisper as I move to take the plant from Drago and get busy boiling it over the fire.

This is something that I am most definitely good at. My teacher always said I was the best pupil she’d ever taught the ancient ways of plants to.