To Those Who Wait by Hayden Sharpe (lightest ebook reader .TXT) 📖

Cedron was confused. Aven frowned disapprovingly, and Abrahil looked uncomfortable, as though he wanted to melt into the shadows again.

Edana let out a wordless scream of aggravation and tensed beside me. “That thing has shamed my family! It has defiled my only daughter! Have him hanged!”

“I have defiled nothing!

” Eli’s expression was unreadable, save the fact that his eyes gleamed and his mind was being torn apart.

“He saved my life, mother!” I cried. “A bear was attacking me and he-”

“Enough,” Marellus put a hand up and looked back to Eli. “Have you had relations, romantic relations, that is, with Avelina?”

Lie,

I thought desperately. They won’t hurt you if you do! And you have always been good at lying. I will say I kissed y-

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. He held his chin high. “I have. But we have not consummated anything yet.” His blue-green eyes raked my mother and he tensed his jaw. “We kissed. We kissed and talked. That is all

. We enjoy each others’ company; is that a sin? Is it sinful if we have not completely acted on our emotions?”

We were going to,

I thought sadly. My heart fell, but I said nothing.

“You son of a bitch!” Edana screeched, and began to stomp toward him. Marellus held her back by the arm.

Eli’s mind was falling into disrepair. His defiance and confidence was being shattered every second. He knew that we would be torn apart, and it was killing him inside.

“Eli,” I murmured aloud, moving toward him as quickly as I could to put myself between him and my mother. I fell to my knees next to him and stroked the side of his face. “I love you.”

My mother whirled me around to face her. Her eyes glinted with malice. My skin stung as her hand flew across my cheek, and I winced.

Eli bared his teeth at my mother and reached for me, but she slapped him away.

“Mother, stop!” I cried. She glared at me, but directed her anger at Eli again.

“Bastard! How dare

you seduce her!” she growled, crouching down to our level and pulling me back from him. “How dare

you manipulate her like that, you demonic Satan-spawn!”

“I did not

seduce her,” he said coldly. “She starts the kissing half the time. So perhaps your rage is misplaced. Without me,” he spat, eyes narrowing. “Your daughter would probably be dead. So you should thank

me for kissing her.” It was a front, I knew. He needed to argue something positive. I did not blame him at all for using the ‘I saved her life’ excuse.

“Insolent fool!” Edana shrieked, and yanked on my wrist to bring me to my feet. She dragged me toward Marellus’ castle, away from my Eli, my hero, my heart.

“Eli!” I reached for him, but Edana pulled my arm sharply, and I fell silent for the time being. I glanced at Marellus. “He is hurt because of me. I beseech you,” I begged, “have him healed!”

Marellus knit his brow, but nodded, sensing my despair. “As you wish,” he nodded, and looked to Aven. “Heal him.”

Aven looked astounded. “But-”

“You heard me.”

She sighed, and knelt next to Eli, murmuring something under her breath as her hands began to glow with Defensive Magic.

“Eli? Is that you?” Parnell had joined the crowd. They parted to let him near his son. “Eli! What are you doing here?” He crouched next to him and brushed his hair out of his eyes the way only a father could.

“Hello, father,” Eli whispered.

“What happened?” Parnell looked around at all of us. His worry for his son was amplified by the harsh, prejudiced stares directed at the shapeshifter.

“What was once your son,” Edana spat. “Has been having trysts with my daughter! And as for you

,” she hissed at me, shaking my arm. “You are going to be in your chambers until you have gotten over yourself. And it is high time you were wed; I have been tolerant with you and allowed you to be my baby for far too long. You cannot keep these fantasies and delusions in your mind. I will find suitable gentlemen and you will wed one of them.”

“Mother!” I cried, but she would hear none of it.

Eli,

I thought miserably. Eli, please, come when you are healed. I need you. I have a window that is always open; please come to me, hold me. I will be locked in.

Avelina-

Please.

He was silent for a while. I will come as soon as I am able to fly.

We left Eli in misery and Parnell in confusion. Edana dragged me through the halls in silence. She essentially threw me into my chambers, lit a few candles, and glanced at me. “This is for your own good, Avelina,” she murmured. “I will not have my daughter spawn beasts like that one.” She slammed the door. I heard the bar fall in front of it, and I was trapped.

Tears began to stream down my cheeks, and I flung myself onto my bed and wept for the love I knew I had lost.

The Middle Ages

“Avelina?” a soft voice whispered.

I picked my head up and saw a boy by the window.

“Eli!” I breathed, and leaped up to greet him. I buried my face in his chest and sobbed. “Oh, Eli, I am so sorry!”

“Sh,” he murmured, holding me close. His mind was numb. “It isn’t your fault.”

“It is!” I cried. We stayed in silence for the longest time. “I love you,” I finally sniffled.

“I love you too,” he sighed. “But it’s killing us both.”

I shook my head quickly, and kissed his lips, softly at first, but then a little harder as I held him closer.

Eli kissed me back, as usual, but this time there was a desperateness that killed me inside. His kisses, normally soft and gentle, were now laden with a hopeless passion that threatened to consume us both. There were tears on his cheeks.

“A-Avelina,” he mumbled. “We can’t do this anym-”

I silenced him, sliding my hands under the back of his torn shirt. I traced his back, and slowly stepped backwards, pulling him with me. The backs of my legs brushed up against my bed, and I could feel myself blush.

One of his eyes opened, and looked past me. He pulled away from my face, sadness shining in his reddening features. Obviously he guessed my intent. “Avelina, we cannot-”

“Hush,” I whispered and kissed his lips, not allowing him to speak anymore, not allowing him to break away from me, not allowing him to say it was wrong. My hands pulled his head closer to mine, and I wrapped one of my legs around his hips.

I decided to look into his mind. He was trying to fight me. He knew it was all wrong, what he knew I wanted. He would not admit to himself that he wanted it too. He did not want my mother or Morgaine to have more reason to hate him. We cannot, Avelina,

he protested, as though he knew I was listening.

Why not? I love you.

I… for one thing, we are not wed.

That can be easily remedied,

my mind shrugged.

No.

Then why are you kissing me back?

Would you rather I didn’t?

I said nothing, only bit his lip and tugged on him, trying to knock him off-balance, make him fall on top of me.

“Stop,” he groaned, attempting to push me away. “You told me to hold you.”

“I want you to,” I murmured. “I want you to hold me forever.”

“I cannot.” He shook his head.

“You can,” I begged. “You can take me away from here. I can live with you. You can teach me to fight, and I will ease your loneliness. You need me, and I need you

.”

Eli toyed with the idea for literally a moment before he shook his head. “Marellus would have me hunted down,” he murmured. “I will be hunted no matter which form I take.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I tugged on his shirt, pulling him close to me. I kissed him frantically, pulling him forward and successfully unbalancing him at last.

His mind froze, and reeled as it lost its stability, and I took that instant of confusion to pull him closer and kiss his neck. He gasped, and moved so his hands were on either side of me. He tried to get up, but I drew him in closer by the waist so his chest pressed down against mine. His hips remained on my left side, but he would not allow me to move them with the leg I had around him. I settled for tightening my grip on him and kissing from his neck down to his shoulder.

“Avelina, s-stop,” Eli protested, although every romantic sector of his head screamed at him that he was crazy. His mind was turning on itself and it made him weep.

“Eli, please,” I whispered, leaning up on one elbow and running my other hand through his hair. “Please. Please just kiss me. She intends to marry me off; she says is through babying me and wants me to wed-”

“I know,” he interrupted.

“-but I do not want to wed anyone but you,” I sobbed, burying my face in his neck to hide my tears.

His mind wailed in misery. I want to marry you too!

he wept. But we can’t! We can’t!

“We can

,” I hiccupped. “We can run away, go to a different manor, where they do not know us-”

“No,” he shook his head.

“Eli!” I pressed my lips to his, and he clutched at my back.

Eventually, we stopped kissing, and he rolled off and lay next to me on my bed. His sullen head rested on my shoulder, his arm limp across my waist, and I trembled as I traced his chest with my hand.

“I love you so much,” he murmured dismally. “I am sorry.”

“I love you too,” I sniffed, and attempted, halfheartedly, to pull at his shirt again.

He looked at me, sorrow brimming in his beautiful eyes. And I knew it was over. Everything we had had, gone in a flash.

“This is all-”

“It isn’t your fault,” he sighed. “Had Abrahil not been in the forest, everything would have been fine.”

“You would still be injured.”

“But I would have healed eventually.” His eyes fell. “I knew from the start we had to be cautious. That it was too beautiful to last long. But I allowed myself to grow content, soft. I apologize.”

“Don’t.”

He blinked and