Heart Over Sword
Chapter 189: Testing Limits

Chapter 189: Testing Limits

They will be fine. They will be fine. Evanna squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, sighing loudly and ignoring the way the walking corpses by her sides watched her. If it wasn’t their rotting bodies that were freakish, then it was the vacant golden stares. The Princess didn’t bother trying to escape, the revenants may not be powerful, but there was strength in numbers. Plus, she needed some time to determine her next course of action.

It was hard, however, to push aside the rising angst she felt towards Arawn’s situation. But the elven Prince was strong and quick-witted. If anyone was able to subdue Conrad, it was him. Right now, she needed to focus on herself and how to get herself out of her own situation.

The group of walking corpses and skeletons surrounding Evanna stopped, prompting her to follow suit and search the dark woods expecting to see Conrad. Her stomach dropped as her mind raced with thoughts of Arawn. But instead of the Demon Prince appearing before them, a crow with golden eyes flew over their heads. Evanna watched it like the living-dead beside her, but she then looked to the front after another chill crawled across her skin. Conrad’s men ran into the small clearing, their panting making it apparent they were following the crow.

Upon seeing the revenants, their eyes widened. The moment their attention landed on Evanna, the living-dead collapsed to the ground, except for the closest skeleton that pushed the Princess towards the men. As soon as she was within their reach, the skeleton also flopped to the ground, once more lifeless like the others.

Drew, Conrad’s closest friend out of the group of burly men, lightly grabbed her wrist, but like the others, his attention was focused on the fallen rotting corpses behind her. Yet, instead of fear on their faces, the men seemed more intrigued with the dead. They were undoubtedly the Prince’s men; they knew of his powers and were not afraid of him like others.

But during this moment of curiosity, Evanna used their distraction to call upon her gift. This night had been full of bizarre incidents, from a fantastical kiss and a proposal to corpses chasing her, Conrad revealing more of his deadly powers that she forgot one of her newest but most natural gifts. The gift of Ilerium. At first, she didn’t want to reveal such powers, but this wasn’t the time to debate over whether Conrad’s men should also learn of her secret.

Evanna couldn’t be weak against them, though. They were Conrad’s best and most feared warriors. She could fight against someone like Erland, but she had no chance against all five men at once. Now seemed a perfect time to test her limits and strengthen her gifts.

Drew was the first to notice Evanna’s hand turning before the ground shook, and five monstrous leafy stems grew out from beneath the men’s feet. He was the first to grab the hilt of his sword, but all at once, the plants dove towards them, wrapping around their feet, yanking them into the air.

"What the- Woah!"

All five of them were now dangling upside down, and a few swords dropped to the ground from the force. Evanna stepped back to look at her creation. The Princess felt a slight smugness to see her plants were strong enough to hold onto such large men. Erland, the youngest, was the first to start reaching for his sword to cut through his binds. She focused harder and vines wrapped around each of the men’s wrists, binding them together to stop any attempt at escaping.

"Evanna.." Drew warned. "Don’t-"

Another vine wrapped around his mouth before he could finish. Evanna glanced at the others, releasing her breath when all of them were quietened with vines crawling over their lips. Their muffled cries and widened eyes were the last things she saw before running through the underbrush, apologising as she did so, ignoring the slight pang of guilt in her chest. The Princess shook her head and reassured herself that if she didn’t do this, then she didn’t know when her next opportunity to escape would be.

Dashing through the forest, Evanna climbed up the trees and grew her own plants along the way to help her ascend the cliffside. She pushed off the last of an overgrown leaf and hopped back onto the cliff, releasing a breath after all the energy she used caught up to her. Clutching her head, she blinked at the sudden dizziness before her surroundings stabilised once more. Turning back, she frowned after watching the forest glow blue and orange in the distance; that frown deepened when she realised it was getting closer to her.

That was Arawn and Conrad.

Ice and fire..

Evanna spun around and sprinted back to camp, pausing only temporarily to see sleeping bodies still on the ground. Her spine tingled before a voice called out to her.

"Princess."

Evanna drew her swords out, spinning on the spot and pausing just before her swords met a large light blue seraph blade. She inhaled sharply at seeing Garrett’s displeased expression, his amber eyes glinting darkly. Evanna hesitated for a moment, remembering how much the elf seemed to dislike her, but simultaneously the pair pulled back. "Where is Prince Arawn?" Garrett questioned gruffly while his gaze scanned their surroundings.

"He is fighting Prince Conrad," Evanna replied, flinching when the elf sheathed his sword forcefully while glaring at her.

"*Of course, he is.*" Garrett turned, then called out a bird’s noise.

Elves dropped down from the trees, appearing like phantoms in the dark, landing gracefully, their sharp eyes still surveying the area. "*Of all the women he has been with, he catches feelings for the most troublesome one,*" Garrett grumbled below his breath, clicking his tongue and turning to give orders to his men.

Evanna watched with a furrowed brow, but she did not comment, listening to his plan before stalking off towards Conrad’s tent. She made it to the tent’s flaps when a hand landed gently on her shoulder. The Princess’ shoulders tensed; usually, nobody could sneak up on her.

"*Your highness, do you plan on running from us again?*"

Evanna relaxed and spun around upon hearing Cedric’s voice. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from feeling too guilty after looking at his saddened features. Besides that, the elf still seemed to glow, and his blonde locks were swept back neatly like he had not been tirelessly roaming Direwood forest in search of her. It was only his attire, dusty and dirty, that revealed the elf’s efforts.

"*I am sorry,*" Evanna replied honestly. The realisation then dawned on her that Cedric addressed her with her title and spoke to her in Muranthian. She was not shocked, but this was something she would need to get used to from the elven warriors. "*I had my reasons.. But I am not running now, I was collecting my bag.*"

Cedric nodded in understanding, but he still followed the Princess as though she might really make a run for it. Again, Evanna felt guilt creep into her stomach, but she ignored it and swiftly grabbed her bag, stopping just before leaving the tent again. "*Cedric..*" Evanna looked at him in concern. "*Once we are free from here, you should return home. Your wife is due soon.*"

Cedric smiled gently and bowed his head. "*I appreciate that I do. But I will follow whatever orders his highness gives me.*"

Evanna nodded once and exited the tent, leaving the conversation at that. Wars and conflict kept men away from home, wives without husbands, newborns and children without a father. That decision belonged to Arawn, but she hoped he agreed with her. It was her fault Cedric was here in the first place instead of tending to his wife.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she rushed towards the group of elves, carefully stepping over bodies. Once the men turned to look at her, Evanna realised her friend was not among them. "*Where is Roach?*" She asked before her gaze unconsciously started to search the sleeping bodies surrounding them.

Garrett stepped towards her, his frame much larger than the other elves and all the more intimidating. He sighed. "*Do not worry, Princess. We have ’Roach’,*" Garrett said irritably and flicked his eyes to the side. Evanna ignored the elf’s mocking tone and followed his gaze to the bushes. Anwel stepped out into the moonlight with Ronan slumped against him, his arm over the smaller elf’s frame.

"*When will the effects run their course?*" Evanna questioned as she hurried to Ronan’s side.

"*Cedric, Anwel, stay by her highness’ side, redeem yourselves, and Prince Arawn may spare you of punishment,*" Garrett commanded as he stalked towards them, ignoring Evanna’s question. Before Evanna could question further, the dark-skinned elf grabbed Ronan roughly and threw him over his shoulders like he weighed nothing more than a feather. Anwel stretched his back and cracked his neck before waving and smiling shyly at Evanna.

Cedric clipped him behind the ear. "*You do not simply wave at a Princess,*" He scolded and stood to Evanna’s right. "*And stop blushing!*" He whisper-shouted behind Evanna’s head, making Evanna bite her tongue from laughing.

Now really was not the time to laugh. Two Princes were fighting, a bunch of animating corpses and a camp full of men who would follow her father’s orders to escort her back to Dunhurst.

"*Garrett..*" Evanna stepped forwards, about to question the plan.

Garrett ignored her, signalling to his men before turning away from her. "*Let’s move out.*" The elves he signalled swiftly disappeared, but the Princess knew they were still in the trees, guarding them.

Evanna knew she didn’t have any command over Garrett or the other elves, but Garrett’s behaviour was still frustrating. Yes, there was no time to lose, but he really needed to work on his manners and stop ignoring her.

"*What about Arawn?!*" Evanna rushed to his side and nervously grabbed his arm.

Garrett stopped and sighed, pulling his arm out of her hold irritably. "*I am following his orders, Princess*," he said through clenched teeth. But then his taut face relaxed slightly, his eyes softening. "*Believe me, Arawn can take care of himself. He will be fine.*"

Evanna’s brows rose slightly at this gentleness emanating from the warrior. Maybe his brusque attitude was due to stress?

Evanna’s face also softened as she stared back at him. "*Thank you, for your help,*" She replied, then forced her lips down after seeing the elf grunt and his hard exterior returning as his march turned into a sprint.

"*Let’s go!*" He barked over his shoulder.

Cedric and Anwel clutched at their swords, waiting on the Princess to move. Evanna released her breath and unsheathed her own swords as she started to run into the forest and the unknown that was awaiting them. With the heavy thudding of her heart and the slight chills slithering across her body, Evanna knew she should concentrate on what was ahead of them, but there was still a tiny part of her worrying about Arawn.