𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖘𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖓 𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕱𝖆𝖊 𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝕸𝖆𝖊𝖛𝖊, 𝖘𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖔𝖓. 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖔𝖑𝖋.
¦
Rumours of a new young Fae queen drives Brielle to join her brothers in arms, Maeve's legendary warrior group, to aid the young queen in her fight for a better world.
Many years Brielle has fought against the restraints Maeve has around her, but restrained she will be no longer. Because their times has come, Brielle will fight to her last breathe to defend her own, and for their future lives in a new world made by a court of dreamers.
The Heart of the Lioness isn't easily broken, but if she is to succeed, it may shatter before she has a chance to save herself.
Gavriel solemnly watched as the color drained from Lorcan’s face. His onyx eyes fixed on Elide, barely breathing. It was not lost to Gavriel how broken both of them were. Elide in her anger, and Lorcan in his self-loathing. Traveling with both of them over the course of the last few weeks began awkwardly. Each of Lorcan’s attempts to make things right with Elide bit at Gavriel’s conscience. It was not as if he cared for Elide romantically, far from it. He quickly began to see her as a sister, a daughter even, but every time he caught Lorcan gazing at them, every time Gavriel saw the longing in Lorcan’s eyes, it felt like a knife was being sliced through his very soul.
He knew how his former commander was feeling. Had gone through the very same distress and self-loathing when he left Aedion’s mother. I was forced to leave he corrected himself. It had taken Gavriel two decades to begin to understand that, and maybe another century to fully accept it as truth. His thoughts quickly whisked themselves away to his son. Aedion. Would his son one day come to accept him? Or would Gavriel just spend the rest of his immortal existence grieving the relationship they could have had?
Shaking his head, he turned to Elide. The blush on her cheeks had not subsided since their “performance” began. Gavriel had caught how her heart fluttered at the start, frozen in place. Did not miss the way it skipped a beat when he saw her make eye contact with Lorcan from across the tavern. Did not miss the way she was looking at him now. As if they were the only two in existence.
Gently, Gavriel touched her arm as the applause from the crowd finally ceased to exist and all that remained was the sounds of forks on plates and cups of ale hitting wooden tables. “Are you—” He began, but Elide stood abruptly.
“I need to…” She mumbled before she walked off, her limp heavy with each step. With every ounce of grace an immortal could possess, Gavriel went after her. He did not know whether Lorcan watched as he lost himself between the crowd of Fae and humans. His tawny eyes widened when he collided with the Fae male from earlier—Elric—he thought his name was. Well was this not convenient? The male now owed them gold.
Gavriel momentarily forgot about Elide enough to smile at the male. Elric’s pale blue eyes flashed maliciously. “Time to pay up.”
*******
His nostrils flared ever so slightly as he caught her scent and stepped outside. People filled the narrow street as dusk was quickly approaching. From afar, he could hear music and laughter coming from down the street. Doranelle itself is a place of celebration and cheer, and the cities on it’s outskirts were no different. Cutting through a narrow alleyway, Lorcan made towards the forest hoping Elide would not get too far. Lorcan had watched her walk away from Gavriel and out of the tavern in a hurry. Without being able to help himself he followed her out like a dog. He knew he should stay away, knew he should not follow and instead go find his comrade, but the tug he felt would not permit him to do otherwise. The panic that crept into him at the thought of what that connection meant was almost enough to stop his pursuit. For the second time that day, his thoughts went back to the Stone Marshes. The night he thought that he was deserving of some good in his life, a semblance of peace. A form of salvation. Not once in his five miserable centuries did the idea of a mate cross his mind, especially not a human mate. And yet…those two months traveling across Adarlan towards Eyllwe had provided Lorcan with a serenity he never thought he would have.
The night he lost all sense of his control and kissed her had been the day he no longer belonged to himself, but to this wicked, cunning little liar. The electricity that ran through his body the moment his lips touched hers had sealed his fate. The song that begged him to claim her had ran wildly through him. Letting his lips trace prayers over Elide’s mouth had been a type of high that he had never experienced… and one she would never let him replicate again. Lorcan’s chest tightened at the thought.
Stepping into the dense forest, he sent out a tendril of his magic to brace Elide’s ankle. He knew she would likely kill him for it but could not bring himself to care. He felt the moment it tenderly wrapped itself around her. Lorcan would catch up to her in moments if he continued at his pace. He strained his ears, letting his fae hearing assist in keeping track of her. The sun, nearly behind the horizon, seeped the forest of warmth. If he did not collect both Elide and Gavriel and begin their trek west, Rowan would begin to worry.
He found her sitting by the edge of a stream. The memory of their first encounter flashed through his mind. So much had changed since that first meeting. They were no longer enemies that could barely stand to look at one another. Elide was no longer the frail, scared and hesitant young woman she was then, but a woman with the magic of deceit, wisdom and courage of any Goddess or Queen. He was no longer a ruthless, wicked, and vengeful male. No, now he was someone he did not know if he could ever live with. Lorcan had become someone he would deem weak if he met on a battlefield. Elide did not so much as acknowledge him as he hesitantly sat down next to her. Quietly, he watched the stream and listened to the sound of the forest. His hand itched to hold her own.
“Was any of it real?” She breathed.
Lorcan froze at the question. Her first words spoken to him in weeks. Tearing his gaze from the stream, he turned his onyx eyes to her. She refused to meet his gaze, instead looking intently at a wildflower. “Elide—“
“There are moments I wonder what my mother and father would have made of my choices.” I choose this echoed between them. The words she had said to Manon—to everyone— with such certainty. “And whether they would approve of the life I’m living.”
If they would approve of me he half thought to himself.
“I miss you, you know.” She continued, a hitch in her voice. Though she was not looking at him, Lorcan could see her eyes shining. The tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. The sight nearly destroyed him. He was the cause of all of this. Everything was his fault, and there were no gods he could pray to that could cleanse him of his sins. That could erase the betrayal. “I miss speaking with you, working with you, spending time with you, but every time I look at you—”
Without thinking, he reached for her hand and delicately twined his fingers in hers. Lorcan half thought she would slap his hand away, but she allowed the gesture. The moment their hands touched, he felt light course through him. It glowed warm and Holy. That gentle tug towards her encouraging and beautiful like a summer breeze. He could have swore she leaned closer to him and wondered if she could feel it too. “There is nothing I can say that will take back what I did,” Lorcan rasped. He took in her face in the dusk light. Her wild raven colored hair that spilled over her shoulders. Her plump lips that he desperately wished to worship. When his eyes made their way back up to hers, she was watching him intently. “But I will spend the rest of my days trying to amend for it.”
His hand drifted up to place a stray strand of her black hair behind her ear. Lorcan’s eyes never left her own, as he traced his hand across her cheek. She leaned into the touch. Tell her. Tell her how your very souls are destined. He shut the thought out. Telling her about the bond would only make things worse. Elide was better off not knowing. Was better off not being further tainted.
Her nose brushed against his own, their mouths breaths away from one another. Their eyes locked as if entranced. Lorcan stilled, wondering when they had closed the distance between them. That golden string tying them together begged to be heard. It begged them to become one. To accept the bond between them. “Please forgive me,” Lorcan whispered as he brushed his mouth against hers. He felt a tear stream down her cheek and wiped it away with his thumb.
Closing the distance between them, Elide closed her eyes and kissed his lips softly before pulling away. “I can’t.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James is telling hospitals that they would be violating state law if they stop offering gender-affirming c
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday told hospitals that they would be violating state law if they stop offering gender-affirming care for people under age 19 in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at curtailing federal funding for such treatments.
In a letter, James, a Democrat, told health care facilities that refusing to provide the treatments would violate New York’s anti-discrimination laws.
“Regardless of the availability of federal funding, we write to further remind you of your obligations to comply with New York State laws,” her letter reads.
Everyone say thank you to NY Attorney General Letitia James!!!
Quietly losing my mind over the fact that Elon Musk has straight up orchestrated a coup of our executive branch and like....I don't even know what, if any, system we have in place to fix this. Like... He's just taken control of the money and locked out the actual appointed officials. What the fuck.
Nazis are taking over my government, and like, not even just the Nazis we fucking elected! And I'm...making hamburgers? Because somebody has to make dinner? I just feel completely unhinged.
If you're wondering, there is plenty to be done about it, and plenty being done about it already, even if it's not happening instantly in a way you can perceive.
Reblogging because this is an excellent article that both tells you about some of what's being done and breaks it down in a way that will help you understand and think about future action. Please read!
Yo, correct me if I am wrong please, but didn't Hitler rise to power because he promised to fix the German economy and people really liked that so they looked past everything else he was doing??? Like exactly what's happening in America right now???
So many people said they voted for Trump, put a truly evil person in power, because he said he'd fix the economy, and a little voice in my head is going, "Isn't that what happened with fucking Hitler??"
But I've seen no one point that out so maybe I'm miss remembering???????
the rise in misogyny all over the world is literally that frog in boiling water metaphor and i am inwardly screaming at women that pretend it's not happening like girl pls!
