"WE SHOULD really go see Kyle," Andorra murmured against a very sleepy Nohx. She was draped across his body, her head tucked under his chin, one leg in between his. At the mention of Kyle, his arm tightened around Andorra's body protectively. Perhaps a little bit possessively.
"I don't see a reason why we should," he said in rebuttal. For one thing, he was entirely too comfortable lying in bed with Andorra in his arms. He would pinch himself to see if he was dreaming, but he didn't have to. It was real. She was real, and in his home, and in his life. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, just because he could.
In response, Andorra pressed a kiss to his bare chest. She ran one hand up his side, marveling at the fact that they were both there, in one bed. In the bed where Andorra had been in his arms, trying to meditate. The very bed in which she realized just how much she wanted to kiss him.
In the same bed where Nohx read their silly little high english class book to her in hopes that it would wake her from the Rabium Bellua.
"We need to. Besides, your mom said some interesting things about how him messing with my memories could include him restoring some of my missing memories." Andorra stretched against Nohx, loving the way his arms caged her against him, almost as if he never wanted her to leave. She leaned up, looking him in the eye. "Also, his time is limited. And I really don't want to be the cause of his death."
Nohx watched her, watched the way the harsh winter sunlight gleamed against her golden hair, watched the way her lips curved into a smile just for him.
He pressed a kiss against her bare shoulder. "You're too good for this world."
"I'm too human, you mean." But she wouldn't change that about herself. "C'mon. You can play bodyguard in case he erases my memories completely."
"I'd rather play boyfriend." He kissed her shoulder again, and then lazily made his way up her throat. "Hmmm, or maybe husband? Yes, I'd prefer husband, I think."
Andorra let out a little giggle. Nohx, her boyfriend. He already was, in every sense of the word. But husband? Her stomach erupted into butterflies of the thought of him at the altar, watching her with his blinding eyes. The way he would look in a suit, with her ring on his finger.
"Do fae have husbands?" She was having a hard time thinking as he began to nibble on a sensitive spot under her jawline. "Aren't they called something else?"
"Human heart, human traditions, why stop there? We might as well keep going with a human wedding. A human marriage." He moved on from her jaw and found her lips. "Besides, you have a guard named Callum who will happily play bodyguard. You don't need me there for that; Callum will kill Kyle himself."
Andorra sat up completely, moving out of Nohx's kissing range. "I want you there when my memories come back."
His hands found her hips. He gave her a gentle squeeze. "Then I'll be there."
"Let's get dressed so we don't give Kyle a show, hmmm?" Andorra tried to slide off of Nohx, but he held her tightly, flipping them both over so she was under him. He leaned down to give her another kiss, a deeper one, and he took his time. He preened under Andorra's soothing touches against his scalp as she ran her hands through his hair.
When he finally had to pull back to breathe, he gave Andorra a satisfied smirk when he saw the way her face reddened with a blush and her pupils dilated. She leaned up to continue the kiss, but Nohx gently pushed her back against the pillows.
"Sorry, we really should get going. No more kisses for you, especially after suggesting we go see Kyle naked. Kyle will never, ever get to see you like that."
Andorra tried to give Nohx a little playful slap, but he caught her hand before pressing a kiss against her palm. Then, Nohx slid out from under the blankets, moving towards the dresser of clothing. Andorra was content to stay in bed and watch as Nohx rummaged for clothes.
My soulmate, she thought to herself. My Noah.
He tossed a shirt and pants to her in the bed. "As much as I love seeing you in our bed, we need to go. There are idiots to save and all that. Idiots that absolutely don't deserve it."
Andorra grinned. "Yes sir."
By the time the two of them were dressed and ready, Andorra felt a little more sobered. What they were about to do, it was dangerous. It could result in Andorra losing her memory entirely. It could result in losing everything.
Nohx could read the change of thought on her face. He reached for her hand and gave it a long squeeze. "It's going to be okay, Andy. I promise."
She wanted to believe him. And she knew that she could; Nohx was never wrong, it seemed. "What if he erases all of my memories? What's our next step going to be?" Her voice was anxious, and she felt reduced to the old version of herself. The one she thought she had long shed. "I don't want to forget you."
Nohx ran his knuckles down Andorra's cheek softly. "If he erases your memories, I will search all of Anlithamy until I find another fae who can alter memories. And if I cannot find one, well, I'll just have to make you fall in love with me again." His smile was soft and gentle. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But I'm not worried about having to do that."
"Kyle is unpredictable." Andorra nibbled on the edge of her fingernail. "What if he's so mad that he just... takes it all?"
"Then Callum will kill him." Nohx shrugged. "And when Callum is done, Obe will probably incinerate his body. And finally, when all is said and done, I will bring you home and we will restart. Just like this time when I found you, and you had no recollection of who I was. Painful for me, yes. But I'm not worried."
Andorra swallowed the fear that was sliding up her throat. She squared her shoulders and gave Nohx's hand a tight squeeze. "You better not be mean to me this time around," she barely choked out as she pulled up the gate to the in-between. "Be nice, right from the get go."
Nohx let out a loud, surprised laugh. "What, you didn't enjoy our witty banter and your complete hatred for me?" His tone was teasing, lighthearted.
Andorra was too focused to navigate them to the castle to shoot him a dirty look.
When they stepped out from the in-between, right in front of Callum, he flinched. Then, he rounded on Andorra with a burning anger that should have caught the hallway on fire. "Are you insane?" he barked at her.
"Hi. We're going to visit Kyle," she said in response. "Care to come?"
"That's it? You run away from the castle and disappear for an entire day and night, and that's all you have to say?" He was seething, nearly foaming at the mouth. "When I tell you Andorra that I-"
"Callum, breathe. If I was dead, you would know." She raised her eyebrow at him. "I was visiting the Prophet, who doesn't like you and wouldn't have let you come with. And then I ran into Nohx." She looked up at the man in question, smiling at him.
Callum narrowed his eyes when Nohx smiled back, small and secretive. Then, he eyes honed in on the hand holding.
"Are you... are you going to announce to the entirety of Anlithamy that you're courting out of the caste? Because that is a whole different can of worms to open right now when we're on the brink of war with the Spring Court, and there is an enemy in our castle, in case you have forgotten!"
Andorra went to drop Nohx's hand, but he tightened his hold on her, anticipating that she would react that way. Instead, Nohx held a frigid smile on his face as he leaned towards Callum. "Are you suggesting that your Queen can't handle a little bit of caste gossip? Or that she can't handle the Spring Court herself?"
Callum glared at Nohx. "What happened to you being so indifferent about her?"
"I've never been indifferent about Andorra. And you should watch what you say when you already understand what relationship we have."
Callum stared at Nohx. Challenged him to say it. He remembered what Oberon had said months ago about Nohx and Andorra being just like he and Win. It had Callum saying nothing more as he led the way to the basement, to the cells that kept Kyle trapped.
By the time they opened the dungeon door, Andorra could smell the sickness in the air. Kyle was lying down, barely moving, but she was relieved to see him still alive. He barely stirred at their entrance, either too much in pain to move, or knocked out unconscious.
Callum kicked the cell. "Wake up," he barked at Kyle.
Kyle barely moved his head, but he did let out a long groan. Andorra moved forward, squatting down. "Kyle, I'm prepared to give you what you want."
Those words did have Kyle moving. He lifted his head to blink up at her, wincing against his own pain as he pulled against the cuffs he wore. Something shone in his eyes that had Andorra feeling guilty for waiting this long.
But, then she thought about last night, and how much she loved Nohx, and she forgot her guilt. "Yes. But there is one caveat to how it's going to go."
Kyle opened his mouth to speak, but he gurgled instead. Slumped over again, letting out a moan of agony. Andorra had to pinch her lips together to keep from asking if he was alright. Instead, she motioned for Callum to unlock the cell door.
"You're sure?" Callum said. She still hadn't told him the plan. "This could go really poorly."
"You have my full permission to kill Kyle if he erases my memories," was all Andorra said in response as Callum unlocked the door. He seemed pleased by that instruction, a grin covering his face.
Kyle, however, jerked at that threat. "I'll take a small one," he promised weakly. Callum was the one who moved into the cell and unlocked the cuffs. He kept his hold on the summer fae though, refusing to let him run away.
"Not even a small one, Kyle. You're going to give me my memories back."
The blindfold Kyle wore was the only thing keeping him from stealing it all from her. She felt the kernel of fear in her gut, but she pushed it away. If this was it, if she lost it all, then so be it. She trusted that Nohx would fix it for her. Trusted that Callum and Oberon would keep her safe.
"Not possible. The promise said I had to control and manipulate your memories."
"Yes possible. I went to the prophet, and she told me that you could fulfill the promise by returning my lost memories. That is your only task. Should you erase anything, you will be killed. If for whatever reason restoring my memories does not work, we will try something else."
Kyle said nothing for a long moment. Andorra worried that perhaps he had succumbed to the pain and blacked out, but he was standing. She didn't want to rush him, and so she didn't say anything else that would ruin her chances of escaping unscathed.
"Okay, we'll try it."
Andorra moved to remove the blindfold. She paused as she touched the scrap of fabric. Softly, she said to him, "I'm trusting you, Kyle. I'm trusting that you'll make the right decision. I'm trusting that the boy I liked once upon a time still exists."
Then, she let the blindfold fall.
Kyle's brown eyes met hers. She held fear in the palm of her hand as if it were a tiny bird. She felt it flutter, felt it try to take flight, but she held on tightly. She didn't let it consume her as Kyle stared back at her, and it terrified her, because she felt nothing. She couldn't feel him in her mind, couldn't feel him rummaging through her memories, nothing.
And if this was part of his powers, it was terrifying. Because how could one learn to fight against this if it felt like nothing?
"Are you..." she trailed off.
"Yes. Trying to. It's not easy." Kyle's voice was strained and weak with pain. She could see it in his eyes alone just how much agony he was in.
And then, she felt it. Something was tickling the edge of her memory. As if it was on the tip of her tongue, and Andorra tried to grasp it. Tried to remember what was clearly there, but skirting her hold.
It was flimsy, but she grabbed hold of it. And then, she was pulled into a memory.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't change their minds." Noah was holding her hands, and he was crying. Andorra looked over, behind his shoulder, and she could see there was a maid standing by the back door of the house she had always known. Her home.
"They're gonna send me away?" Andorra's voice was small. She looked back at Noah, noticing how dark his eyes looked, and she knew. She knew that her leaving was hurting him like it hurt her.
"They won't let you stay, no matter how much I tried. I'm sorry, Andy." He let go of her hands and instead pulled her tightly to his little body, squeezing her so tightly she felt like she couldn't breathe. "I don't want you to leave."
Andorra felt her own eyes burn as she hugged him back. Her best friend, being ripped away from her. "I don't wanna leave, Noah. I'm scared!"
The two of them stood there, holding onto each other, crying. Andorra wasn't sure how long it had been before hands were gently pulling her away from him, away from the boy she loved to play with. Her best friend. "Noah!" she cried, reaching for him.
But, he couldn't reach back. It was his own mother that was leading Andorra towards the house now. Her gentle face looked down at Andorra with pity and perhaps guilt. "I'm sorry, Andy. We're going to find you a lovely new home, okay? You'll be safe."
Andorra didn't care about a new home. She didn't care about safe. She twisted back to look at Noah as he stood there in the backyard. He was watching them, his face crestfallen.
"I'll never forget you!" Andorra screamed back to him. "I'll miss you so much!"
Noah watched and watched. And as his mother ushered Andorra into the house, he screamed back to her. "I'll find you! I promise, I'll find you Andy! And I'll bring you back home!"
Andorra reached for him one last time before the back door was shut, severing them from each other completely. Andorra cried loudly, as all children do. She was wrestled into the study, the room she hated the most because there in the large leather chair sat Bazile.
The man she hated. She didn't want to stand before him, and she fought his gaze as he watched her.
"Hold her still," he demanded his wife. His own hand came to grip Andorra's chin tightly. He stared into her eyes, glaring at her in a way that frightened Andorra. She had no choice but to meet his gaze.
"You will forget my son. You will forget everything. And then, when it's time, you will bring my people back into Anlithamy. Where we belong. Do you understand?"
Andorra trembled. "I won't forget Noah!" was all she could cry in response.
"You will forget him, since I can't seem to make him forget you." And then, as Bazile stared into her eyes, he took everything from her.
Andorra stared back, the husk of a girl. She blinked, unaware of everything, including who she was. Where she was.
She closed her eyes, falling asleep immediately. Bazile stood from the chair, grabbing her limp body and threw her over his shoulder. "Let's go. The human family won't be so easy to manipulate for much longer."
Bazile carried Andorra out of the building. Tossed her body in the backseat of the car. He got into the driver's seat, his wife in the passenger side, and then he drove.
Andorra didn't stir. Didn't wake. Didn't move as they drove to the tiny hotel on the outskirts of town. He had already spied the family that would take Andorra. Had already made their memories pliable. He had already set the trap.
When it was all said and done, Andorra was asleep in the hotel room bed beside two brunette adults who had no clue their birth child had been stolen into the night. They had no recollection of their birth child and what she looked like, or what her name was. Instead, when they woke, they would remember Andorra as their own blood.
Meanwhile, Bazile drove back to their own home, a human child in the backseat. Only, Lithe would never forget her parents or who she was. She stared out the window, wide eyed and terrified as her entire life was stolen from her.
Andorra blinked out of the memory. Blinked up at Kyle as he closed his eyes, cutting off their connection. And Andorra, she felt them. Felt her memories, right there in the back of her mind. Almost felt overwhelmed with the fact that she could remember. That Bazile had been the one to steal everything from her.
She stepped back. Her legs felt weak, like jello, when she turned to look at Nohx.
He was right there, hovering but not touching her. "Andy?"
"I think I remember it all," she whispered. "Your father stole them. My memories." She touched her temple, as if to recall everything all at once. "He said he couldn't make you forget."
Nohx was still. He was very aware that Kyle was still in that room, and was listening in on their conversation. "He couldn't. It didn't work on me."
Andorra turned back to Kyle, watching as his dark eyes found hers. She nodded to Callum, a silent instruction, and Callum released Kyle.
Kyle rubbed at his chest. "It's gone. The pain, it's completely gone." His voice was full of wonder and surprise. He looked back at Andorra, taking in the girl that he had nearly destroyed for his own gain.
"You came back for me. Why?" He couldn't wrap his head around why Andorra would do that. But the Queen always seemed to surprise him. When he first met her, she had been surprisingly insecure and quiet. And now, she was neither of those things, but her kindness was still there. Her kindness had saved him.
"You didn't deserve to die like that. And, I'm not like you, Kyle. I don't seek the death of others. And I don't want to see their lives destroyed. I don't trust you, but I never wanted to see you dead like that."
There was a long silence that stretched between them. Kyle couldn't understand how a person could endure what Andorra had, and still show mercy. He wouldn't have done the same thing if it had been reversed.
"Don't think that just because Andorra won't kill you, I won't." Callum's voice was dark and threatening. "Don't get any funny ideas, or else you'll find yourself six feet under. Got it?"
Kyle found himself nodding. The son of Prince Puck was not the kind of enemy Kyle wanted to make. He took a step away from Callum, eyeing Nohx. "What? No parting comments from you?"
Even after everything, Kyle couldn't stop hating Nohx.
Nohx just smiled back. "What is there to say? I got the girl, I got Anlithamy, and I got my Clan. I think I'm miles ahead of you, don't you agree?"
Kyle didn't want to say it, but he did agree. Nohx would always be ahead of him, and it was a bitter realization. No matter how far Kyle went, it would never be far enough. Never be prestigious enough.
He tilted his chin. "You're right. And I'm not trying to fight. I just want to lie low and live."
"What, afraid we'll bite?" Callum chuckled behind Kyle, but it wasn't kind nor was it in jest. Kyle flinched away from the shadow fae in fear.
"Kyle, here's what happens. We all think it's best for you to return to the Summer Court. Reunite with the Sun Clan. Live your life there, away from me. Find your own version of happiness."
Kyle flinched a second time. His mouth was dry with disappointment. He couldn't return home, he couldn't. Not when he had finally made his father proud. A healer in the Royal Castle. A title that he didn't deserve, but a title that brought pride to his family.
"Please. Don't make me leave. Being here makes me happy."
"You being here is not safe for the Queen, which is something you brought onto yourself, by the way." Callum crossed his arms. "It's not an option. You're going back."
Kyle couldn't fight Callum. Wouldn't fight Callum. Instead he looked Andorra in the eyes. "Please don't make me go back. I swear, I'll heal and that's all I'll do. I won't be a danger to you. Besides, I could help you! I could help you train how to block fae like me from stealing your memories."
It was a good trade off. Andorra weighed it for a moment, but Callum scoffed and Nohx placed a warning hand on the small of her back. Pushing her to make a decision.
She tilted her head up, just a fraction. "Any training we do, it'll be with my trainer Vulara. You will join us, and if you do anything, Vulara will destroy you. Understood."
"Andorra," Callum warned, his voice a low growl. Even Nohx's hand felt freezing against her back in disappointment. But her gut was saying that this was worth looking into. And if Kyle was her enemy, then as least she was keeping him close.
"We don't need any more strays!" Callum protested. But it was already done. Kyle nodded quickly, thankfully, and then he excused himself. But, Andorra didn't have time to fight with Callum, so she didn't.
"I'm going to my room. If you have any disapproving thoughts about this decision, remember who is Queen here." She raised her eyebrows to Callum and to Nohx, and then she followed Kyle up the stairs.
Both men were smart enough to stay silent as they followed her.