Songs of Loss

Forbidden Love. 
A prophecy to break the fairy courts. 
And a journey that will change everything. 

Compelled by the Map of Forgetting, Lira and Lennox travel with their Atallas to the formidable and mythical Kali’s caves.

As their group navigates the monster-filled cavern, internal conflict and unresolved desires simmer beneath the surface.

With the fate of the fae kingdoms resting on their shoulders, Lira knows the price of victory may demand losses they aren’t prepared to face.

In this heart-wrenching third installment, brimming with sacrifice, redemption, and the enduring power of love, Songs of Loss will hold you captive until the very last page.

I ducked a blow from Orman as the magic from Lira snapped against me. I opened myself to her gentle call and listened with a smile on my face at her discussion of baked goods even as I dropped to roll across the tiles of the courtyard and shadows swept out of me, blocking the view of the small crowd we’d amassed.

The shadows were fucking useless as Orman didn’t need light. His second sight let him follow my actions and even perceive each shift of a muscle, indicating the next move I’d take. It made him indomitable, but that didn’t stop me from trying.

I rolled back onto my feet and jumped onto the edge of a fountain as Orman swung again. My stomach ached along the line of the scar. Sirens at the palace had looked at it and said it healed as much as magic could coax it to, but it may always be somewhat painful due to all the scar tissue.

I refused to believe that. I’d push myself back into shape and have full range again, I just needed… Orman landed a hit and I gasped in a breath and hunched over. My shadows sucked back into me.

Neia sighed from where she sat perched on a low wall with Elisa resting against her shoulder. The moon gleamed beyond them as clouds swam across it. I knew it annoyed Neia that I’d used my shadows because it had no purpose in a fight with Orman and blocked her view. She was bored. We all were after Lira had left with fucking Lennox into the Seelie lands.

Heat rose through me again.

Orman dusted his hands. “You ain’t back to full strength yet, mate.”

“I’ll decide that.”

Orman didn’t jump back into the fight, though. He stood in a circle of torchlight and crossed his arms. “Maybe a rest is a good idea. We can pick up training drills again tomorrow.”

The guards beyond him flicked their eyes to me. Ishir stood among them, his hands folded together. Luz sat on a low part of the roof and swayed their leg back and forth. “Orman’s right, Sai,” they said. “You probably need a rest.”

I turned to scowl at them only to find them smirking at me. They offered me a small nod. There was understanding in their expression. I needed the physical release to work off the emotions that tried to drown me. Lira was gone. She hadn’t just left, but she’d gone right into the heart of our enemy. She’d stepped right back into the court that was trying to destroy elementals like her. And it was because I made it look like I stole her. If they knew she helped with the heist, she’d have to stay here for her safety.

I slammed a kick towards Orman and got a partial hit in before he snapped his arm forward to grab my leg. I whipped my body around to break free of his hold and my stomach screamed. But it couldn’t compare to the pain of having my Atalla, my wife, far away and in danger without being able to do anything about it.

I jumped back up, and Orman bounced on his feet, circling me. “That was a good hit. Act before you think and all that.”

I raised my fists in front of my face. “A bit of elf wisdom?”

Orman grinned as he socked a punch forward. “Nah, mate. You learn that natural as an elf or you don’t make it to adulthood to talk about it.”

I smiled as I ducked his blow and jabbed my fist up. He whirled out of the way. “Did you ever imagine in your training you’d end up kicking a prince’s ass”—I nodded towards the group of guards that had steadily grown—“while his court watched?”

“Didn’t think one damn thing about it.” He dropped into a squat and swung his leg out to knock me off my feet, but I pounced out of the way. “When it comes to fists and sweat, it don’t matter if you’re a prince or a fucking street dog, you bleed the same either way.”

I swiped my hand over my sweat-plastered forehead, wiping over a cut in my brow he’d given me earlier. “That’s the damned truth.”

“I only speak truth, Sai.” He circled me again. “That’s why you tolerate me.”

I ducked another blow and threw a kick which he dodged. The guards had become louder, cheering as we jabbed and ducked. Neia, however, sat perfectly still. She wouldn’t say she didn’t like me continuing to fight, but I could tell. I bounced on my toes and dodged a hit, but then Orman swung around a second time which caused me to contort myself so that my stomach screamed. He slammed forward a third punch, and it landed on my jaw with a crack that silenced the crowd.

I tumbled to the ground then brought my hand up to my face. “Oh, fuck.”

Orman smiled as he offered me a hand to pull me up.

I accepted but scowled at him as I swallowed the coppery taste of blood. “You used my weakness against me.”

My fingers drifted to my side. I didn’t wear a shirt and in the competing cool and warm colors of the light the scar shimmered an odd silvery shade.

“It’s a fight, mate.” Orman sniffed. “Not tea time with the littlest princess. D’ya want me to go easy on you?”

“Never.” I smiled at him even as my jaw throbbed. I thought of Veena—my younger sister and the ‘little princess’ he’d mentioned. She would find this horrifying. It was funny how my siblings had the same parents and upbringing and yet lived such different lives.

Orman chuckled and clapped my shoulder. “Done having your ass handed to you tonight?”

My body shook with exhaustion from the hour of fighting, and I swiped away more sweat. “I think so. I’m going to recover, though, and best you in the future.”

“Not likely.” He walked over to a table we’d set mugs of water on and grabbed a swallow from his before continuing. “You’ve never gotten the better of me before and you’re getting older by the day.”

The guards dispersed as I clasped my mug. “So are you.”

He looked at me from under his eyebrows over the rim of his mug. “I age well.”

“Do I not?”

His gaze dashed to the scar on my waist. “If you didn’t have a death wish, maybe.”

I groaned as Neia and Elisa walked up with Luz on their heels. Neia scowled at both of us. “Get that out of your system?”

I took another swallow of water and then spat blood from my mouth. “For now.”

“Go see the sirens and let them heal you.” Neia placed her hands on her hips. “Maybe actually rest as they’ve advised.”

“I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

“See,” Orman said, “that right there is the reason you won’t age well.”

Luz clucked their tongue. “I imagine your wife would very much like it if you attempted to care for yourself in her absence.”

I groaned but could hear Lira’s voice in my mind discussing the Bhakarwadi. A smile floated to my face unbidden. The next time I saw her—and Goddess help me, I hoped it would be soon—I’d have some of those for her. She’d apologized as if she annoyed me with her updates. I wished I could reply and tell her that hearing from her was the opposite, that every time the warm buzz of magic sprang in my mind, announcing her presence, my heart leapt about.

I’d worried about her constantly. It was a relief that the things she shared so far—complaints about the King, comments on food and clothing, and the odd remark or two about Lennox—were so trivial and her tone remained so relaxed that it didn’t give rise to alarm.

It did, however, leave me restless and distracted. If the drums at the palace sounded the hour and I hadn’t heard from her, anxiety crept over me. Mix that with me trying to figure out the range and abilities of my body after my injury alongside the restlessness of the team and it felt like we sat trapped in a cell rather than the sprawling Prasanna estate.

“I’ll get healed up,” I answered Luz before clapping Orman on the shoulder. “Good fight.”

He squeezed my arm. “Ya’ held your own.”

That was all I’d ever get against Orman, even before the injury. Beyond his magic, the elves had trained him in their elite fighter school. The program was merciless and only the strongest made it through. Orman had graduated top of his group. Aside from his friendship, I always appreciated the strength he brought to our team.

I turned and exited the courtyard to another sigh from Neia. After I let the sirens heal me, bringing everything except the constant ache in my abdomen back to normal and offering me another lecture about rest and being careful until I was fully healed, I strolled back out to the empty courtyard.

🧚 Fairy Courts

💏 Fated Mates

👑 Royalty

💕 Multiple Romances

🏳️‍🌈 LGBT Rep

🫂 Found Family