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To Steal the Tithe
For as long as anyone can remember, the elves have avoided getting involved in the endless conflict between demonkind and humanity— but they pay a steep price for their immunity, a tithe in souls to keep the demons from their doors. When Keliel’s sister is chosen to be the newest tithe, he finds he can stay neutral no longer. He will pledge himself and his magic to a human if that’s what it takes to find an ally in the fight to rescue her. But human battlemage Tavren Balefire turns out to be not at all what Keliel expected, and their rescue mission will be the start of something much more than a simple working partnership.
Dear Author,
Elves are rare gifts. In distant lands, in a fantasy world where humans and demons are in constant war, this elf is a rare magic creature that, not against his will, prefers to be with a human. Even if it’s against the elves’ rules to take a side in this war.
Of course it’s a forbidden love, of course it must seem like he is not in love, but a possession.
Who is the human the elf is in love with? So in love he decides to risk his own life, going against his own race’s rules?
Photo Description:
A sepia-toned, head-and-shoulders painting of a handsome young elf, looking intently and maybe challengingly at the viewer. His hair is short and tousled, he’s shirtless, and he’s wearing a thick leather collar with one heavy ring at the front.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
Dear Author,
Elves are rare gifts. In distant lands, in a fantasy world where humans and demons are in constant war, this elf is a rare magic creature that, not against his will, prefers to be with a human. Even if it’s against the elves’ rules to take a side in this war.
Of course it’s a forbidden love, of course it must seem like he is not in love, but a possession.
Who is the human the elf is in love with? So in love he decides to risk his own life, going against his own race’s rules?
Photo Description:
A sepia-toned, head-and-shoulders painting of a handsome young elf, looking intently and maybe challengingly at the viewer. His hair is short and tousled, he’s shirtless, and he’s wearing a thick leather collar with one heavy ring at the front.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
34 pages, ebook
First published June 18, 2013
96 people want to read
About the author
Laylah Hunter
28 books57 followers Laylah Hunter is a third-gendered butch queer who writes true stories about imaginary people in worlds that never were. Most of hir work deals with queer characters, erotic themes, and the search for happy endings in unfavorable circumstances.
Hir mild-mannered alter ego lives in Seattle, at the mercy of the requisite cats and cultivating the requisite caffeine habit, and dreams of a day when telling stories will pay all the bills.
Hir mild-mannered alter ego lives in Seattle, at the mercy of the requisite cats and cultivating the requisite caffeine habit, and dreams of a day when telling stories will pay all the bills.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 10, 2014
Offered for FREE from the M/M Romance Group's Love Has No Boundaries Anthology: Volume 6. Thank you too all the amazing authors who participated!
I really enjoyed this, and actually debated giving it 4.5 stars. It's not quite there, but was perfect as a short. Good character and world development without being so complex it felt crammed into a short story. Believable relationship building and the progression wasn't pushed too-much too-fast. Great little fantasy with some smexy sex thrown in for good measure.
July 10, 2013
I quite enjoyed this story. When I read elf in the prompt I first recoiled and had to convince myself to read it. I prefer my MCs with some flaws and not the picture perfectness of elf. But it was a rather enjoyable read, the mage, sorry, the names are gone already, makes up with his flaws to the elf perfectness.
I'd like to read more about these two because, yes, there was desire between them and respect, but no love yet. I would have liked to see how their relationship develops and what will happen after one year and one day, when the elf's pledge ends. So,more please?!?!
I'd like to read more about these two because, yes, there was desire between them and respect, but no love yet. I would have liked to see how their relationship develops and what will happen after one year and one day, when the elf's pledge ends. So,more please?!?!
July 22, 2013
Elves, Mages and Magic...oh my!!! So really a 4.5 star story (only b/c I find present tense difficult to read - my fault!)
What a clever fantasy world has been created here! The implications that blood and sacrifice was the 'normal' way to enhance the magic between elves and mages is very shiver inducing; so it was lovely that Tavren used a different method with Keliel *huge grin*.
I loved how they both came to recognise each other's character and ability, and that a relationship could develop between them. Muriel is delightful, and obviously has hidden talents; the demons could have been a bit more gruesome; but as a measure of Tavren's and Keliel's strength to work together, the battle/fight scene was good.
A lovely, positive HFN ending.....but I WANT to know more!!! Please??
In all honesty, I would love this story to be expanded into a full-length book - just so the world development could be enhanced, a little back-story wouldn't go amiss (when/why the tithe happens? etc); and we could live with Tavren and Keliel for a year and a day just to prove that they will go on forever :)
What a clever fantasy world has been created here! The implications that blood and sacrifice was the 'normal' way to enhance the magic between elves and mages is very shiver inducing; so it was lovely that Tavren used a different method with Keliel *huge grin*.
I loved how they both came to recognise each other's character and ability, and that a relationship could develop between them. Muriel is delightful, and obviously has hidden talents; the demons could have been a bit more gruesome; but as a measure of Tavren's and Keliel's strength to work together, the battle/fight scene was good.
A lovely, positive HFN ending.....but I WANT to know more!!! Please??
In all honesty, I would love this story to be expanded into a full-length book - just so the world development could be enhanced, a little back-story wouldn't go amiss (when/why the tithe happens? etc); and we could live with Tavren and Keliel for a year and a day just to prove that they will go on forever :)
June 18, 2013
I knew it would be good, but I was surprised to find myself giving it 5 stars. I don't normally enjoy stories written in present tense. The language supported the style of the story well, the plot and the world-building were well-structured and a lot of information was conveyed in a very elegant, contextual way.
Definitely worth the read.
Definitely worth the read.
September 5, 2013
I rather liked this fantasy/gay romance short story mainly because, apart from the sex, it reads like mainstream heroic fantasy. It involves the protagonists going on a mission or quest, combatting evil creatures along the way, as well as the use of magic in different contexts and an emerging human/elven friendship (which, being a gay romance, is taken farther than is usually the case in traditional fantasy stories). I liked the concept of a person's magical power or aura being harnessed to channel energy for magical spells cast by a mage, how the extra-sensory perception of the elf was described and how he could share it with others, the way elves can acquire temporary mounts and the notion of an ancient city having a spiritual force of its own.
I also liked the phrase 'the endless winter' (p. 21) to describe what I presume to be a polar region because it makes sense as a description of a place at a time when probably nobody could conceive of living on the surface of a spherical world with freezing cold climates at its poles. In contrast, I disliked the author's use of 'ser' to apparently mean 'sir'. I felt this to be intrusive and added nothing to the story or its world-building. I also disliked the use of the worth 'tithe' as this historically refers to a tenth of one's produce or property value that was given to the church whereas in this story it is used to refer to a sacrificial victim. I think alternative terms like 'tribute', or even 'blood-price' or 'soul-price' (since a person's life is involved) would be better.
In terms of the protagonists' relationship, while the sex is interesting, it seems far too trusting for strangers who have just met (love at first sight aside) and I think
I also liked the phrase 'the endless winter' (p. 21) to describe what I presume to be a polar region because it makes sense as a description of a place at a time when probably nobody could conceive of living on the surface of a spherical world with freezing cold climates at its poles. In contrast, I disliked the author's use of 'ser' to apparently mean 'sir'. I felt this to be intrusive and added nothing to the story or its world-building. I also disliked the use of the worth 'tithe' as this historically refers to a tenth of one's produce or property value that was given to the church whereas in this story it is used to refer to a sacrificial victim. I think alternative terms like 'tribute', or even 'blood-price' or 'soul-price' (since a person's life is involved) would be better.
In terms of the protagonists' relationship, while the sex is interesting, it seems far too trusting for strangers who have just met (love at first sight aside) and I think
July 27, 2013
Delightful fantasy BDSM story in which the power exchange involves actual exchanging of power... like literal power, of the magical kind.
Interesting world, too. I would just have liked to stay in it for longer, and to have seen more of the development of the relationship between the characters.
Still a lovely story.
Interesting world, too. I would just have liked to stay in it for longer, and to have seen more of the development of the relationship between the characters.
Still a lovely story.
January 6, 2014
3,5* upgrade because I would love to read more...
June 17, 2017
4 Stars
This is definitely the month for finding stories that I think should be rated higher than they currently are here at GoodReads...and here we have yet another one. I loved the world-building (just enough to be informative and interesting without overwhelming the story) and the basic plot - as well as the elves/sex-magic tropes!
Seriously, if LH decided to write an entire novel telling of how these guys fought in war the MCs mentioned setting off for, well, I'd totally read it!
This is definitely the month for finding stories that I think should be rated higher than they currently are here at GoodReads...and here we have yet another one. I loved the world-building (just enough to be informative and interesting without overwhelming the story) and the basic plot - as well as the elves/sex-magic tropes!
Seriously, if LH decided to write an entire novel telling of how these guys fought in war the MCs mentioned setting off for, well, I'd totally read it!
August 2, 2017
Mph. I think well-written sex magic is super hot, and Laylah Hunter gets it just right. Admittedly, this story is mostly sex, but that's totally fine by me because it was SUCH GOOD sex. There's a bit of plot in the background, and it's certainly interesting enough that it could easily support a longer story or a sequel, but it's not the focus here.
April 25, 2024
2,5 rounded up. I thought this was an ok story; enjoyable but nothing really memorable. For the most part, it really felt like a part of a longer story, so the world building, as it stands, is rather lacking. The way the story ends left me with too many questions, and to me, that makes it feel unfinished.
November 21, 2017
Very nice
July 12, 2021
I enjoyed the story of a man rescuing his sister with assistance.
One thing that surprised me was when Tavern gasped a curse. I would think that a powerful mage making a curse is a dangerous thing. Did Tavren gasp a swear word? Hmm, swear is an oath. Would he have gasped a word showing his dismay, something which won't carry the weight of his mage power?
One thing that surprised me was when Tavern gasped a curse. I would think that a powerful mage making a curse is a dangerous thing. Did Tavren gasp a swear word? Hmm, swear is an oath. Would he have gasped a word showing his dismay, something which won't carry the weight of his mage power?
January 18, 2022
Not bad. But it took me really long to get into this story and feel the chemistry between the characters.
September 5, 2013
A well rounded story. A sequel would be wonderful. There are questions that could be answered. What will happen after a year and a day? Is Keliel going to tell Tavren that he cannot return to his home? His new home is with Tavren. Keliel's sister 'told' Tavren in my opinion but it want over his head. Muriel the sister as a wonderful side character. Will the demons come seek revenge of having some of them killed and their sacrifice taken away? The war is still raging on. Will Keliel's involvement be the turning point?
August 18, 2013
I really enjoy reading fantasy stories and this one was no exception. It was an interesting scenario with the elf and human mage able to combine and expand their overall power by joining together sexually. Without sounding greedy, I would have loved a little more info about the fantasy world portrayed in the story. I really appreciate this creative addition to the LHNB event – thank you so much!
June 18, 2013
LHNB story released 18.6.13
Interesting short fantasy story of a relationship between an elf and a human mage which comes about through the elf's need for the mage's assistance and power to rescue his sister. I would have preferred to see a little more background/world building.
Interesting short fantasy story of a relationship between an elf and a human mage which comes about through the elf's need for the mage's assistance and power to rescue his sister. I would have preferred to see a little more background/world building.
April 18, 2015
3.5 - I enjoyed this story, the characters, the world building and the romance. Nice interpretation of the photo and the story letter. Thank you Laylah Hunter for donating your story, your time and your talent.
July 8, 2013
I've never read about Elves before so that was very different for me. I'm not really into the 'fantasy' genre but this book caught my interest and was enjoyable. Maybe I'll look a little deeper into the genre and see what else is out there.
June 16, 2015
3.5 stars Good Story, I would like to know more of this world but got enough information to have it be believable. Written in present tense, which is not my favourite as so many don't maintain it properly, but it worked here. Hot sex scenes, good chemistry. Left me wanting more of them.
August 30, 2013
I liked the sex in this short story. I thought it was well done with a good balance of power-dynamic and consent. The characters worked together.
But honestly, it wasn't too memorable an experience.
But honestly, it wasn't too memorable an experience.
June 18, 2013
Great characters, I just wish we could have spent more time with them!
June 19, 2013
This was fantastic! I loved the world building in this and all of the fantasy elements. Great story that flowed very well and one I enjoyed very much!
June 20, 2013
Sweet story!
Love the ending <3
Thank you
Love the ending <3
Thank you
August 7, 2013
Good story. Very well written.
November 4, 2013
3.5 out of 5
event-stories-unread
September 4, 2014[NOTE: I rate most writing event stories (free reads) 4 or 5 stars because of my appreciation of the author's participation.]
October 9, 2014
I quite liked the connection between the elven Keliel and the battlemage Tavren. Would like to see more of these two.
August 23, 2015
3.5 stars
February 7, 2017
Re-read: 01/29/17 ★★★★
June 30, 2013
Quite a good story- I definitely wanted to read more!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews