by Tiya Rayne
“Assassin,” Avalia calls, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Are you listening to me?”
“I was not.” Avalia sighs and drops her hands from her waist down to her side.
“I said we need a way to figure out who is feeding info to the Dark King.” I don’t answer, instead I walk towards the table in the corner with is array of food and drinks. I pour myself some of the aged rice wine while I think about the problem at hand.
“We feed each member of the council separate information. Whichever information gets back to the Dark King tells us who our traitor is.” I take another sip of the wine, letting it burn the back of my throat. Whenever I think of someone plotting against Lilly I have the urge to kill. Just the thought of her being asleep in the Southern Kingdom without me is making me itch. But, I know Avalia needs me now and I left Augustus in charge of her while I’m gone. Not to mention that creature will scare anyone from ever approaching that room. Even so, the wine helps soothe my irritation and takes away from the blood lust.
“That is brilliant.” Avalia says, walking up to me. She pours herself a glass of wine. “Now, we need to find out what info to feed the treacherous king.” Avalia taps her glass against mine and before taking a sip says, “To the death of our enemies.” I smile and gulp down the rest of my drink. I will definitely drink to that.
Chapter Four
“My Lord, the assassin traced the girl away from here as soon as we arrived.” Hemshire, an ogre in my army says. I tighten my hands in fist at my side. I was so close to having my queen in my kingdom. I close my eyes on the urge to kill every goblin here.
“Where is the goblin king?” my voice comes out in a growl. Members from my army immediately scurry around me trying to find the goblin king. I walk over to the goblin king’s throne and sit down on it. It is considered disrespectful to sit on another king’s throne, but I am the true king of the Locke and I don’t give a shit about this short fucker.
Once again, that bastard Assassin has out witted me. Only a few of my army came back from the battle with Assassin in the woods. It was the perfect set up. They were supposed to ambush the group my bride was traveling with and kill them all while bringing my bride to me. Then one of my men reported that Lilly was not among the travelers and thought that maybe he had sighted goblins in the forest with a new haul. The thought of those cruel little fuckers anywhere near my bride had me livid. I paid the little king a visit myself to assure he understood the importance of bringing my girl to me, unharmed.
“What did you find out?” I ask Phillisius as he appears before me on one knee. I acknowledge the young elf, allowing him to rise up. I like the elf. He is one of the few people I rarely want to kill. Phillisius stands to his feet and fix his tunic as he says.
“The assassin believes he is in love with the human.”
My body tenses so tight my hand crushes the arm of the gold throne. I did not expect that answer. I assumed when I was notified about the assassin’s involvement with my bride, that he was doing this for the sake of the elf queen. How could Assassin be in love with Lilly? He has only known her for a few days. I state my question to Phillisius.
The elf rubs his chin as if lost in thought. “He was there the day the girl was found, was he not?”
“Yes.” In fact he was. Why the hell was the assassin in the human realm at that exact moment? Does his tie go back to Lilly even further than just a few days? “I don’t like unanswered questions.”
“Do not fret, My King, I will find you answers.” I don’t trust anyone but myself, however I knew that I could rest assured in this. Phillisius would do anything to hurt the assassin. I’ve learned that friendship is a weary thing—here one day gone the next. But nothing bonds people like a common enemy.
“I know that you will.”
“I also may have a better suggestion in order to bring our queen home.” Phillisius places his hands behind his back. I sit back in my seat and study him.
“Go on.”
“You see, Dark King, we have been going about this the wrong way. Sending out your army to bring back the human will not work. Not only is it a waste of an army, but you are sending them out to go against Assassin. You and I both know there is no match for Assassin’s blade.” In that I agree. He has been depleting my army faster than I can make them. “I mean, I am the closest thing to him in swords play and even I know I am no match. If you want to take the human from Assassin, you cannot do it by force. It has to be calculated, timed perfectly, and thought out. This will not be a battle of swords, but one of the mind.”
I lean forward in my seat. The elf has a point. I will never get the upper hand on the assassin in a battle. Even many years ago when I slaughtered the assassin breed, it required years of planning and thought. I need the same thing with this. “What do you suggest?”
Phillisius seems to like my interest. I still did not trust the young elf. It is nothing against him, I trust no one.
“Give me time to watch them. I will study his habits, take note of his weak spots, and when the time comes, I will retrieve the human for you.”
So that’s what this is about. Phillisius wants his revenge against the assassin. It is no secret that Phillisius and Assassin’s quarrel started over a female. A female that most men in the Locke had also sampled. She was a terrible fuck, but she could swallow a cock like no other. Allowing Phillisius to be the one to take Lilly could make him reckless, or cause him to injure her in his haste. However, I’ve never been one to keep someone from having their revenge.
I cock my head to the side and watch the young elf. “If I allow this, and something were to happen to my future bride, you do know the punishment would be severe?” Phillisius tenses at my words. Just to let him know how serious I am, I say, “I will lock you in a dream where you will constantly relive the act of the assassin defiling your bride to be in the most vulgar and disgusting ways, and just when you are about to crack, I will hand you over to the bastard himself to finish you off.”
Phillisius visibly swallows and then nods his head.
“I understand.”
“Then it is set. You will bring me my bride. I will continue to woe her in the walking dreams and when you see fit you will bring her to me.” Just then a ruckus is heard at the entrance to the throne room. One of my shifters pushes the goblin king and another goblin into the room. Phillisius steps to my side allowing me to be seen. When the goblin king’s eyes land on me sitting in his throne I can see the burning anger that crosses his face. Perfect.
“Welcome, Gentlemen.” I say opening my hands in a welcome gesture. “I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time.”
“No my king.” Both goblins bow to me, the goblin king, a little stiffly.
“I came to retrieve my bride and I find that she isn’t here. Care to elaborate, Burut?” I call the king by his first name, I refuse to give this little turd any respect.
“It was the assassin. He came here and killed many of my greatest fighters, then snatched the human away. We did all we could to protect the girl and keep her safe.” Phillisius snorts beside me as if he too, did not believe this hideous, fat, coward.
I stand from the overly done throne with its many gemstones. I will never understand goblin’s obsessions with gemstones. I walk down the short steps towards the goblins.
“Do you know what I despise the most in this world?” I ask the rhetorical question without any thought of anyone answering. I stand before the two goblins with my hands behind my back. “I despise liars. No, I take that back. I do not despise liars, I despise people to lie to me. Now this next question I ask you will be a very important one. It will determine if you live or die.” The two goblins look nervously back at me. “Now, did you do all that you could do to protect and keep Lilly safe?”
The goblin beside the goblin king shifts his weight nervously. “She was well protected in her stay here. We made her feel welcomed, it is not our fault that the assassin took her away. We were overpowered.” Burut says. �
��Tell them, Hemrock.” He turns to the goblin beside him.
Hemrock agrees obediently. “Tis true, my Lord.”
I nod my head at the both of them.
“I see, so she was not mistreated or hurt in anyway.”
“Not while she was in our care.” Burut answers swiftly.
I turn my back and walk away from the goblins. On my way to the throne I noticed three drops of blood on the floor. The blood smelled strongly of vanilla, a smell that I know all too well. I bend down to the three smeared drops and the smell of vanilla over powers me and heads straight to my dick.
I only received two gifts from my father, my one dark blue eye and my gift of blood readings. In one single drop of blood I can see and feel everything that the person endured while receiving the wound that triggered the blood. I dip my fingers into the vanilla scented blood of my wife and stick it in my mouth letting her vanilla scent wash over my tongue. I immediately feel her weakness, and her hunger, but over ruling all of that is fear and loneliness. Her last thought before the crack of the whip that sent her to her knees was my name. My wife called out to me and I was not there to protect her. I threw my head back and roared up to the ceiling. The sound is so loud that I’m sure it is heard though-out the Locke. When I get to my feet, I have rage pulsing through my hands. My powers are filling me up so fast that my skin feels as if it is melting.
“You struck the mother of my future children.” I shout at the two goblins that both look as if they were shitting in their pants.
“My lord, it isn’t what you think. She was being difficult…”
“Wrong answer.” I hear Phillisius say beside me.
“Because you lied to me you forfeit your life, because you struck her, you forfeit your people’s life.” My words were the last thing the goblins heard before I cleaned that valley of every single goblin. Only ashes lay in the wake of my fury. Never again will she need me and I am not there.
Chapter Five
I run my hand over the slight swell of my stomach. I’m standing in front of the full length mirror staring at my baby bump. I can’t believe I’m saying that. I have a baby bump. I woke up four days after Assassin rescued me from the goblin’s home in the mountains. Apparently, the farther the distance I trace, the longer it takes to recover. Although, looking at myself in this mirror you would think I’d been sleep for four weeks. My belly has a slight bump to it that was not there before I passed out.
I’m going to be a mother. I know this isn’t the first time I’m discovering this. I realized this two weeks ago when those test had two lines. Seeing the proof of my slight belly is a little startling. Not even being in a mystical world, surrounded by characters from a book, is as shocking as the fact that I’m about to be a mom. I’d never even been around babies. Most girls I knew had babysitting jobs when they were teens, not me. People didn’t trust the half-breed around their precious children. I never even played with baby dolls when I was a kid. Now, someone decided to make me a mother. I sigh.
“I really hope I don’t mess this up.” I say to the presence that just entered the room. I didn’t even have to see him walk in. My body became hyperaware the moment he entered.
“I don’t think you can.” Assassin answers me.
I turn to find him leaning against the bathroom door. Again he is in his battle apparel. There goes those butterflies.
“How can you be so sure?” I try to distract myself from the feeling I get when seeing him. I can’t believe I ever doubted that he wasn’t alive. I don’t think anyone can defeat this man.
“What if I don’t have what it takes to be a mother? What if I’m not good enough to be the mother of your future Kings?” I bury my face in my hands as all my fears pour out of me.
My day started so much better than this. I woke up feeling refreshed and relieved. I was paid a visit by all my friends, including Laya and Hugan—the old gentleman I was captured with and his granddaughter. I was even happy that Mogo had been taken care of while I was knocked out. Then after a long hot shower, I noticed that my stomach seems to have grown over night and the realization hit that I’m about to be a mother in a world that I knew nothing about.
Assassin grabs my hands and pull them away from my face.
“Look at me.”
My eyes find his sparkling gray ones. He is standing in front of me, I didn’t even see him move. His sandalwood and spicy scent circles me.
“You are more than “good enough”, and no one that has paced in front of that bedroom door for the last four days waiting for you to wake, would think otherwise. Everything you have done so far, has proved that you are more than ready to be a mother.” His words were so simple, but spoken with so much conviction that it made me feel as if I could do anything.
I crack a smile, thankful that he knew what to say to ease my nerves.
“I guess I shouldn’t be freaking out just yet. I mean, I still have about seven more months before I have to worry.”
The smile slips from Assassin’s face. “Not quite. You are carrying Immortal beings. Gestation is a little under 30 weeks.”
“30 Weeks!” I shriek in disbelief. “Are these kids part dog? That’s only about 4 months away. I’m almost half way finished with this pregnancy?” I could feel the hysteria rising inside of me like a tide.
“It’s not exactly half. More like a quarter of the way.” He says with a shrug.
I cut my eyes over to him with deadly intent. Really?
Assassin laughs out. “Relax, Lilly. No matter If the boys come tomorrow or in four months from now, you will be ready. And I will be here to help you all the way.”
I finally smile. Assassin seems to have the ability to calm me with only a few words. Maybe it won’t be so bad. Especially if I have someone like Assassin backing me. Also, the sooner my boys come, the sooner I can go home.
“Thank you!” I say to the handsome man that still causes butterflies to take flight in my stomach.
“You are welcome,” He steps away from me and turns to acknowledge the golden faucets and marble counter tops in the guest bathroom.
The Southern Kingdom is the most like the real world that I’ve seen so far—at least as far as building supplies go. None of that magnificent Crystal like in the Elf kingdom. Nothing but Marble counters and, Stone walls, Gold and Silver accents, and rich plush fabrics. The Southern Kingdom is what I pictured a castle should look like. Just from what I’ve seen this morning there must be thousands of people employed in this place.
“Are you happy, Lilly?” Assassin’s voice brings me from my thoughts. For the first time his voice isn’t that strong demanding tone that it usually is. He sounds unsure or maybe scared. I didn’t like that tone coming from him.
I cock my head to the side inquisitively, “Why do you ask?”
He turns to me and cross his arms over his chest. Causing the definition in his broad shoulders and sculpted arms to stand out against his shirt.
“You were taken by the Goblins. Abused.” His finger trails over my jaw that once held a large scar where I was struck by Hemrock’s whip. “Do you feel as if I have failed you?”
I’m left stunned. How could he even ask that? If not for him I would be in the hands of the Dark King by now. Not to mention the other times that he has saved me.
“I’ve felt fear on more than one occasion. At times, I feel lonely and I constantly feel over whelmed. But not once have I felt that you failed me. In fact, when I’m with you I feel…” I pause, realizing I almost reveal too much. He doesn’t need to know that he makes me feel as if I somehow belong to him. I’m shocked at the realization of my thought. It’s hard to wrap my rational mind around that, but it is true. I feel a connection to Assassin that goes deeper than anything I have felt with anyone else. Ever. But, though my heart is convinced that this is a normal emotion, my head knew how absurd this sounded. So, instead of telling him that, I say instead. “Safe.” That sounds a lot better than what I wanted to say—less desperate and creepy at le
ast.
I have no right to feel the way I do about Assassin. And I don’t want to make him uncomfortable around me by admitting that when I’m around him I feel like I’m floating. Like my feet aren’t touching the ground. It is a alien feeling to me. I have no idea why this man makes me feel that as long as I’m with him, nothing bad could ever happen to me—especially since plenty bad things has happened to me so far. But it isn’t in a literally sense, it’s a mental safety.
I clear my throat before I speak again. “I trust you, Assassin. You, Avalia, Miriam, Augustus and even Mogo.” I laugh at the mention of my Giant friend. “You guys make this bearable.” I speak truthfully.
I never had friends growing up. I didn’t meet Alice until I was 19 and working at the diner. I’ve met more friends in my few days here than my entire life back home. It feels amazing to have people care for you that aren’t related to you.
Assassin takes my hand in his, his massive hand swallowing mine, and squeezes briefly before releasing.
“Come on.” He says and I’m glad to hear that cockiness back in his voice. I smile up at him as I let him lead me out of the bathroom. “We have a lot to do today?”
“Like what?” I ask skeptically.
******
“Absolutely not. I will not climb on that beast.”
After a private breakfast that I shared with my team of guards and Mogo, I was quickly ushered out side by Assassin who believed that I would actually attempt to ride the white Stallion again.
We are in a large wooden stable. The smell of hay, fresh cut wood and horse manure surrounds us. There are many stalls in this barn, all full of beautiful horses. However, Assassin passes by all the other horses that look friendly and takes me to the white stallion that is still mocking me with those glassy black eyes.
