Not five minutes ago, they’d entered The Enchantments.
Before they did this, on a somewhat gray, blustery day in Wodell, the women stopped them in a perfectly ordinary area of the forest.
Elena, Jasmine and Hera had dismounted.
They’d then walked in a line, though separated about ten feet between them, and they did this humming.
Cass could make out Elena’s lyrical lilt from his place in his saddle.
And he’d been mesmerized by her.
She seemed to be doing naught but striding, and then when they ceased moving, standing, however there was an energy emanating from her that was enthralling.
The hum increased in volume, but it did not take long before all three women arched back, their hair flying, their arms extending behind them, when a stiff wind blew as great rifts formed in the air before them.
Three domed openings some two feet taller than a man on a horse and just wide enough for that horse to walk inside could be seen, like rents in the very air, these rents appearing to separate one world from another.
Cass had lost his breath.
For beyond these openings, as they sat astride their horses on a dreary day in Wodell where the leaves were mostly gone from the trees and the landscape was barren and dull (save the green of the grass that never quite went away in Wodell), before them was bright sunlight shafting golden rays through colossal trees that had leaves bright as shamrocks, others as striking as limes, still others as bold as a parakeet’s breast.
The grass was a sea of emerald and Kelly and apple green.
The dark bark of the trees was a stunning contrast to this feast of verdant green with the only backdrop being a sky of pure blue without even a single cloud to mark its flawlessness.
Cassius realized he’d been sitting in stunned silence, staring at his first glimpse of The Enchantments when Jazz called, “All right, men, ride on and welcome to The Enchantments!”
Rose rode through first, Ian following her through the opening Hera had made.
Mac rode through next, using the opening Jasmine had created, Jazz moving back to swing atop her mare and follow him.
Cass rode through last, tearing his gaze from the view to watch Elena as he passed her on her way back to her mount.
She was grinning up at him.
He shook his head down at her in disbelief at what she had just shown him, and that she was so damned cheeky in doing it.
Once inside, the women took lead, mostly because the men slowed their steeds in order to take it all in.
The openings had closed behind them directly after Hera, Jasmine and Elena rode through.
And Cass had noted instantly, the moment Caelus’s hooves struck enchanted soil, the temperature of the air was at least twenty degrees warmer.
It was not balmy. It was not hot. It was not chilly either.
It was perfection.
“I’m not sleeping with one of them, but I have to admit, that show rivaled the parade in Fire City and I had never seen anything that magnificent,” Ian replied to Mac’s comment. “In other words, I understand what you’re saying. Anything of that marvel should not be enemy.”
Cass turned his attention to Elena’s back.
Her frame seemed more relaxed in the saddle. She was chatting amicably to Hera at her side. And the sound of her voice carrying back to him was beyond lyrical. There was no wariness, no tenseness.
It was poetic.
She felt safe.
She was home.
“What do you think our reception is going to be?” Mac asked.
“I don’t care if we have to ride through a barrage of arrows, just as long as I get to dodge them with this view,” Ian said as answer.
“There won’t be a barrage of arrows, Hadrian,” Mac returned. “Triton is advancing, don’t you know. Peace is at hand. And we’re us. They’ll love us.”
Bloody Mac.
“What I know is that I’d aim a barrage of arrows at any being that might even come close to endangering this realm, I wouldn’t care if they were guests of the queen,” Ian retorted.
“I can’t say I disagree,” Mac muttered, upon which Jazz turned.
“You like it, possum?” she called to Mac, her face bright and her carriage relaxed as well.
“I’m never leaving,” he called back.
She smiled brilliantly at him.
Elena turned in her saddle too, her eyes catching Cassius’s.
She did not say a word.
He still read her expression.
Most especially the challenging grin quirking her lips.
And so, when she dug her heels into Diana, he was already doing the same to Caelus.
Female warrior and steed burst forward.
And the male equivalent chased after her.
Cass’s amazement of the lush, clement surroundings had not paled when he saw his first treehouse, the wide sweep of its steps that started at the ground adorned with the first flowers he’d seen in The Enchantments, and these were as rich and abundant as the leaves in the trees.
The wooden treehouse it led to had several levels, various balconies, blinking diamond-paned windows, and a droopy thatched roof that made it look as if it was from a gnome settlement in Wodell, except crafted for larger beings.
However, Elena did not slow the gallop of her horse, either keen to get home or keen to take him there, so he also could not slow and fully take it in.
Or any of the others they passed, which were not uniform in the slightest.
There were slate roofs and tin roofs painted green and shingled roofs, and tile.
The windows were square or arched or round.
The levels were stacked one on top of the other or had ladders or stairways leading up expanses of trunk to get to the next, or set away, farther down a branch.
Some of the structures were spherical, others square, others a jumble of shapes that fit amongst the tree where it resided.
There were barrels or colorful pots or wicker baskets filled with flowers adorning the ground below or the decks of balconies, or hanging off their railings.
And there were benches and forest stools and swayback chairs also in both places, some around firepits, others set beside meandering streams.
But there was not a single structure on land.
It was visually charming.
It was also, from a defense perspective, incredibly clever.
As they rode, Elena in the lead, Cassius behind her, the others pounding after them, he noted they were receiving attention as Nadirii came out of their homes to their balconies, or appeared on foot or mounted, coming from the trees.
And the sisters watched them ride.
The calls began to sound that he’d heard when in battle with them (as well as at the Nadirii parade at the coliseum in Fire City) as Nadirii upon Nadirii shared their princess was home.
And warned they had visitors.
Cassius had his sword in its hilt on his saddle, his daggers at his belt, another in his boot, but he did naught but keep his gaze on Elena’s back and follow her into what, with the significant increase in treehomes, was clearly the heart of The Enchantments.
He did not expect they’d have any reception but a wary one. Ophelia would see to that.
And he did not think at all about the fact that he, Macrinus and Hadrian were the first Airenzian males to ever be on Nadirii soil.
But if this startling event that made history was going to occur to him, it did not when Elena reined in her mount with Cassius following suit close to the largest and grandest treehome of them all.
And he heard, “Papa!”
His eyes went directly to the sound and his leg instantly moved to swing off Caelus as he saw his daughter’s auburn hair shining in the sunlight while she raced down the steps of the grand treehouse toward her father.
His sole focus his girl, he had enough time to get his boots on the ground, take two quick strides toward her and get into a crouch with his arms extended
before Aelia was in them and he was up, lifting her with him and holding his daughter tight to his chest.
“My darling girl,” he murmured, his face stuffed in her hair.
“My darling papa!” she cried, her arms tight around his neck.
As was their way, for he took pains to make certain she had no idea that moments of preciousness would one day be hard to come by, so you should take the time to savor them when you had them, she pulled away first and demanded to know, “Isn’t this land splendid?”
“It is, indeed, my little beauty,” he agreed.
“They live in the trees!” she cried.
He smiled at her. “As I’ve seen.”
“And everywhere is so green,” she carried on.
“I’ve noted that as well, my darling.”
“And you would really not believe what these ladies can do with their bows and swords and staffs,” she shared excitedly.
He actually would.
“Is that so,” he replied.
“It is! It is so!” she exclaimed. “It’s no wonder they always beat Uncle Trajan.”
He grinned at her. “Yes, they are most fearsome.”
“No, they aren’t. They’re lovely to me,” she contradicted.
“I am most glad to hear that.”
And he was. He would never imagine Ophelia or the Sisterhood would be anything less to his daughter.
But he was still pleased to hear, and see from her behavior, that she had been treated well. And he made note to express his gratitude to Ophelia for that.
“I think it was Uncle Trajan they didn’t like,” she decided. “I was only four when he was gone but I do remember him being in a foul mood most of the time. Unless he was being mean to somebody,” she remarked. “He quite enjoyed that.”
And that was his wee Aelia.
She didn’t miss a trick.
Even when she was four.
She abruptly changed subjects, as was her way.
“Did you get me a present?”
“Are you my dearest daughter?”
She giggled and patted his beard. “I’m your only daughter, silly.”
Before he could reply to that, his body locked when he heard the words she spoke as she carried on.
“No, wait! That’s my new sister!” she yelled, twisting in his arms and pointing to the pretty blonde girl he’d seen with Elena many weeks before. “Her name is Theodora and she can already ride a real horse, not just a pony.” She twisted back to Cassius. “And she’s my friend!”
“Well, isn’t that grand,” he muttered, keeping his emotions carefully in check, for he had not informed his daughter any of this was happening.
Though his gaze sliced to Elena, who was standing not close, but not far.
He saw her eyes on him and she appeared torn between some soft emotion that was strong enough not to let go even though the emotion warring with it was the fact that she was exceptionally angry.
He would know why when she looked away and growled, actually growled, “Mother.”
“She needed to know,” a stately voice came from behind his daughter from a person he could not see, but he knew was Ophelia.
“Do you not think it should be her father who told her?” Elena demanded.
It was at this demand, on his behalf about his communication with his daughter, when Cassius stopped thinking he could fall in love with Elena, Princess of the Nadirii.
Instead he realized that was already happening.
On this staggering thought, Aelia chimed in.
“Hullo. Are you the lady that’s marrying my papa?” she asked Elena.
Cassius froze again.
But he did not do this for long when Elena’s head turned Aelia’s way and the fierce warrior who could split the shaft of an arrow at twenty paces, ride like the wind and fearlessly fight Zees stared at a little, red-headed girl appearing terrified.
At her expression, he burst out laughing.
Aelia studied him quizzically as he put her down but took her hand and led her to his betrothed.
“Princess Elena, I would like you to officially meet my daughter, Princess Aelia of Airen. She likes chocolate pots, detests playing with dolls, started demanding to ride a horse, not a pony, when she was three, she can be a rascal and she is far too intelligent for my sanity.”
He looked down at his daughter and continued.
“Princess Aelia, this is Princess Elena of the Nadirii, the woman who will soon be my wife and your mother. She rides like the wind, something I suspect she will teach you. She can charm Zees with a smile. And her aim is so true with an arrow, she can probably shoot a walnut off your head at one hundred paces.” He paused when he saw his daughter’s eyes light, then warned severely, “But she will not be doing that.”
Aelia looked from him to Ellie, back to her father.
“She is most lovely,” she shared.
“In visage and in heart, my daughter,” he replied quietly.
Aelia looked between them again before she leaned to him and got up on her toes.
“Can she speak?” she whispered loudly.
He bent to his girl and whispered loudly in return, “I believe she wishes to make a good impression on you. I should have told her to come charging into the area making starbursts in the sky with her arrows.”
Aelia’s eyes got large and her whisper turned reverent. “She can do that?”
“She can, indeed.” Cass straightened, put his hand to his daughter’s shoulder and pulled her to his legs, murmuring, “I’m learning Princess Elena can do most anything.”
Aelia turned her gaze from her father to Ellie.
“Will you do that for me?” she asked shyly.
Finally, Elena’s musical voice came forth and it did this as she swept a low bow, saying, “It would be my honor, Princess Aelia.”
Aelia giggled.
Elena lost her fright and smiled down at Cass’s girl.
She turned that smile to her side and called, “No hug for me?”
“Did you bring me a present?” Dora called in return.
“You were in Fire City with me, darling,” Elena reminded her.
“I wasn’t in Wodell with you,” Dora pointed out.
“Hmm…” Elena hummed, looked down at Aelia, then lifted her hand, palm up, as she turned Dora’s way.
She bent to her hand and blew lightly.
From her palm swept a stream of sparkling purple and coral dust that turned green the closer it got to Dora.
And when it was right in front of her, it bloomed into a beautiful tree about three feet tall and two feet wide with lush green leaves that faded to red, then orange, then yellow, and finally brown before they fell from the tree leaving it barren for but a moment before the tree disappeared into miniature doves that wafted away into nothing.
“Golly,” Aelia breathed.
“Showoff,” Jazz murmured from close.
Elena winked down at Aelia before she gave her attention again to Dora.
“Will that do?” she asked.
Dora appeared unimpressed and solidified this impression by crossing her little girl arms on her chest.
“Are you going to leave me behind ever, ever, ever again?” she demanded to know.
It was at that, Cassius was stunned that Elena did not seek her mother’s eyes.
She looked to Cass.
And he was further stunned when she did this not as censure for the decision he made in Firenze as pertained to Dora, but to read the expression he gave her.
Thus, she turned back to Theodora to say, “Maybe. If there’s danger.”
Dora was unsurprisingly not mollified by this answer and thus continued her hostile interrogation.
“Is he sleeping in our treehome?” she asked with a jerk of her head Cassius’s way.
Bloody hell.
“As I told you, Theodora, he is.” Ophelia entered the conversation.
Bloody hell.
“Just you wait, Papa,” Aelia told hi
m excitedly, shaking his leg as she did so. “You get to sleep with the princess in her eyrie. Dora’s taken me there. We play there. It’s all high up in the highest heights of her tree. High. Like the citadel, except, well…nice.”
Apparently, this new situation with her father having a woman in his life was not going to faze his daughter.
At least that was some relief.
Cass grinned at his girl as he heard Mac, Jazz, Ian, Hera and Rose laugh quietly around him.
His grin did not last long when his attention went back to Elena to see she was in a silent contest of wills with her ward.
“We don’t have to—” he began.
“You do. You will,” Elena cut him off not taking her gaze from her girl. “Theodora, are you going to come here so I can introduce you to Prince Cassius?”
Dora didn’t move.
Elena tensed.
Cass was about to say something.
Then Theodora stomped down to Elena.
But she did not allow Elena to introduce her.
In a defiant, but wounded and even perhaps frightened voice, she admitted, “I don’t like being away from you.”
Elena instantly melted (this not at all surprising) and smoothed the girl’s golden hair from crown to the back of her neck.
“I go on patrol all the time,” she reminded her.
“But that’s close,” Dora muttered.
Cassius was realizing, belatedly, even more than he already had, the mistake he made in sending Dora away without letting Elena see to her.
He again was about to say something, take responsibility for his decision, but as if she was attuned to him, Elena’s eyes darted his way and she gave a short shake of her head.
He remained quiet.
“If Cassius and I think it is safe, you and Aelia can come to Prince True’s wedding with us.”
“Really, Papa?” Aelia asked excitedly.
He nodded down to her.
“All right, Dora?” Elena prompted.
“All right,” Dora mumbled to the toes of her moccasins.
“Speak clearly,” Elena ordered gently. “And look at me when you do.”
Dora lifted her head. “All right, Ellie.”
Ellie.
Evidently, hostilities were at an end.
“Now, can I have a hug?” Elena requested.
The Plan Commences Page 46
