He heard Max explain it to him as he wiped tears from his eyes and finally managed to really stop laughing. He felt lighter. He’d forgotten how a good laugh could help. He felt almost immediately guilty. Atreyu was probably being tortured somewhere, and here he was laughing over a slightly dirty joke. “So. That’s basically how the entire day went. Except imagine it being two armies. And no joke at the end.”
“Extremely productive then.” Mor rolled her eyes. “So, what are your ideas to break this down?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. We’re both set in our ways.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes.
“Arthur?”
“My rose, I am also at a loss. Ben is right. My army is set in their ways and arrogant. They believe nothing can touch them.”
“And the Fae refuse to believe the Dragons may have something to teach them.”
“See? Look at that. You can work together.” Her voice was snarky as she looked between the two of them.
“Yes, dear.” Arthur rolled his eyes and then grinned. “We promise to play nice tomorrow.”
“Good. Make it work and you just may get to play nice with me tomorrow.” She grinned, and then frowned.
“What’s wrong, love?”
“It feels - wrong - to be sitting here having fun when Atreyu…”
Sebastian picked up her hand and kissed her palm. “Darling, we all know what Atreyu is like. He’d have been mad at you for not making that joke. And you know damn well he’d be mad at you for not getting some.” He waggled his eyebrows, making all of them laugh.
Ben wrapped his arm around Mor’s shoulders. “We’ll get him back. Adair should be back sometime tomorrow and we’ll make a plan.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.” Mor leaned into Ben.
“No one thinks it’s going to be easy, sweetie.” Reaching across the table, Max squeezed Mor’s hand. “But we’ll figure it out. Ben’s gotten us out of some tight spots before.”
“None of those spots involved a crazed mage from another dimension, though.” She sent him a pointed look.
“True. But what about that time we were captured by that ogre? Or the time we were poisoned by a witch. Or the time - “ Sebastian was grinning at Ben.
A smile cracked on Ben’s face. “Alright. It’s been some tight spots. This one is definitely the worst, but we’ll get there.”
“Any ideas?” Mor asked, her voice hopeful.
“I have a couple, but I don’t want to speculate too much just yet. We have to wait for Adair.”
“I know. I just want him back.”
“Come, my rose, eat some dinner. It’s been a long day for all of us. We need to get to bed so we can be ready to go tomorrow. Ben and I need to get the armies in order. And hopefully, Adair will be back.” Arthur said.
Mor frowned. “I’m worried about him. How did Selina know to imitate him? What if he’s captured too?”
“I was worried about that, too, but Isabella is in contact with him periodically. He checked in just about an hour ago.” Ben squeezed her shoulders.
Mor heaved a sigh of relief.
“Make sure you tell us if you’re worried about something. We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us, love.”
Mor nodded, and they all went back to dinner.
Ben tried to keep the talk at the table light. He didn’t want Mor to feel any more pressure than she already did. She’d spent the day arguing with the few high ranking Fae here. Amelia was being difficult, her mates were following her lead. On top of that, the other ranking Fae wanted to deal with Boris rather than fight. Or they thought she wasn’t qualified and should step down so someone (whoever was lecturing) should take charge while she sat her pretty little self down. Which of course went over so well with Mor. Sebastian told him quietly while Max and Arthur were distracting Mor.
Apparently their queen wasn’t taking any shit. She had put them in their place, and when they argued she threatened to put them on latrine duty without magic so they would really be cleaning up shit.
She’d apparently been grumbling under her breath about banishment, but Max had talked her out of that. He knew she was angry with herself for not realizing Atreyu was missing, but he was worried about the pressure she was putting on herself. They all were feeling guilty, and they for-fucking-sure had messed up. But Atreyu should have known that Adair wouldn’t have pulled him away from everyone.
It didn’t really matter in the end. They needed Mor to keep her shit together, and they needed to get Atreyu back. As soon as they were done eating, Max and Sebastian took Mor up to their suite.
Ben sent Arthur a little pulse, asking him to stay. They needed to work their shit out before tomorrow. “So.”
“So.” Arthur got up from the table and went over to the sideboard to pour himself a drink. “You asked for this little meeting?”
Ben glared at him, opened his mouth to snap, then pulled back. “That shit isn’t helpful, Arthur. You know we need to settle this.”
“How do you suggest we do that? Whiskey?”
“Might as well.” After Arthur handed him his drink, Ben said, “Look. We all know you and your Dragons are older. We know you haven’t been attacked in years. And some of that is due to the reputation of your skills, but some of that is because you all turn in to fire-breathing dragons. And who the fuck wants to fight that? But in this battle? You won’t be able to just fly over the enemy and burn them. Most of their army is made up of conscripts from Water and Fire. Innocents.” He let that sink in. As Arthur’s eyes grew wide he continued, “Mor would never forgive any of us if we attacked without mercy.”
“Fuck. I didn’t think of that. That means most of our shifting won’t really be useful.”
“Can any of you partially shift? Like, I don’t know, breathe fire in your human form? Walk through fire in your human form?”
“Breathing fire as a human is a skill that only the strongest of us have. As for walking through fire, we can all do that.”
“What about combat as humans? Hand to hand? Swords?”
“We train in that as well, but most of us haven’t had a real combat experience in centuries outside of the odd challenge.”
“Well, at least most of the Fae have real experience. Most of us went to the human realm and fought in their wars.”
“Why would you do such a thing?” Arthur looked disgusted.
“Boredom. Wanting to make a difference. Some of us just like to fight. A lot of them haven’t felt comfortable in Fae since the royal family disappeared, or so I’ve been told.” Ben shrugged, “Either way, it’s kept us in shape.”
“So tomorrow, what do you suggest we do?”
“Pair them off and make them train. Hand to hand. Swords. Bows. Whatever. But make them train together so they can really see what the other is capable of.” Ben took a long drink of his whiskey. “But to start it out - we fight first, where everyone can see.”
Arthur laughed and downed his drink. “That just may work. It’ll certainly be fun kicking your ass.”
“That’s what you think, Pendragon. How long has it been since you were in a fight?”
“I train every day!”
“I didn’t say train - I said fight. Because I won’t be holding back on you.”
“We’ll see about that, Fae. You may be surprised at my skills.”
“I guarantee you won’t see what’s coming for you tomorrow.”
Arthur laughed, “Now I’m looking forward to this. We’ll lay the ground rules before we fight. No shifting, non-lethal magic only, no fire, otherwise no holds bar?”
“Agreed. This is going to be fun. I’ll get to kick your ass and Mor can’t yell at us.”
“Have you been wanting to kick my ass?”
“All. Fucking. Day.”
“Huh. I wanted to kick yours all day, too.”
“Well look at that, we agreed on something today. Cheers to that.”
Downing his drink, Ben stood. “I’m going to head u
p. Tomorrow is going to be a long fucking day between fixing the shit with the armies and Adair coming back.”
“Probably a good idea. I’m going to check in with Morgana and then head to bed.”
Setting his glass down, Ben stood with a stretch. “See you in the morning, Pendragon.” He walked out with a smile. If nothing else, at least he’d get to beat his ass tomorrow.
Chapter 3
Mor
Morning. Why were they waking her up this early? The sun was not up. Fuck. She groaned as she sat up. Adair should be back and they could really start planning how to get Atreyu back. She still felt as if she was missing a limb. Mor’s guilt was heavy on her and she’d been hiding it from her other mates. She hadn’t been able to get through to Atreyu since he’d been taken. And she had spent every spare moment, and most she couldn’t spare, trying to reach him yesterday. She just hurt all the time.
As soon as she got some coffee in her, she’d blow off the rest of the shit she was supposed to be doing today and find Morgana. Because honestly, if she had to deal with one more piece of shit high ranking Fae trying to claim that she should put them in place as regent? She’d probably explode. Fuck. That. Shit. Seriously. Why on earth - Fae - would they think that she would do that? Just because they were older? Supposedly wiser? They all had plans to use the dragons to destroy Boris’ army. They didn’t care if they hurt innocent Fae. They just wanted the power that went with the crown.
Mor shook her head. She could feel how wrong it was. It was like an inky cloud that reached out to her. It made her want to bathe in bleach. She kept a mental list of everyone who made her feel that way, and it was every single one of the Fae trying to take over. Some people she’d noticed had a kind of glow around them that made her want to trust them. She needed to talk to Morgana about that too. Her powers were changing, growing, and it was happening fast.
When she got down to breakfast, Morgana was already there. Mor snagged some coffee and went to sit next to her. “My powers are changing.”
“I know.”
“So?”
“So what?”
Mor rolled her eyes, “You’re going to make me say it?”
“Of course I am.”
“Wanna help me?”
Morgana burst out laughing. “Of course, my Queen.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll never get used to that. Let’s go.” She grabbed her coffee and stood.
“You don’t want breakfast?”
Mor held up her cup of coffee in salute. “The breakfast of champions in a cup.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Mor led them out of the room and outside. “I think better outside.”
“That makes sense.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Your power is tied to this realm. Being outside would strengthen the bond you have.”
Mor glanced to the side. “You know I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I know that too. I’ll explain once you feel settled.”
They kept walking until Mor found the place Max, Sebastian, Ben, and Atreyu had first taught her control. Only a few weeks ago, but it felt like a lifetime. She sunk down next to the stream and closed her eyes, trying to force back her tears as she thought about Atreyu. “I miss him.”
“Why do you hold that back?”
“I can’t let it out. If I do, I’m afraid it will never end.”
“It will. But only if you let it out. If you don’t, it’ll eat you up inside. Let it out, Mor.” She reached over and gripped Mor’s hand as she sat down next to her.
A tear escaped. Then another. Until Mor’s face was running with tears and her body heaved with the sobs. “It’s my fault.”
“How the fuck is this your fault?” Morgana snapped, bringing Mor out of her grief.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean this isn’t your fault. You didn’t make him follow ‘Adair’ into the forest. You didn’t make Selina zap him. You didn’t make her run to Boris and throw her allegiance at him.”
“But…if I hadn’t been Arthur’s mate…”
“Now that’s just stupid. Mates are determined by something none of us understands. Selina knows that. She just got it in her head that she could get power trapping my brother into a marriage.” Morgana shook her head. “She was a bitch who was trying to steal a crown that didn’t belong to her.”
“Well, when you put it that way…”
“Exactly. Now. Tell me what you wanted.”
“Can you help me, I don’t know, strengthen my reach? I can’t reach Atreyu.”
“We’re several hundred miles from him. There is little chance you’d ever be strong enough to reach that far. But we can increase your reach so that if we get you closer, you may be able to. What about the rest of your powers? You’ve been using them more and said they’re changing?”
“I don’t understand what’s happening. I made the room go cold, I’ve lashed out with my powers…they seem to be getting stronger.”
Morgana was silent for a little while. She reached a hand out and trailed a finger over the water and when she lifted her hand, water came with it. “Hold out your hand.” When Mor held her hand palm up, Morgana swirled her hand and formed a ball of water before hovering it over Mor’s hand. “Focus on water. On its shape. How it flows within the sphere. The sparkle as the light hits it. On the shadows within.”
Mor stared hard at the water. It seemed so much deeper than it really was. She could see flickering in the middle, as if lightning lived within it. She could almost feel the cool of the water as it flowed. Morgana’s voice was soft next to her, “Now split it in two.” With a thought, the sphere of water split in two. “Again, Mor.” Now there were four floating above her hand. “Make the water dance.” The spheres began to spin and Mor grinned as they moved around her hand.
Then a branch broke. Mor whipped her head over to look toward the sound and the water splashed down on her feet. “Fuck.”
“Better than I expected you to do on your first real try. Can you tell me if the Fae royal line has all branches of Fae magic?”
“I’ve been told we do. But I haven’t really had a chance to look anything up myself.”
“My guess is that the bonds that held your magic had loosened before. I think they’re still fading, which is why you feel like your power is growing. We’re going to need to start working for an hour each morning to make sure you have control over your power.”
“Can’t Max work with me again?”
Morgana patted Mor’s hand, “Max isn’t strong enough to help you. Your power runs deep and would just run over him.”
“And yours wouldn’t?”
Laughing, Morgana said, “Definitely not. I do want you to start meditating before bed every night. You need to make sure you stay centered to help with the fluctuations in your emotions. And like every new magic user, your magic is tied to your emotions.”
“That doesn’t seem terrible.”
“In most, it isn’t. But you’re getting your full power all at once. Which is a bit harder to manage.”
“That makes sense. Okay. Meditation. Ugh.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I know. I need to do this as fast as I can so I can help get Atreyu back.”
“We all want him back. Adair will be back by tonight and we’ll start planning. But for now, let’s get to work. You need control if you want to help.”
Several hours later, Morgana led an exhausted Mor back to the house. Morgana had made her practice control of water, air, earth, and fire. Tomorrow, she would apparently be having Mor combine elements. She wasn’t getting the regular training. She was in magic bootcamp. Mor knew she would be useless if she didn’t gain full control over her magic. She needed to quit being afraid and own it. Otherwise, she’d never be able to protect her people.
Sebastian was walking out of the door when they got to the house. “I was just coming to find you, darling. Adair is back. He�
�s getting cleaned up and then wants to meet.”
“Good, I’ll think better if I have time to shower.” Mor picked up her pace with a groan, heading up the stairs quicker than she thought possible.
“I’ll get you clothes, go on and get cleaned up.” Sebastian nudged her toward the shower.
“Thank you, Sebastian.” Mor went into the bathroom and hopped in the shower. She hurried through her routine and then pulled on the clothes Sebastian had laid out for her. Going back into the room, she found Sebastian waiting for her.
“Do you know if Adair is ready?”
“I believe so. Shall we go meet him, darling?”
“Yes. The sooner we get his information, the sooner we’ll get Atreyu back.”
When they walked in, Adair was sitting in the middle of the table. Mor took her seat and looked hard at Adair. He looked tired, and his head was in his hands. His hair was dull, his skin dry. He looked like he hadn’t eaten for a few days. “Are you okay?”
Adair startled and looked up at her. “Just tired. Are you ready for the report?”
“Let’s wait for everyone else.” As she finished talking, Ben, Max, and Arthur walked in. A moment later, the rest of the Dragon council filed in. Mor waited for everyone to settle. “Now, please report, Adair.”
“Boris has the castle surrounded. The reports of giants and other shifters helping him are true. I saw several giants, some wolves, and some cat shifters. I was able to talk with some shifters, pretended like I was a conscripted Fae. Boris is holding something over them all to force them to be there. The Fae I talked with all have family members in the dungeons, so my guess is that he’s doing the same thing to the shifters and giants.”
“What are their defenses like?” Ben leaned forward.
“He has forces surrounding the castle completely. He’s had his conscripts build a palisade with only two entrances. Guards are inconsistent, though, which will be to our advantage. None of them really want Boris to win.”
“Are all the Fae there because they don’t have a choice?” Arthur asked.
“Unfortunately, no. The ruling Fae from Water and Fire are helping Boris.” He looked over at Max and Ben, “I’m sorry, but your families are both firmly with him.”
Fae- Crowned Page 2
