by Toby Aden
“You look ever as beautiful, Mother. It is so good to see you.”
“Oh hush, Ciran. Flattery will not make me less mad at you for staying away for so long!” Cicitiana, his mother, reprimanded even as she devoured him with her eyes.
His brothers closed in on them, and they matched off in a staring competition, waiting to see who would break the tension and eye contact first. They kept staring at each other, the tension mounting with each passing moment until Ciran finally took a step forward and together, they pulled him into their arms, encircling him in a group hug.
Ciran closed his eyes and allowed the familiar scents of his brothers to wash over him. Oh how he’d missed them terribly, but the choice had been his and he knew that. They were always waiting for him with open arms, letting him leave because they knew one day, he would come back to them. They understood that he was a wanderer and still, they gave him unconditional love and support.
“I have missed you all so much!” Ciran whispered.
At his words, his brothers broke the hug to stare at him, each nodding at him until they finally stepped away. Next came his father, Hodrax.
“Father.”
“How long will you remain with us?” Hodrax asked, his face never giving anything away.
“Hodrax!” Cicitiana exclaimed.
“Father!” his brothers also exclaimed, all staring at the man who had had a hand in birthing them all.
“It’s fine,” Ciran responded to his mother and brothers’ reaction then glanced at his father once more. “I don’t know. As long as I’m able.”
Hodrax nodded once and allowed his gaze to soften a bit. “Pull up a chair and join us in dinner. You can freshen up soon after you tell us how you’ve lived all this time.”
Ciran saw the gesture for what it was, his father welcoming him in and showing concern for him. Ciran moved to do as instructed, and the rest of his family returned to their seats. It was not long before Ciran began entertaining them with tales of his adventure and of what he’d seen. Of course, he omitted out the dangers he’d faced to spare them of more needless concern for his well-being.
Chapter Four
“Who is that?” Ilno asked Galen, the first prince and next in line to succeed the Earth Kingdom.
Ilno had arrived at the Earth Kingdom mere hours ago, presenting himself to the royal family as per protocol. He had had no intention of leaving his cousin and the Fire Kingdom as of yet, but a month spent with them and catching up with Radisq had done him a world of good, easing his loneliness a bit.
It just had not been enough to stop the itching under his skin to keep moving. He had stayed as long as he could, relishing the family time and familiar comfort he felt around his cousin. It had also not been easy to leave this time around, but leave, he must. The uncomfortable itch he felt would not leave him until he continued wandering but he had left promising to visit more often this time and that had eased his mind as he departed from his beloved cousin.
When he’d been offered a room with the Earth Fae in the castle, Ilno had tried to diplomatically refuse their generosity, but Queen Cicitiana would have none of it, running roughshod over Ilno and instructing a servant to go ahead and prepare a room for him.
Even then, Ilno had still tried to extricate himself from their offer, but his words never registered and he’d been left to stare helplessly at the formidable woman who dashed away his every refusal and objections. He would have continued trying to wiggle his way out of the offer to stay with them if Galen, another close friend of his from his many travels over the centuries, hadn’t come to lead him out of the room. The man had let him know in no uncertain terms that once his mother’s mind was made up, there was no changing it, unless of course, one wanted to risk offending her.
Now, here they were, strolling along the vast field which surrounded the castle and could be accessed through the courtyard.
“Who?” Galen followed his line of view and smiled indulgently when he saw who had attracted Ilno’s attention. “That, my dear friend, is my youngest brother, Ciran.”
“Your youngest brother. You mean the fourth prince?”
“Hmm.”
“Why have I never seen him before?” Ilno asked in a hushed voice.
Laughing, Galen slapped his on the back before responding. “Probably because the two of you are one of a kind. Never settling in one place for long. He only returns here to check in yearly. Other than that, only he knows what he does.”
“I think he’s my mate,” Ilno said slowly, his face one of shock and awe as he stared at the bewitching man’s profile.
Galen trained a speculative glance on Ilno’s profile. “Hmm. Perhaps fate knows what she’s doing.”
Ilno turned to regard his friend, “Why do you say that?”
“Well, it would take a strong man to tame that brother of mine. I’m not sure mating would cure him of his wanderlust either, so it is fortunate you are both of the same mind, no?”
Ilno chuckled. “You are right. And on that note, I will go over and introduce myself.”
“Good luck, my friend. You will need it,” Galen said with a chuckle, watching Ilno stride toward his brother. Shaking his head, Galen turned around, walking away and leaving the two to their devices.
Ilno strode into the field of plants but paused a short distance, mesmerized by his mate who was busy growing the plants around him. The Earth Fae were so in tune with the earth that they could wield it both as a weapon and for healing. However, only a few growers existed. The majority of them were warriors and their healers few and far between.
Their healers were also growers, able to coax and summon their energy in such a manner that could cause anything planted to grow. Watching his fated mate work with dedication and undivided attention was truly a sight to behold. That the man had not even noticed his presence proved his passion but in an unfavorable circumstance could prove dangerous.
Never had Ilno expected this journey to lead to him meeting his mate. In fact, he had given up on the notion but seeing the young man before him made his heart pound and race. Unable to stay still anymore, Ilno stepped forward until he was right behind Ciran, but before he touched the man with his outstretched hand, he felt the earth shift beneath his feet.
The solid ground had given way into quicksand, sucking him down and a startled cry tore from his lips. The earth sucked him in faster than he could comprehend what was happening to him, and it wasn’t long before he was in up to his waist. Falling forward, he dropped his hands to the solid ground in front of him, using pressure in his hands to keep from sinking in deeper.
Ciran had turned to see his assailant when the man cried out, and satisfied that the man could not move to harm him, he stopped, leaving the man submerged up to his waist in the earth. With his hands folded over his chest, he cocked his head to one side, examining the man who had been intent on taking him by surprise.
Ilno, on the other hand, was still trying to keep from sinking deeper, panic making him unaware that he had stopped moving and his mate was the one who had done this to him.
“You will only hurt yourself if you keep moving. Now who are you and what do you want?” Ciran asked. His voice was low and sultry, a total contradiction to his actions but a few minutes ago.
Stumped, Ilno stopped moving then glanced up to look into the serene face of his mate. The man looked so innocent it was shocking to believe he was the one who had done this to him. As far as first meetings with one’s mate went, this definitely took the cake. The entire situation was too much for him, and he broke into laughter, startling his mate but unable to help himself. His mate looked like a perfectly harmless Fae, but his looks were extremely deceptive.
“What are you doing? Why are you laughing?” Ciran demanded, a frown marring his features.
Ilno could not stop to answer his mate. Instead, he just kept on laughing, and the annoyance on his mate’s gorgeous face just made him all the more appealing and amusing. Ilno watched his mate tap his fee
t on the floor and narrow his eyes at him. Before he knew what was happening again, he felt himself sinking once more into the earth, and that brought him out of his hysterical laughter faster than anything else.
The feeling of dissolving through mud but knowing that it was just a matter of time before that mud stiffened up and turned to concrete around his body snapped him back into reality. Cursing up a storm, he yelled for the man to stop.
A gleeful smile spread across Ciran’s face, and he clapped his hands. “Not so funny anymore, is it, or are you still amused?”
“Stop this goddamn thing right now and let me go!” Ilno yelled, too angry to bother to remember that he was talking to his fated mate.
“Not till I have my own fun at your expense,” Ciran responded gleefully. Then weaving a pattern with his hand, he began sprouting out thorny roses all around where Ilno was buried, allowing it to spread until they choked the man, all the while allowing Ilno to sink deeper into the earth.
“Let me go, damn you, or the moment I’m free I’ll trash your ass so good you’ll feel it for days!” Ilno yelled, his face beet red as he screamed at his deranged mate.
Ilno grew more enraged by the minutes, especially when Ciran burst into a full belly laughter, amused by his flushed face and his cursing.
“Ciran, what in the bloody hell are you doing?” Kalen, the second prince and identical twin brother of Galen, yelled, as he and the other two brothers came running out.
The yelling had carried far, and when Galen had come to inform them that Ciran had finally met his match and mate, they’d all stared at him in disbelief. Galen hadn’t had the time to go further into detail when they’d all heard the raised voices and yelling and had dashed out of the shaded courtyard where they were resting to go investigate.
They all came to a stop beside their cackling brother and their guest deep in the earth with roses growing all around him.
“Let me go this instance, or I swear, you’ll not like what I’ll do to you once I get free!” Ilno yelled, ignoring the brothers and directing his ire at his mate.
“He attacked me,” Ciran said, gaining control over himself and responding to his brother’s question.
“I didn’t attack you, you dumb wit. I was only going to introduce myself,” Ilno yelled, his entire face red with pain and anger.
“By sneaking up on me? Nice try, savage, and yelling threats at me is also supposed to make me believe you?”
“I wouldn’t be yelling threats at you if you weren’t deranged,” Ilno retorted.
“Deranged? Deranged? I’ll show you deranged!” Ciran yelled and was about to attack Ilno once more, but Galen stepped forward and subdued him with his arms around him, keeping him still. “Let me go!” Ciran yelled, squirming and trying to get free of his more muscular and taller brother’s embrace.
“Is that any way to treat your mate, love?” Galen asked, holding on tightly to his hotheaded brother to get him to see reason.
The other two brothers suppressed their laughter as they realized it was a spat between mates and at their very first meeting, too.
Chapter Five
“My what?” Ciran screeched in outrage, eyeing Ilno with barely concealed disdain.
“You mate, brother,” Xiran, his twin brother, said with a chuckle.
While Galen and Kalen were identical twins, with Galen being the oldest by five minutes, Xiran and Ciran were fraternal twins with Xiran being the oldest by seven minutes.
“Impossible. This imbecile couldn’t possibly be my mate,” Ciran said, still furious that the man after he’d sneaked up on him had had the audacity to laugh at him instead of talking and explaining what he had been about. Then the man had begun yelling threats at him when he’d taken a little bit of revenge.
“Get. Me. Out. Of. Here,” Ilno said in a low, cold tone, his words coming out from between gritted teeth.
The blank look on his face and his tone of voice wiped the amusement away from his brothers’ faces, and Ciran flushed, seeming to realize that he’d gone too far in the choice of his words. With a nod from Galen, Xiran began undoing all the havoc his twin had wrecked, pulling Ilno from deep within the bowels of the earth.
His teeth gritted in anger and against the pain of being extracted, Ilno kept quiet as Xiran worked him free. His gaze averted, he never once looked toward his mate, and even though he knew that they all could tell that he’d been hurt by Ciran’s words, he was grateful that no one said anything.
Once he was free, Ilno climbed to his feet, wiping his dirty hands on his soiled clothes. His face and hands were full of dirt and scratches no doubt from the rose and earth. With one nod toward the other brothers, Ilno turned on his heels and marched back into the house. He had no idea what had possessed him to accept their hospitality to stay with them.
Even though he knew Llyano of the Wind Kingdom and was on good terms with the man, he’d refused accommodation in the castle, saying he needed his space and to be alone on this journey of his, yet here he was. Whatever made him accept his friend’s offer, he didn’t know, but he would rectify that soon.
He had no desire to stay where he was not wanted. Hearing his mate’s words had cut him to the deep and it was only his stoic determination and gritting his teeth that had prevented him from saying something he would for sure regret also. He felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes, and annoyed at himself, he stomped through the hallway until he reached the room that had been prepared for him earlier that day after his arrival. Shutting the door to his room behind him, Ilno collapsed against the door then slid along it until he sat on his ass, his knees bent and drawn closer to his chest.
Right now, he was not in the mood to see anyone. He wanted to lick his wounds in private, but come morning he was so out of here. He didn’t care what excuse he had to give, but there was no way he was staying in the Earth Kingdom. He needed to put distance between him and his mate. Fate really was cruel sometimes. To saddle him with a mate who didn’t want him.
In fact, it had been better when he hadn’t found his mate. At least then, he didn’t have to hope. He’d already been resigned to the fact that he wouldn’t get a mate anytime soon, if ever. A mate was a sacred thing for the Fae, but nothing had ever prepared him for a Fae who would not find him acceptable. Who would not want him.
Getting to his feet, Ilno pulled his clothes off, chucking them on floor before padding into the bathing space. He moved farther inside then climbed down into the bathing pool dug into the ground. He settled into the water and began washing himself vigorously. He cleaned every part of his body before finally just relaxing into the ever-flowing clean water.
With the resources of the Earth Kingdom and their ability to manipulate the earth, it had been a surprise the first time he’d come to realize that it was one piece of earth that had been manipulated and raised to form their houses. With the exception of the entrance, the bathroom itself was lowered deep to form the pool.
The Earth Kingdom, because of their affinity for earth, were master crafters when it came to buildings. The shape and appearance of each home were extremely different, either very elaborate or simple, but designed according to each family’s taste. The houses came in all types of shapes and designs. In fact, some houses were shaped as triangles, and it wasn’t expected for them to have large space inside, but this did.
Ilno cleared his mind, embracing his affinity for water and using the energy from it to soothe himself. He wrapped his energy around the water and relaxed completely into it, his eyes closed as the water began a full body massage on him. Eventually, his mind blanked out till all he was aware of was his body and the aches bleeding out.
Ilno spent a long time in the water until he felt as though his body would numb out and shrink away before climbing out. He wrapped a towel around his waist, then grabbed a hand towel and began using it to dry his hair. He rubbed vigorously till the water wasn’t dripping down his body from his head anymore before hanging it on the towel rack to dry.
> He then padded back into the bedroom. He moved toward the wardrobe, pulled it open, and picked up the rucksack which held the minimal clothing he’d packed. He placed the rucksack on the bed and opened it. He pulled out a clean flowing robe from it and placed it on the bed. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Ilno glanced over his shoulder at the door, calling out, “Who is it?”
There was no response, just another knock, and shaking his head, Ilno moved toward the door, pulling it open. When he saw who it was, he tried to shut it right back, but Ciran was fast enough to push his foot in, stopping the door from closing all the way.
“Remove your foot.”
“No. Open the door.”
“I do not wish to speak with you, Ciran,” Ilno said, pushing the door, but Ciran pushed it from the other side.
They struggled for a while until the door gave and Ciran stumbled into the room. Huffing in annoyance, Ilno used one hand to hold together his slipping towel, glaring at his mate who simply would not get a clue.
“What do you want?” Ilno asked, not at all impressed by Ciran.
They had started off on the wrong foot, but Ciran was here to make amends. Just that right now, as he finally took in Ilno’s half nakedness, all thoughts of amendment were driven away from his mind. He followed the line of wet golden skin, starting from the top of Ilno’s wet shiny black hair. His gaze moved and locked with those piercing brown eyes, and Ciran could not remember why he’d been unable to recognize this man as his fated mate.
True, when he was in the zone and using his energy, he became one with the land, giving it his all, but most people mistook that as him being unaware of his surroundings. That was not the case though. Instead, he was more in tune with everything around him. He was a rare type of Earth Fae, being both a warrior and a healer at the same time. His warrior skills had kept him safe, especially when he came upon unsavory fellows.
