Es was stunned by his suddenly revealing mood. He wrote all this down in his journal before and after carrying out his plans, so why talk about it now?
“So why marry Revlis, father? You say you killed our mother for not being a pureblood, therefore we are not of pure blood. So why mate with another impure if you hate them so much?” Mori asked.
King Relik’s smile grew and he puffed up his chest at this. “Because out of all thirteen of you, she is the only one as powerful as your mother. She will bear gifted children and they will be your siblings. One day, they may kill you for your insubordination to me. Now, you have stalled enough time. Either you shoot me now or come with me. Behave and I may let you sire a child with your sister as well.”
Mori looks disgusted at his father’s offer. He readied his weapon and pulled the trigger.
Ӝ
A shot sent Mori’s weapon flying from his hand. Valdrik wasn’t sure who did it, but he almost regretted the action. Now the King would know he wasn’t alone. He hadn’t just admitted to murder in front of his children. There was someone else present. Relik made a run for the pods, leaving his children behind.
Valdrik sneaked up behind Es and grabbed her. She gasped and Krelik jumped back. Mori spun around and found Valdrik’s weapon in his face.
“Val, don’t!” Es pleaded.
He slowly lowered his weapon and cut his mates binding just as a piercing scream made him look up. It was a battle of Elf versus wolf, father against father. And their King was wounded.
Ӝ
Es watched as her father defended himself against Able, who had gone full wolf and swung at her father, his claws carving four long streaks across his chest from his left shoulder down to his right hip. For a moment, she felt sorry for Relik. He looked like a frightened rabbit about to be devoured by a big bad wolf.
Then she looked up at her mate. He was seething in anger. He probably hadn’t transformed yet because his worry for her outweighed his fury with her father. She looked at her brothers and saw they simply stood by, not making one movement to help their father. She looked back to the fight. The longer she stared at her father, the more she thought about what he’d done. Truly, any soft emotions for him were entirely erased.
Relik turned to look to his children for assistance. Seeing he was on his own, he reached into his sleeve and was suddenly surrounded by smoke. Able yipped harshly and whined. Valdrik and Yasu turned into their wolf forms almost immediately and ran across the room to aid him as well. The two dragged their father out of the smoke, both wolves half the size of their father. Once they had Able clear of the smoke, they dove back in after the King. Yet when the smoke cleared, the king was gone.
Ӝ
Valdrik paced his room, his anger still steaming from his ears. While the overall mission was a success, they had failed their main objective. King Relik escaped. He left behind his children and any allies he might have had. Thankfully he hadn’t fatally wounded Able. He had stabbed him with something which caused Able to lose a lot of blood, and Able might have died if not for the doctors on board their ships and the proper equipment and technology to care for him.
“Val?” Es called to him.
He stopped in his pacing as his head snapped in the direction of his bed. She had fallen asleep in his arms on the train ride to the surface and he had put her to bed once on the ship. He walked over to her side and took her hand as he sat down.
“How are you feeling? The doctor said you don’t have any injuries but you do have a few drugs working their way out of your system.”
She curled up against his chest and gripped his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on hers. “Val, I’m so glad to see you,” she said, her voice cracking.
He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. “You’re safe now. You’re on my ship and with me. You have nothing to fear.”
“Is your father alright?” she asked. She felt him tighten his grip and she pushed away from him to look into his eyes.
“He’ll be fine. Even with his advanced healing and our medical technology, it will take him at least a week to fully heal and recover. So he’ll have to take things easy, which won’t be an easy thing for him to do. But mom has him tied to his bed, so that will help,” Valdrik said with a light chuckle.
Es gave a small smile and dropped her head before saying, “He got away.”
Valdrik lifted her chin. “Yes, he got away. But in return, you have me. You have our friends. You have my family.” He smiled. “And now you have your family.”
She gave him a confused look. “Some of them got hurt, but we have all of your family on board my ship.”
Es’ eyes widened as she thought about all of her siblings. “And what about Holly? How is she doing? She was dropped into the arena.”
Valdrik nodded. “She has suffered a few broken bones, but she is on the mend. We will keep her sedated until she is fully healed. I would take you see them right now, but the rest are being questioned.”
Es nodded her understanding. “I want to see Holly.”
Ӝ
Holly lay in her bed sleeping peacefully. This was probably the first time Es had seen her not scowling or grinning. She reached out and slid a finger into one of Holly’s red curls. They were just as soft as when she was born.
Es teared up as she remembered the day Holly came into her life. And now look at her. All grown up into a beautiful and strong woman who had the courage to do what none of them had, not even Es herself. She had defied their father and taken his punishment. Now here she lay with several broken bones and a few other minor injuries.
Es dropped Holly’s curls and brushed her hand across Holly’s cheek. She leaned down and kissed her forehead. She whispered into Holly’s ear and finally stood up, looking at Valdrik. He had let her have her space by standing across the room, so she crossed over to him and wrapped her arms around him. I came so close to not seeing him again. The thought of mating with her father and beearing him children made her shiver. Valdrik held her close and kissed her head.
He was always doing that, always comforting her. He was the one who needed comfort right now, she knew. She pulled away, rising on her toes, and planted a kiss on his lips. He deepened the kiss until they were both breathing heavily, but then he pulled away to nuzzle into her neck as they held one another.
“Captain, interrogations are over. Please return to conference room three.”
Valdrik sighed against her neck and pulled away. “Duty calls.”
Es nodded and furrowed her brows, her eyes shining in concern over him.
He smiled and led her back to their room. He gestured to her bag on the table and kissed her cheek. “Why don’t you fulfill your curiosity with what you picked up while I see what they need me for?”
She took the bag from him and he left. She pulled out the two boxes and her mother’s journal. Which should she look into first?
Ӝ
Valdrik entered the conference room and was greeted by several of his crew. Over the next couple of hours, Valdrik was caught up on everything the King’s children knew. Which wasn’t much. The King chose when to lie to them and when to tell the truth. He told some of them one thing and told the others something different. Between the eleven of them, they were able to tell quite the tale in confusing bits and pieces. Valdrik and his crew spent a lot of time trying to put the puzzle together.
They found out what the King had been up to, and it wasn’t good. He had been brainwashing his children as well as threatening them to do his bidding. He had personally seen to it that the humans of Terra were eradicated, despite his daughter having tried so hard to protect them and convince him otherwise.
The humans were not the only species he had made sure were eliminated. He hadn’t just destroyed planets, he had obliterated entire galaxies. Had created black holes and watched the chaos from a distance. He had tried to start the civil war between the Elven race and everyone else because he wanted to show how powerful
and superior they were. King Relik believed that his race should rule over everyone else, and the pure Elves would sit up at the top.
According to King Relik, Elves were the most intelligent creatures in existence. They created the most beautiful jewelry and strongest armor and weapons. Their magick was powerful and they raised great soldiers that obeyed their king’s every order.
That was what Relik was after. Weak people to rule over that obeyed his every word. He wanted to be worshiped. However, he had failed to realize the love and devotion he once had. Queen Odera did everything he asked to please him. His children had once trusted and loved him. His people used to believe in him and follow him. He lost everything when he killed his wife, yet he didn’t see it that way. He only saw her death as the day his freedom truly began.
Valdrik questioned his crew about the King’s statements in the cargo hold just before he escaped. The part about their beloved Queen not being his first kill. People went missing all the time, and the fact that their King was looking for a strong, obedient army added to his ability to create chimeras was definitely not a good combo. His crew had questioned the King’s children on what they knew about their father. But other than the events that took place after the death of their mother, they didn’t know much about what happened before that.
“Alright, spread the word. Offer a reward to anyone who has credible information on the King and his actions prior to Queen Odera’s death. Also, look into all missing persons and strange events, such as appearances of chimeras. See if you can find any correlations between the two. Each of you take a century and dive in. Work on it until we reach home. Then, you can take a week off. Enjoy being home. You all need a break. After that, we will get back to work. I want all of you to keep me updated on your findings. Thanks for your hard work.”
Valdrik stood and rubbed his hand across his face as he walked out the door. When he returned to his room, he found Es lying passed out on the floor with a Memcry in her hand. “Es!” he exclaimed as he rushed over to her and tried to wake her. She wouldn’t move. He took the crystal from her and placed it back in its box, and then picked Es up and took her to the doctor.
They scanned her for any injuries and checked her brain activity. She was completely fine yet she would not wake up. What had happened? Why was she in a coma?
Ӝ
Es didn’t know where she was. People she hadn’t ever met stopped and talked to her, speaking a language she didn’t know. She also didn’t know where she was going, but she felt like she was walking in a dream.
When she got home, she was greeted by her grandmother. Es understood then where she was. She remembered picking up one of her mother’s crystals. She must be in her mother’s memories. Her grandmother had passed away not long after Chrys was born. Grandmother Ellis had loved her grandchildren and spoiled all of them equally. She had especially adored Holly’s red curls.
Es moved through the memories of the interactions between her mother and her grandmother, reveling in their relationship and wishing she had been able to talk to her mother like this for a while longer. Es was jerked into another memory. Her mother was being introduced to Relik. Her father was quite handsome and always smiling.
The first time her parents had met, her father had presented her mother with fuchsia dahlias. She moved through her mother’s memories as her father courted her. He presented her with a silver lotus necklace on the day they first kissed. She felt the love her mother developed for him, but he was not her true mate. Her parents had never reacted to one another.
Es fell into another memory; this time her mother was a child. Grandmother Ellis and her mother were walking hand in hand down a dirt path through a forest. A figure in the distance grew larger as they got closer. Es felt her mother’s excitement as she recognized the figure and her mother released Ellis’ hand. The distant figure moved faster and held out strong arms.
As Es got closer, the man was grinning from ear to ear. He was wearing a military uniform, his blue eyes shining like sapphires and his platinum silver hair glittering in the sunlight. His wings unfolded from behind him as he knelt down to catch Es as she ran into his arms. He lifted her up and spun as they laughed.
Ellis came up to them and the man put Es on his hip as he kissed her grandmother. This man was her grandfather. She didn’t know his name. She had never met her grandfather, that she remembered on her own, but now she had a face. She tried to study his uniform, trying to memorize as many details as she could so she could ask Valdrik to find him.
Es was pulled into another memory. This time she was in the castle she once called home. Her belly felt strange; and something moved. She looked down and her belly was quite big and round. She placed her hand on her belly and felt movements from within. Her mother was pregnant, but who was inside her right now?
A light knock on her door had her turning and she watched her younger self come rushing up to her mother. Es watched as her younger self placed her hands on her belly and she smiled as she watched herself with eyes full of wonder over feeling the baby move.
Another memory took over and Es doubled over in pain. Beneath her feet was a puddle and she was struggling to breathe. The memory faded into her sitting on a bed, a midwife helping her stay calm. Within moments a tiny scream sounded in the air and the baby was placed in her arms. Wet and dark golden hair lay atop the baby’s head. It was Chrysanthemum. Es was in her mother’s memory of Chrys’ birth. As she wondered about whether or not her mother saved the memories of all of her children’s births, she was dropped into another memory.
Es watched as her teenage self walked up to her with a fire lily in her hair and a big smile on her face, leading a scrawny young wolf by the hand. Es smiled at the memory. That had been the last time she saw both of them. Her mother was killed a few days later and her father kept Valdrik away from her.
“Revlis . . .”
Es could hear a voice whispering her name.
“Wake up, Love . . .”
Valdrik was calling to her. He sounded as if he was saying goodbye. But why? How long had she been lost in her mother’s memories?
Es drifted off into darkness and blinked her eyes against the bright light. A musky scent filled her senses as she closed her eyes and felt warmth upon her forehead.
“Es, wake up. I’m here. Please just wake up.”
Es opened her eyes and saw a shadow before her. She blinked her eyes into focus and Valdrik’s face was inches from hers. His eyes were full of tears and his face betrayed his exhaustion. He smiled, stifling a gasp when their eyes met. As he always did, he kissed her forehead and placed a light kiss on her lips before resting his forehead on hers.
“Welcome back, Love,” he whispered. His voice sounded like it might break if he attempted anything louder.
She raised a hand to grab him, her body feeling heavy. She gripped his arm and he grabbed her hand.
“Val,” she said weakly.
“What happened, Es?”
She smiled. “Mother showed me some of her most precious memories. I saw my grandmother and I met my grandfather. I saw the day we told mother about our love. I gave birth to Chrys and I saw my father court my mother. In her memories, my father was not her mate, Val. My mother fell in love with him, despite having never reacted to him. I wonder if she ever met her mate . . .”
Valdrik stroked her hair. “You’ve been asleep for a long time. We are home already. I hope you enjoyed your rest, because we won’t let you sleep for a while.”
A knock sounded and Kalis’ voice drifted to her ears. “How is she is doing? Any changes today?”
Valdrik nodded and Kalis moved into sight. He smiled down at her. “Hey, Rev.” Kalis grabbed her hand and kissed it. “You’ve had everyone worried, Rev. Are you okay?”
“Queen Odera showed her some memories from the past. She got lost in your mother’s memories,” Valdrik replied.
Kalis looked surprised. He looked down to Es and said, “How did you see mother’s memories? I
thought the Memcry only work for those who left memories on them.”
“I don’t know, I haven’t read mother’s journal yet and there is another crystal,” Es replied.
“Leave the crystal be, Love. Stay with us for a while. Reunite with your family and read your mother’s journal. Take the time to relax and enjoy the people that have gathered around. Give me the chance to finally court you,” Valdrik said.
Es smiled and nodded.
“I’ll notify a doctor,” Kalis said and left.
The doctor examined her and she was released from the med bay. Her family was waiting for her and she was passed from person to person through a never ending line of hugs. After being reunited with everyone, Valdrik led her to their room. He sat her down at the table and had her close her eyes. He ruffled through some things before something cool was resting against her color bone.
Lotus: Dark Lotus Chronicles One Page 14
