The Goddess and The Guardians Boxset: The Complete Romantic Fantasy Quartet

by Karen Tomlinson

  The prince wisely held his ground. Jack knew the score. He would have to prove himself strong enough to lead or, according to Rhodainia’s laws, this fae could take control of his army and his people.

  Hugo hoped Jack had the sense to note the general’s tough square jaw and the iron arm muscles that bunched as he curled his fists around the pitted, scarred pommel of his heavy blade. It was clear to Hugo’s trained eye General Edo favoured his left side. Wings, covered in golden armour, extended fully in challenge, ready to be used as a weapon themselves should the need arise.

  Jack unsheathed Dragonsblood, the sword his father had commissioned for him upon his birth. Not once did his eyes leave the general’s. Slowly, one by one, his leather clad fingers loosened then wrapped back around the fierce ruby-eyed, silver and gold dragon pommel. It was hard not to admire such a beautiful work of art, even for Hugo, who had no interest in elaborate weapons. Blades, whether elaborate or not, were tools of death and agony.

  “I like that you are not scared of me,” the general chuckled, although his voice held no humour. “The last time I faced you with a sword, you nearly shit your princely breeches. Let’s see how much of a man you’ve grown into, shall we?”

  Jack held Dragonsblood up in the air, studying the shining blade. The ruby-eyed dragon glinted angrily as if sensing the tension in the air. Jack cocked his head, rage burning in his eyes. “Oh, I’ve grown up plenty, general. Whereas you have only got older and slower since you deserted my father.”

  “Slower!” laughed General Edo contemptuously. “We’ll see. And I am no deserter, prince. But that is not important now. What is important is that you prove to me that you can wield that sword with the skill of a warrior—as your father expected—and that you are worthy of carrying it.” He gave a small laugh, his eyes glinting with mockery. “When your father gave me my last orders, you couldn’t even lift this sword off the ground. You always were a small, feeble child easily driven to anger. So—little prince—has anything changed? Are you man enough to lift that blade and fight me? Or are you a weak little boy?” he challenged, narrowing his eyes and pacing in front of Jack, sword drawn, looking every inch the warrior he was.

  “No. I have not been a weak boy for a long time. I am heir to the throne of Rhodainia, and you should be on one knee begging my forgiveness for deserting your duties. The duties my father gave you—general,” Jack uttered the last word with a contemptuous snarl. “You should have been there to guide me, to help me when I was too young to understand what I was doing. I lost my family’s heritage because you left my father to his fate. You have been a deserter for nearly fourteen years. Fourteen years! You, general, have no right to order me to do anything! Anything!!” he roared, his face red, his eyes angry.

  But Hugo knew Jack well. They had spent too much time together for him to miss the flicker of loss and hurt in his friend’s eyes. There was no answering flicker of regret or softness in the general.

  “Your father was my king and my friend. I have the last orders he gave me in my pocket. But now is not the time to explain myself to you, prince. If you want my allegiance and my help, you need to earn it. The first step is to prove to me that you can use that,” he gestured to Dragonsblood with the tip of his own sword. “Then I will consider whether I am going to bend my knee to you or take over leading your broken kingdom…little prince.”

  Even Hugo cringed at the arrogance and scorn in General Edo’s voice. They had spoken at length in the cave about Jack and what had happened in the grasslands of Rhodainia. General Edo was a clever and calculating man. Hugo knew this attitude was an act, but it was a good one. Jack was about ready to explode with white hot rage. Jack’s warriors shuffled closer, their feet sending tiny plumes of ash into the air.

  “Highness?” Roin, Jack’s captain questioned his voice tight. Zane and Karl stepped up beside him, swords drawn.

  “Stand down,” Hugo growled at the burly, broad shouldered warrior’s.

  Jack scowled at Hugo’s interference but nodded to his captain. Immediately his men shuffled back, still looking nervous and on edge. Zane prowled towards Diamond, and Hugo tensed; then he noticed the other warriors now stood in the spot between the general and Tom. Zane nodded to them.

  The general swished his sword through the air with utter delight, then without warning lurched and swung his blade down towards Jack. Metal clashed against metal as his blade was barred by Dragonsblood.

  Jack had been waiting.

  Chapter 10

  Diamond stirred at the sound of clashing swords. Unobtrusively, Hugo eyed her with concern. Her skin looked ashen. Hugo tried to ignore the way his gut clenched as Tom pulled her onto his lap and rocked her against his skinny body. But it was Zane who eyed Hugo warily, who tracked his movements.

  Hugo snarled. Completely out of character, he couldn’t stop himself striding over to the two friends. Her magic called to him. Gods help him, he was behaving like a fool.

  “Let go of her,” he snarled at the boy.

  The cowardly runt paled, but did not let go.

  “Tom, don’t pick now to start being brave,” advised Zane, his voice careful and even.

  Tom looked up at Zane, clearly unsure.

  “Go ahead. Hugo will not hurt her,” Zane reassured Tom.

  Hugo met Zane’s knowing look, hating that the other fae could see right through his possessive actions. Deciding to ignore it, he bent down and swept Diamond away from Tom’s embrace. With her cradled in his arms, he strode back to where he had been standing. Hoping everyone else’s attention was on the fight, Hugo guiltily pulled her closer to his chest. Soothing warmth seeped from her into him. Hugo inhaled deeply. She smelled like ash and magic and something undeniably feminine; flowers and sunshine. It stirred something deep and predatory in him, something utterly impossible.

  She slowly stirred, and he warily watched her as consciousness returned. Horror flashed across her pale features as she twisted to see the source of the metallic clashing.

  “What’s going on? Why are they fighting?” Diamond asked.

  “General Edo has just met Prince Oden,” Hugo responded flatly. Heat bloomed across his chest as she moved in his arms. “They’re getting to know one another,” he explained, surprising himself by the wry humour in his voice.

  She paled even further. “But they’ll get hurt! You have to stop them.”

  “No, they won’t. Not seriously. The general will stop when he has an answer to his question.”

  She stilled and stared at him. “What question?” she demanded.

  “If Jack, who lost his kingdom to war and death, is more capable of donning the mantle of leadership and ruling now than he was when he lost his kingdom,” Hugo said, deliberately lacing his voice indifference.

  Diamond’s eyes widened. “Leadership? But he’s already a leader—a prince. What in Chaos is Uncle Amsal thinking? That’s it. Put me down,” she ordered harshly.

  Hugo ignored her demand, unwilling to let her go.

  The force of her punch vibrated into his shoulder. “Put me down now, Hugo, or I’ll poke your eyes out like I did that damn Seeker!” Her violet eyes burned with indignation and fury.

  Caught off guard by her fierce spirit, a rare smile tugged at Hugo lips. He quashed it immediately. What in the goddess is this girl doing to me? Smiling was not something he had done since he had returned to Valentia; there usually wasn’t anything worth smiling about. Besides, the scar on his face pulled his mouth up in an ugly grimace and exposed his teeth like a beast’s when he did. It was repellent. Women generally found it gruesome. He had suffered ridicule for years at the hands of the malicious royal court sycophants. He managed to ignore their snide glances and whispered insults—most of the time. But occasionally, just to entertain himself, he allowed himself to put the fear of death in them. All it took was a snarl and they would nearly piss themselves in fear.

  Diamond glanced at his scar as it twitched. She did not recoil as he expected.

  �
��As you wish, but stay near me and don’t interfere. This is something Jack has to do. He needs to prove himself to General Edo in front of his men or he will not maintain authority over either,” he warned her.

  She nodded once, but he didn’t for one second trust her to stand on the side-lines. Slowly, and with more reluctance than he wanted to admit, he lowered Diamond’s feet to the ground. She pushed away from his chest, then walked towards the two fighting men.

  Hugo sauntered up beside her, not fooled for a moment. She frowned at him, but he just lifted an eyebrow and glared at her. “Close to me, half-blood,” he repeated in a voice laced with threat.

  Her nostrils flared. “Don’t order me around, faery prick,” she hissed insultingly between gritted teeth.

  Hugo almost grinned at her feistiness—almost.

  Jack staggered and fell, knocked on his back by the hilt of the general’s sword. He spat a globule of blood to the ground, then wiped the back of his hand over his split lip with a loud curse. His brown eyes met Diamond’s and widened as they exchanged a look. Gritting his teeth, the prince sprung back to his feet and lunged at the general’s legs, knocking him off balance with a shoulder charge.

  Hugo ignored his sudden surge of resentment toward Jack and made himself watch impassively. Jack was a good swordsman, but he was not as strong, or apparently as vicious, as the older warrior. Hugo tried to trust the general not to keep this fight going too long. He understood General Edo wanted to push Jack, to see what the younger man could do before agreeing to take orders from him. Hugo didn’t want to interfere—but he readied himself to take the general on if it looked like he was going too far. Jack was still the future king of Rhodainia, after all—and Hugo’s friend.

  Jack’s soldiers gripped their swords and surrounded their prince. Some faced in, some out. Not daring to get too close to a bunch of distrustful, aggressive fae males, stood a bunch of rag tag human survivors, strangers Jack had picked up on their travels. One woman and four men. Hugo did not want to know anything about them. Jack always did this, found strays that slowed the progress of the group down. The fae warriors either ended up carrying them or the entire group had to walk. He snarled as one of the humans caught his eye, an arrogant smile stretching thin lips over rotten teeth. Hugo’s fae instincts flared.

  Zane sauntered up beside Hugo.

  “His name is Freddy. The woman said he is a nasty little bastard. Has tried to get under her skirts several time already.” The warrior’s astute eyes drifted to Diamond. “I’m telling you so you can protect her. Just like I feel I want to look out for him,” Zane huffed wryly and inclined his head at Tom. “It seems we’ve both been blindsided by our inconvenient fae instincts.”

  So Hugo had been careless with his emotions. But Hugo trusted Zane. He was arrogant but not vindictive. Hugo grunted his thanks and stepped closer to Diamond.

  Freddy chose that moment to give a gleeful smile at the sight of Jack’s blood running from his split lip. Hugo hoped this fight ended soon, before any of the soldiers, particularly Roin, decided to try and put a stop to it. Now that would delight Freddy to no end. Jack’s loyal captain had once been a smithy and he was one of the strongest human males Hugo had ever met. He had to be to command respect from a mixed force of men and dominant fae. A fight between Roin and the general—now that would get messy, judging by the general’s prowess with a blade. If Jack’s men so much as tried to slow General Edo down, he would cause carnage.

  Diamond hissed as Jack landed a heavy blow on the general’s jaw but was then floored himself by a sweeping kick to his legs. Angry at them both, she took a step forwards with flashing eyes. Amazed by her expressive face, Hugo quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her fast. Zane chuckled and stalked back towards Tom, whose fury-filled eyes were fixed on them. The warrior stood in front of Tom, big broad shoulders obscuring his view. It seemed Zane had Hugo’s back where Diamond was concerned.

  He pulled her firmly against him and almost forgot about the others as his heart vibrated through her slim body. The top of her head reached his collar bone, so he leaned forwards until his cheek rested against hers. This close, her scent made his senses swim. His magic involuntarily surged around them, winding through her energy and increasing his heart rate. Swallowing hard, he tightened his arms.

  “I said to stay near me,” he growled as convincingly as he could in her ear, whilst biting down on an urge to smile at her defiance.

  She twisted her head and glared furiously at him. “Let. Me. Go,” she hissed, her body writhing against his grip, against him.

  Confused by the heat that flushed up his neck, Hugo pulled away slightly. “Keep still,” he warned, his voice ominously quiet, “or I will make you.”

  Immediately her movements stilled, the fire dying in her eyes only to be replaced by doubt. Hugo kept his face blank, hiding his unease. Consciously he made his voice gentler and more reassuring. “Just watch. I told you I won’t let either of them get badly wounded.”

  He quickly glanced around, relaxing when he saw there was no one else close enough to hear his uncharacteristic tone of voice. Slowly, he unwound his arms but stayed mere inches behind her in case she decided to take matters into her own hands. Or Freddy, who kept eyeing Diamond like she was his next meal, decided to make his move.

  Surprisingly, she didn’t step away from him.

  Jack swung his blade down, but this time misjudged his timing. Weeks of very little food had weakened him, and it was starting to show. The general parried, then struck with such speed and force even Hugo’s eyes could not see his blade. A powerful blow drove Jack to his knees as he twisted to block. Jack’s gloved fist closed around some ash, throwing a handful in the general’s face. The general roared as it burned his eyes. Jack seized his opportunity and exploded with an uppercut. At six feet two inches tall and made of sinew and muscle, his fist crashed into the general’s jaw, sending him staggering. Jack did not allow himself to be arrogant and grin, but he couldn’t help glancing at Diamond. It was a typical Jack move, and it cost him.

  Diamond did not look impressed, only horrified, when General Edo recovered quickly enough to slam his own fist into Jack’s jaw. Jack’s knees buckled and he fell unconscious in a heartbeat.

  Chapter 11

  Diamond rushed to Jack, ignoring Hugo’s warning growl. She rolled the unconscious prince onto his side before any of his men could get there, then launched herself at General Edo, her face furious.

  “What in the name of Chaos did you do that for?” she raged at him. “The prince’s men could cut you down in a second. Are you insane? Do you want to die too?” she yelled, tears shining in her eyes. Losing her childhood uncle would be more than she could bear right now.

  But the general was panting. Panting and grinning like he had just had the best time. Diamond couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Before she could release the tirade of anxiety burning a hole in her chest, Hugo grabbed her arm and yanked her away. The general watched Hugo seize her and did nothing, only turned away from them, his wings still armoured and outstretched.

  “Let go of me, you—”

  “Leave him. He needs to talk to the men now,” Hugo interrupted her, his voice infuriatingly calm. “Do not interfere, Diamond. Whatever you think, this was necessary, and the general has the prince’s best interests at heart.”

  “Best interests!” she spluttered disbelievingly. They are all mad.

  But Hugo held her gaze steadily. “Yes. If it is any of your concern at all, General Edo will explain when he is ready; until then, go and sit with Jack and let the general do what he does best—lead these men,” he finished.

  Diamond pushed her hands onto her hips and glared at him. No one gives me orders. Who does he think he is? But winning a staring contest with a Queen’s guard was not something she could manage. He cocked a dark brow expectantly and she dropped her eyes.

  “Fine! I’ll sit with him. No one else seems bothered anyway,” she muttered, plonking herself on the
ground next to Jack. That wasn’t strictly true. Jack’s soldiers had not been given time to check on him. All the men and women, she noticed now, had been gathered together by General Edo.

  Hugo threw her a warning look over one broad shoulder as he strode over to join them.

  It was hard not to listen to General Edo’s explanation to the soldiers. He gave a rousing speech, easily gaining their trust and support. Darkness settled around the group as he confidently organised the warriors. Diamond shivered, cold seeping into her clothes. It was a relief when Tom came and passed over a water skin. Together they cleaned up Jack’s face.

  “Are you alright?” asked Tom, studying her face.

  “Not really,” she sighed, plopping down onto her rump. “The whole of my childhood has been built on lies and illusion.” She stared at her trembling hands, hands that could wield magic. “Do you think my father knew about my magic?”

  “I don’t know.” Tom raked his hand through his hair. “If he did, and kept it to himself, it would only be to keep you safe…you know that.”

  Pain lanced her chest. Both her father and General Edo had hidden who they really were from her. Why would my dad do that? Was the man who comforted me when I was sad, who picked me up when I fell, who told me I was his beautiful jewel, just a stranger? Did I ever really known him at all? Tears pricked her eyes.

  It was easier to ignore the storm of thoughts than confront her hurt and grief. For a while she bent her knees and rested her head on her arms, closing her eyes. Soft voices murmured through the trees, but it seemed everyone was trying to be as quiet as possible.

  Diamond felt physically sick when she thought about that wild magic coursing through her bones and blood. Did I really let it consume me so much my soul drifted into Eternity? She squeezed her arms tightly around her knees.