King's Inheritance

by D L Colon

  “Got it. I will be appearing there now and I will let the other’s know where I’m going to be. By the way, nice name.” Noryad says and cuts communication.

  Dorian smiles, realizing that he said his middle name instead of his first and laughs as he turns around and says to Deana, “Help is on the way. Let’s get everything ready.”

  They head inside to get everything ready for Noryad’s arrival.

  Chapter 40

  Noryad has been getting notifications of the members of Behemoth, letting him know that they have gotten their families, or people, safe. He still hasn’t heard from Dorian, Michael and Erick when his ear starts beeping and he hears Dorian say, “My liege, this is Adrian. I have a large group of people and my mate, but we need help. There are wounded who need help and assistance asap.”

  Noryad smiles and answers him, “Got it. I will be appearing there now and I will let the other’s know where I’m going to be. By the way, nice name.” He smiles again as he cuts communication then turns to Coral and says, “My Goddess, we need to head toward Dorian’s house. They need help healing some of the wounded.”

  Coral smiles at his possessive use of her status and says, “I will meet you there. There is something that I have to do.” He nods and she disappears.

  When she’s gone Noryad touches his ear piece to contact all of them and says, “I will be heading to Dorian’s place. Everyone come there. We need help healing the wounded. If you have someone who can heal send them there please.” When he cuts the communication he opens the portal and heads into it. The portal opens in front of Dorian’s place and as Noryad steps out, Deana comes out with her Dragon Wind staff to attack him.

  Noryad, who has his eyes closed as he steps out of the portal, opens them and looks at Deana, paralyzing her. He snaps his fingers and his staff-sword appears in his hand. He is twirling it with his right hand as he approaches Deana.

  Dorian, who is in front of the house, sees what is happening and walks to Noryad, “My liege, I am glad you made it so soon. I see that you have met my mate, Deana.”

  As he points to Deana, Noryad smiles. “Yes, I have met her. Kinda had to paralyze her, but don’t worry. I’ll release her now.”

  Coral appears beside Noryad just as he releases Deana. Deana, who has been paying attention to everything, walks over and stops in front of Noryad, kneels in reverence and says, “It’s true. The King has arrived.”

  Dorian smirks at her, “I told you so.”

  Deana gets up and throws a grin at Dorian, “Shut up, Adrian. You’re usually wrong.”

  Coral and Noryad start laughing and soon Dorian and Deana join them. After a minute Noryad turns serious, “Time to work. Where are the wounded?”

  They head inside, being led by Dorian and Deana, and everyone who sees him is curious about who he is. Once he makes it into the room he starts looking at the patients, putting one finger on their shoulder to see who needs immediate treatment. He turns to Coral, Dorian and Deana. “I need people to help. Gather everyone who is available to help me.”

  Deana goes into the other room and comes back with two woman. Noryad looks at them with his mage eyes and asks, “What are your names and what abilities do you possess that will help the wounded?”

  The one on the right answers, “I am Linda. I am Michael’s mate.”

  The other one answers, “I am Corrina. I am Erick’s mate and we are both healers”

  Noryad nods to them, “Well, Linda and Corrina, it’s going to be a long day and we have a lot to do, so let’s get started.”

  As they work with the patients, hours pass. By the time they are finished every member of Behemoth is there, with countless other people, and Noryad says to Corrina and Linda, “We are done. You can go to your mates and we will be leaving in the morning.”

  Linda and Corrina go to their mates, who were outside waiting impatiently for them, and Noryad goes to Coral, who is looking at the moon. He hugs her from behind and she turns her head to see who it is. When she sees that it’s him she smiles and he captures her mouth in a soft, slow kiss. When he breaks the kiss he smiles at her, “I’m glad that I had you by my side through all this. Let’s go get some rest, my Goddess.” Then he leads her to the room Dorian and Deana told him they had readied for them.

  Chapter 41

  The next day

  Noryad wakes up and sees that everyone else is still asleep. He decides to leave the house so he doesn’t wake everyone. Once he is outside he stands there, looking the house, before he turns around, facing the horizon. While standing there he uses his power to see how the Lost City is doing and discovers that the tournament has started. Selene is already pregnant with Drake’s babies and he says out loud to himself, “Everything is happening like I saw it. Feliz cumpleaños, Drake.”

  As he continues to stand there he hears Selene say thank you, and that she will be the bringer of life instead of destroying the world. Noryad is about to tell her something, but Xandar walks up to stand beside him. Xandar, who has been serious as long as Noryad has known him, is calmer and more relaxed now that he is back with his mate, Charlotte.

  Xandar stands there for a few minutes in silence before he turns to Noryad and says, “I wasn’t sure if you would be able to be the King we all needed, but you have shown that you are more than just a King. Even when the souls of the dead were being captured you went and fought yourself. You could have used your status as King and sent Merlin, but no, you went and did it yourself. While my city was under attack, you could have chosen to ignore the vision and let it burn to the ground and we wouldn’t have been able to blame you for it, but you chose to alert us.”

  Noryad stares at the horizon as he speaks, “I never expected to find anyone alive in the Caribbean. When I met you I knew you held a more important role than you were letting on. I choose to fight because I’m fighting to protect those I love. I will never hide behind my people and let them fight for me, it’s not who I am. I will be the leader my people deserve, dead or not. I still have much to learn and even more to do, but Xandar, I came to protect your city because it is part of my Kingdom and I protect what is mine. I have been thinking about something and wanted to ask you, would you like to bring your people to the castle? Then maybe later you can all go with me to The Lost City, where I will give you complete control over one of the smaller cities to live in with your families and everyone else.”

  “Your Majesty, you don’t have to do any of that. We are just humble servants to the crown.”

  “Never call yourself a servant. You have your own life and are free to make your own decisions. I may be your King, but I am not higher than you. I’m here with my feet on the ground and I know I need a lot more than servants, I need warriors and that’s what you all are. I don’t need servants, I need friends and people I can count on for what’s approaching. We have to face Albert and he wants to make sure I don’t come out alive.”

  Xandar bows slightly, “Behemoth has your back, Noryad King.”

  “I appreciate that. Now rise before I kick your ass,” he responds with a chuckle.

  ******

  Coral walks outside after waking alone in bed, and sees Xandar and Noryad talking. Charlotte, who is not far away, walks to Coral and introduces herself. “Hello. I’m Charlotte, Xandar’s mate. Can I ask you something?” Coral nods and Charlotte continues, “What is your name? Who is the man beside my Xandar?”

  Coral smiles at the possessiveness in Charlotte’s voice when she speaks Xandar’s name and answers, “I am Coral, Goddess of Fate and he is Noryad King the last remaining member of the King family, which makes him your King.”

  “It’s good to know our King is back, but he looks quite young.”

  “He is young in age, but he is more than capable of doing his job as the King.”

  Xandar and Noryad, using their super hearing, have been listening to the conversation between Charlotte and Coral. When Charlotte makes the comment about Noryad’s age Xandar stiffens up a little, but Noryad j
ust grins. When Coral comments back they decide it’s time to turn around.

  They smirk at Coral and Charlotte before Xandar asks, “How long are you two going to be back there talking behind our backs?”

  Coral’s and Charlotte’s faces register shock as they realize their entire conversation was overheard by the men. Noryad, with a wide grin on his face, looks at Coral and says, “My Goddess, I need you to bring everyone here. It’s time to leave.”

  Xandar grins at Coral’s expression and looks at Charlotte, “My love, why don’t you go and help Coral?”

  Charlotte and Coral turn and walk away, but as they walk off Noryad and Xandar hear them say, “Bossy ass men,” and their laughter encompasses them.

  Chapter 42

  Noryad, with Xandar beside him, watches as each member of Behemoth, as well as their mates and Christina, gather around. Behind them are the people they have been able to save. Gray knows that they are all curious about Christina, he can feel it coming off of them in waves, so he motions to Xandar, seeking permission to address Noryad.

  When Xandar nods, Gray approaches Noryad. “My Liege, I know many of you don’t know who the woman beside me is, so I will tell you. Her name is Christina and she saved my life yesterday. If you choose to leave her behind I will stay with her, I owe her that much.”

  Christina doesn’t know what they are talking about, but she turns around and each one of the leading males are smiling. She impatiently walks toward Gray with a scowl on her face and when Noryad notices this he paralyzes her with a single look. Her face registers shock when Noryad mentally invades her mind: To whom do you think you are approaching like that? You may not know who I am, but I am your King.

  Gray turns around, sees Christina paralyzed and his eyes start glowing red. He turns back around and says to Noryad, “Let her go.”

  Noryad looks at him with the stern face of a King and answers him, “Are you in a position to question me, Gray? We were the ones who are having a conversation. Did you invite her into the conversation?” When Gray shakes his head Noryad continues, “Then you cannot get mad at me. I expect respect from anyone and even though she has my thanks for saving you, she has to wait to be called over and invited into a private conversation. I expect the same from everyone.”

  “He is right, Gray.” Xandar says in a firm tone, “She has to be respectful, especially to the King.”

  Gray realizes his mistake and calms down, “I am sorry, my King. It wasn’t my intention to disrespect you.”

  Noryad lets Christina go and she takes out her swords, her face is red with rage, and she moves to attack Noryad. Gray moves to intercept her, but Noryad stops him. As soon as she’s close to him she tries to stab him, but Noryad disappears and reappears behind her with his staff-sword pressed against her neck. He kicks the back of her knees, dropping her to a kneeling position. When he walks around to face her, his eyes are glowing gold and he says, loud enough for everyone in the area to hear him. “I am Noryad King, the last remaining member of the King family. I am a telepath, a seer, and the strongest Necromancer alive. I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting me. I am a just and respectful King and I will not kill in vain, but I expect respect from those I rule. If you do not like me I really don’t care, but I will not let anyone die in my kingdom. Christina, do you desire to live and walk away or die here today?”

  Christina is shocked to hear who the man in front of her is. “I want to live and I will serve you willingly.”

  Noryad stretches out his hand and brings her to her feet. When he releases her he turns to face everyone. “Everyone, we are all going to my Kingdom.”

  Noryad faces the horizon and opens a big portal so everyone can get inside. Once it’s open Noryad steps aside and everyone enters the portal. He steps in last with Coral, closing it behind them.

  Chapter 43

  The portal opens at the entrance to the Kingdom and Noryad is the first to step out, followed by Coral, the Behemoth with their mates, and Christina. Once everyone is out of the portal Noryad closes it then turns around to see the amount of people who have come to live in the Kingdom Tyrone created. When he faces them everyone drops to their knees, kneeling in respect to their King.

  Souls are starting to kneel, too, and one starts chanting, “Long live the King!” and everyone around joins in. Noryad rises his hand and opens the gates to the Kingdom and everyone rises to their feet and enters while Noryad, Coral, the Behemoth with their mates, and Christina remains outside watching them enter. Noryad is quite surprised by the amount of people who will be staying here now.

  Coral, seeing the look on Noryad’s face, grabs his hand and gives it a light squeeze. He returns the squeeze and kisses the top of her hand, his eyes never leaving the group of people walking through the castle gates. Once everyone is inside Noryad and the rest go in. As they walk Noryad asks Erick and Michael if they encountered any problem along the way while they were getting their mates. Erick and Michael both tell him that they didn’t encounter any scavengers on their way and head for their rooms in the castle with their mates at their sides.

  Coral and Noryad head to their room to shower and prepare for the rest of the day. Once inside their room Coral turns to Noryad, “You know that today is Drake’s birthday, right?”

  “Yes. I watched how the tournament was going this morning and I know that Selene will be captured today and kept alive for the next two months while I still train to get my sword.”

  Coral wraps her arms around him and lays her head on his chest, “You will get it, my love. I need to talk to you about something I’m thinking on doing.”

  “Anything, my Goddess.”

  Coral takes a deep breath and kisses his chest before she speaks again, “I’m planning on going to see Albert.”

  Noryad’s face goes blank the moment the words leave her mouth and a lot of emotions start to war inside of him. Jealousy, anger and hate are the three strongest, but none reflect in his eyes. “Okay.” He says with a blank face. “Are you going alone?”

  “I’m thinking about going alone. It’s something I need to do alone.”

  Noryad’s eyes come back to life as he says, “There is no way I’m letting you go see that asshole alone!”

  Coral, furious at his reaction, shoots back, “I’m not yours to command, Noryad King. I am the Goddess of Fate, not an unprotected child!”

  Noryad takes a deep breath and with a cold detached tone, says, “You are right. Forgive me, Goddess of Fate, it won’t happen again.” Then he turns and walks to the door. Once he is at the door he says, without looking back, “Goddess, if you need my assistance I’m going to be at the church training for my fight with the owner of the Sword of Kings.” When he’s finished he opens the door and walks out, closing it behind him without another look at her.

  When he is gone Coral is left with a cold, empty feeling in her body and the more distance Noryad puts between them the emptier she feels.

  Chapter 44

  Noryad is heading toward the church as his mind runs wild. He has no idea why he acted that way, it is so out of character for him to be so demanding of someone, much less someone who is higher in status than him, but he knows that when Coral is involved he can’t think straight about anything. He has an intensely bad feeling about this and knows that if she goes alone that Albert won’t let her leave quietly. He knows that Albert will make sure something happens to send a message to him.

  Noryad won’t go back, he will let his emotions calm down and then he will talk to Coral, if she wants to talk to him that is. He arrives at the church to find Merlin, Xandar and his men already there. “Hello everyone.” He greets them then turns to face Merlin, “Am I ready to claim the Sword of Kings?”

  “You seem ready to me, Noryad King, but that is something you are going to have to prove to the sword.”

  Noryad smiles and replies, “Sounds like a plan.”

  “My King, are you ready to train with us?” Xandar asks.

  “I’m ready as
I’ll ever be,” he responds then heads to the room with the animated bodies. When he opens the wall he isn’t greeted with the room he’s used to, instead there’s a training ground there. Bruce is waiting in the middle of the training ground grinning at him and Noryad can’t help but grin back. He is no longer thinking of the situation with Coral, he has pushed it to the back of his mind while he trains.

  Noryad summons his staff-sword and stops quite a distance from Bruce. They both get in a fighting stance and watch each other. Bruce, using his faster movements, moves first and heads to attack Noryad, but Noryad is already heading to deflect the blow from Bruce’s sword. When Noryad deflects the blow he sends a blast of magic, not to kill or injure Bruce but to train his magic power for war. Bruce is sent flying back, but he lands on his feet and starts running toward Noryad again. This time, moving swiftly and using his body’s own natural grace, he attacks Noryad, but Noryad is able to keep up with Bruce. Noryad can’t do anything but defend while Bruce’s onslaught of attacks continues, making Noryad pay more attention to his surroundings and Bruce’s body language.

  After a brief time his instincts and reflexes kick in and, before he realizes it, he starts to attack as well as defend. They are in the middle of the training ground and both men are moving swiftly, like they are in a perfectly choreographed dance. They attack and defend, never breaking the dance. Noryad is smiling and so is Bruce, it has been a while since Bruce has found someone who can stand up to him in this way.

  Noryad starts to notice that he can move faster, predict his opponent’s movements and see the attacks before they happen. They continue attacking and defending for a while, but when Bruce goes to punch Noryad in the face Noryad sees it before it happens and drops his sword, letting it stab the floor. He grabs Bruce’s hand and throws him to the floor. Bruce tries to stand back up, but Noryad has a knee in Bruce’s chest and his short magical knife at Bruce’s throat.