The Rýkr Duet

by M. E. Clayton

  “Anytime, Avalon.”

  As we headed towards the cafeteria, I worried in just how terrifying those answers might be.

  Chapter 21

  Griffin~

  I knew Avalon and Neve were having some sort of private birthday dinner/party with just their parents and the friends they had been sitting with at lunch. I knew this because while my powers were useless where Avalon was concerned, they weren’t useless where her two friends were. I had looked into Bonnie Chen’s night and Gale Broussard’s night and I had seen them having dinner and cake with Avalon and Neve at their little ranch house.

  Admittedly, I’d been kind of surprised since Neve seemed the type to want a huge party for her eighteenth birthday, but I was pretty sure my and Easton’s arrivals had ruined that for her, if that had been the plan.

  I’d also been able to see when they had planned to wrap up the party and that was the reason why I had waited until eight in the evening to knock on Avalon’s front door. Though it was a Thursday, Avalon and I would be skipping school tomorrow, and I was here to finally meet her adoptive parents and set some things straight.

  I wasn’t opposed to letting Avalon finish her senior year of school at Clearwater, but she would be going home to Rýkr with me eventually, and I needed to make that clear to everyone. Especially, her sister since I couldn’t see Neve keeping quiet as I whisked her sister away to live with me forever.

  After about a minute, the door opened and William Lively stood in the doorway, eyeing me like he was seriously considering murdering me.

  He knew who I was.

  “May I help you?” he asked with some serious bite in his voice.

  “I’m not here to cause any problems, sir,” I lied. “I just think it’s time for us to talk.”

  His eyes darted around. “And where’s the other one?” he asked.

  “My brother is home,” I told him. “How he wants to handle things with Neve is his business.”

  Mr. Lively’s chin came up. “So, you’re here for Avalon,” he surmised.

  I nodded. “I’m here for Avalon,” I confirmed.

  “And why should I let you in?” he challenged, and I had to admire that. Even knowing what he was going up against, he was still doing his best to protect his daughters.

  I didn’t want to embarrass or humiliate the man, so I did my best to make my position clear without sounding condescending. “You may be her father, but I’m her soulmate,” I told him. “And I will do anything and everything I have to in order to make that girl mine. Where you don’t want to live without her, Mr. Lively, I can’t live without her.”

  He didn’t say anything for a long minute, but he finally asked, “And what can you do?”

  I didn’t see any harm in answering him because revealing what I was capable of would be putting his daughters in harm’s way, too. “I can see the future, move objects the same way Avalon can, and my hearing is rather remarkable.”

  “What-”

  “With all due respect, Mr. Lively, I’d rather do this once,” I said, interrupting him. “I’ll answer whatever questions I can, but I’d prefer to do it inside, so that your wife and Avalon can hear the answers, too.”

  He gave me a terse nod, then stepped aside to let me in. As he shut the door behind me, he said, “Have a seat while I go get my family.” I didn’t miss his meaning. He was letting me know that Avalon was his family, no matter what I was to her.

  I took a seat and there was no need to look around. Having already used my gifts on Mr. Lively, I already knew what their home looked like. I knew almost every inch of this house already, but I wasn’t going to comment on that. This was going to be hard enough for them as it was.

  After about a minute, Mr. Lively walked back into the living room with his wife and daughters walking in behind him. My eyes automatically connected with Avalon’s and the poor girl look nauseous. Her posture was so rigid that you’d think she was being led to the gallows.

  Hell, maybe she was.

  I waited for everyone to get comfortable as I had taken a seat in one of the armchairs located closest to the fireplace. Neve and her parents chose to sit on the couch together while Avalon sat near her parents on the coffee table.

  Mr. Lively made the introductions. “Well, you already know my daughters, but I’m William Lively and this is my wife, Betty Lively,” he said. “Though I’m sure you already knew that.”

  I nodded in an acknowledgment of his truth. “I did.”

  “What are you doing here, Griffin?” Neve asked, no one remarking on her rudeness. Still, I didn’t fault them. I knew my arrival had to be making them anxious.

  “I’m here to talk to your parents and make my intentions clear,” I answered honestly. “This thing with me and Avalon is happening faster than I had expected and I’m here to do the right thing.”

  “And what would that be?” Mr. Lively asked.

  “I’m not sure of what you know or don’t know-”

  “We know enough,” Mrs. Lively interrupted. “When the girls were given to us, we were also given a journal. Their mother also wrote them letters which we’ve already read.”

  I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees, my hands clasped together in front of me. “I’ll skip the details about our people, then. Since you already know what we are, I’ll get straight to the facts of the matter,” I started. “Eamon Stallard was a violent man. He beat his wife, but there was nothing to be done about it. Though they had not been bonded, they were still a Rýkr husband and wife, so there really wasn’t an out for her.” Neve let out a little gasp, but Avalon remained silent. “When she fell pregnant, she found out that her daughters bonds had already been forged, and when she found out they’d been bonded to Rýkr’s royalty, she knew Eamon would never give up the chance at that kind of power.”

  “Royalty?” Mrs. Lively asked.

  I nodded. “Though Rýkr is as modern as any city in the world today, it was founded as a monarchy. Our father is, legally, the mayor of Rýkr, but to the people of our city, he is their king.”

  “Making you and your brother princes,” Neve remarked.

  I nodded again. “Anyway, fearful that her daughters might meet the same fate as she did, Lesedi made the ultimate sacrifice as a mother. She freed her daughters at the cost of her own life.”

  “Your father killed her?” Neve asked.

  Shaking my head, I answered, “No. She was killed by your father.” I knew this was painful to hear, but they needed to know. “When he found out what she’d done, he killed her. Still, knowing that my father and mother wouldn’t and couldn’t let that go unpunished, he had taken the coward’s way out and killed himself before he could be held accountable for his actions.”

  Though Avalon’s been quiet this entire time, Neve let out a dark laugh. “Of course, he did.”

  “How did Lesedi know the girls had already been bonded while in utero?” Mrs. Lively asked.

  “Our mothers couldn’t seem to spend enough time together while they were pregnant,” I went on to explain. “At first, they had chalked it up to pregnancy hormones, but as the months went by, the need to be around each other had intensified, and that when they realized what was happening.”

  “Did that kind of thing happen often?” Mr. Lively asked, finally joining in on the conversation.

  “No,” I answered. “As far as they knew, it was the first time something like that had ever happened to our people.”

  “Really?” Neve asked.

  “Yes, really.” I sat up and leaned back against the chair. “Eamon found out about his wife’s duplicity the very next day, so Lesedi hadn’t had time to make her own escape.”

  “How did he find out so quickly?” Mr. Lively asked.

  “The night Lesedi handed you the girls, my brother and I started crying, and we wouldn’t stop,” I told him. “Concerned, my mother had called Eamon and had asked him to bring the girls over because she was hoping being near them would calm us down.” I shrugged. “Come
to find out, the reason we’d been crying was because we could feel the girls being drawn further and further away from us.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Mrs. Lively swore softly under her breath.

  “How do you know all this?” Avalon asked, finally saying something.

  “When Easton and I were fourteen, our parents sat us down and had told us everything about Eamon, Lesedi, and you girls,” I told her. “They told us about how it’d taken over a year for Easton and me to finally stop crying and why we’ve always had this aching feeling in our chests.”

  “We had assumed the girls both had Colic,” Mr. Lively said. “I guess not.”

  “I don’t understand,” Avalon jumped in. “How did you find us? You can’t tell me you’ve been searching for us all this time.”

  I almost winced. This was where it was going to get…sticky. “My parents have always known where you girls were,” I admitted.

  “What?” Her blue eyes were as wide as saucers.

  “You were never missing, baby.”

  Chapter 22

  Avalon~

  You would think that having magical powers would make me immune to the unbelievable, but this shit was unbelievable.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  So far, everything sounded relatively realistic. Well, if you take out the parts that included soulmate bonding and superpowers, everything else sounded relatively realistic. Lots of women went to great lengths to protect their children, so I could see where our birth mother was coming from. What I didn’t understand was why Griffin’s parents had never come for us if they’ve always known where we were.

  Griffin winced a little, but it was still noticeable. “Within a few days, my parents had found out where you were and who you were with,” he went on to explain. “Of course, my mother had wanted to come and get you girls, but…” He took a deep breath, and I knew this couldn’t be good. “Well, my father had gotten it in his head to try an experiment of sorts.”

  “An experiment?” Mom echoed.

  “Since the beginning of our history, the bonds between our people have always existed,” he said. “It’s rare to be bonded with an outsider, but it’s happened. However, it’s also possible to not to be bonded at all. Just because you were born of Rýkr that did not mean you were destined to be bonded to someone. It’s…” Griffin shrugged. “It’s a roll of the dice, really.”

  “So, what about this experiment?” Dad prompted.

  “What Lesedi did had never been done before,” he said. “Rýkr was our way of life and no one questioned it. However, I have no idea if other wives were being beaten to the extent that Lesedi had suffered, so I don’t know.” Another deep breath. “At any rate, my father had taken the situation at hand and had decided to test his people.”

  “Test his people?” Neve asked. “How?”

  “He wanted to test the strength of our bonds, and to find out if they were so strong because of nature or nurture.” My chest felt tight, and I had to remind myself to breathe. “In Rýkr, as soon as you’re bonded, that bond is nurtured. Couples become couple way before they even know what it means to be a couple. Historically, the bonds are developed between the ages of five and nine. From there, the children are inseparable. They know no one else, and they never will.”

  “That’s why I’ve never liked other boys before,” I mumbled quietly, but since everyone was on the edge of their seats with Griffin’s story, they all heard me anyway.

  Griffin nodded. “Our bond wouldn’t allow it,” he confirmed. “Just like our bond made it impossible for me to touch another girl.”

  That comment hit me hard for a lot of reasons. First, there was no embarrassment in his demeanor at announcing to me, my sister, and my parents that he was a virgin. Second, I just couldn’t believe he was a virgin. I mean, look at the boy. He was beyond gorgeous and sexy. Third, he’s known since he was fourteen that I existed, and he’s waited all this time for me.

  I was pretty sure I was getting lightheaded.

  “Why were you told?” Dad asked. “Why tell you about Neve and Avalon if this was an experiment?”

  “The older we got, the…more volatile we became,” Griffin told him. “We started acting like caged lions, so Dad had no choice but to tell us. We had really started believing something was wrong with us, so our parents really didn’t have a choice but to tell us.”

  “Were you…upset?” Mom asked.

  Griffin smirked. “Furious,” he admitted. “Though I had dealt with my anger better than Easton had dealt with his, we’d both been angry. We’d felt manipulated, and we hadn’t appreciated it. Still don’t if you want to know the truth.”

  “So, why are you here now?” I asked. As incredible as it all sounded, I knew there was still more to come.

  “When Easton and I turned eighteen a few months back, our abilities matured into what they are now,” he said. “While they’re stronger than they have ever been, we’re able to control them better.” I could feel my face warm with embarrassment at the memories of how I hadn’t been able to control mine, but I did my best to hide it. My parents didn’t need to know the details of what I’ve been up to with Griffin Keenstone. “It took some getting used to, but Easton and I know what we’re doing now.”

  “So, these…sensations are what? Our powers maturing?” Neve asked.

  Griffin nodded. “Yes.” Then he grimaced a bit. “But I think your birthdays coupled with us being here is what’s causing the extreme feeling of anxiousness you are feeling. Luckily, Easton and I were able to reach our eighteenth birthday without the distraction you girls would have caused for us.”

  “Lucky you,” Neve deadpanned, causing Dad to chuckle a bit.

  “So, what does this all mean for the girls?” Mom asked. “Why are you here? Why now?”

  “We’re here because our eighteenth birthdays mean something different for the people of Rýkr than they do for the rest of the world,” he said, and I could feel the tension in the room explode. Especially, from my parents.

  “Which means?” Dad asked.

  “Had the girls been raised in Rýkr, they would have spent this past year planning our weddings,” he answered, shocking the shit out of everyone in the room. “Our lives would have been spent honing our abilities and strengthening our bonds. By the time we reached the age of eighteen, marriage would have just been a formal legality.”

  “You can’t be serious,” I remarked, my head spinning from all he was telling us.

  “I’m very serious,” he replied coolly. “Even though you were raised by the Livelys, I’m here because I wasn’t. I was raised in the way of our people, and my expectations are exactly as what I’ve been raised to believe. You are mine, Avalon. You have always been mine. You will always be mine, and I’m not going back to Rýkr without you.”

  “So, you just expect to pack up the girls and take them back with you?” Dad asked, anger shining through at Griffin’s audacity.

  “No,” Griffin replied. “Easton and I have already graduated from high school and were only enrolled in Clearwater to get close to the girls. I have no problem letting Avalon continue to live her and go to school until she graduates.” His gaze swept over all of us before returning to look my dad in the eye. “However, there’s no question of how this is going to end, Mr. Lively. Either you give her to me, or I take her from you. It’s up to you.”

  Dad stood up. “You dare to come into my home and threaten me?” he snarled at Griffin.

  Griffin stood up as well. “No,” he answered. “I am not threatening you. I’m merely stating the facts.” Griffin slipped his hands in his jean pockets. “Like I told you outside, while you might not want to live without your daughter, I can’t live without her. And she can no longer live without me.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked. “How do you know I can’t live without you now?”

  Griffin looked my way. “I didn’t say you couldn’t survive without me because you can. These past eighteen years are proof
enough of that,” he said. “But if you do not chose me, we will both be mateless, childless, and miserable for the rest of our lives. Do you consider that living?”

  “I…” I trailed off because the idea of that level of loneliness felt rather overwhelming.

  Griffin looked back at my dad. “Avalon is spending her eighteenth birthday with me and I will return her to you tomorrow, safely,” he promised. “Please, for her sake, do not make this uglier than it needs to be.”

  “And I’m just supposed to let you?” Dad practically yelled. “I’m just supposed to let you take my little girl and…and…”

  “No,” Griffin repeated. “I’m not taking her as long as you do the right thing and give her to me.” Griffin shook his head. “I know you can’t possibly understand what I’m talking about, but you have no idea what you’ll be doing to her if you keep her from me now that we’ve-” He broke off and looked over at me, leaving it up to me to tell my parents the truth.

  “Avalon?” Mom prompted.

  I looked at my parents, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from tearing up, even if I wanted to. “I…I don’t feel broken anymore,” I told them honestly. “When Griffin is near me, I don’t feel…lost anymore.” Mom immediately started crying while my sister just bowed her head.

  And Dad?

  Dad looked like his heart was breaking in two.

  With my head in my hands, I started crying for my parents, my sister, and myself. I also cried for all the things we still didn’t know. I cried because everything was changing, and I was powerless to stop it.

  When it was Griffin’s arms that wrapped around me instead of my father’s, that told me everything I needed to know.

  Griffin had won.

  Chapter 23

  Griffin~

  The drive my house felt like I’d just yanked a foster kid from their wonderful foster parents only to give them back to their awful birth parents.

  Well, maybe not that dramatic, but close.

  After promising the Livelys-again-that I would take Avalon back home tomorrow, her father had finally relented, and it had been tense and awkward as fuck when Avalon had gone upstairs to pack an overnight bag. Leaving me with her sister and parents, Mrs. Lively had finally asked where Easton was and had wanted to know why he wasn’t making the same bid for Neve. Instead of telling her the truth, I had told her that every bond was different and that I didn’t want to overstep and speak for him. I had managed to convince William and Betty that I was respecting my brother’s privacy when, in fact, Easton was just an asshole.