"You said conditions."
"I want my son to sire your first heir. We will live in the Elvin kingdom and be under its rule. I want my blood on your throne as a steward."
That is a tricky promise. But I really do not want a war with the fairies.
"My steward is already picked out and will remain for a while yet."
"I understand while you unite the kingdoms it will be impossible. In the next ten years shall we say? Five if you accomplish this sooner."
"And what makes your son worthy of this honor?"
"Oh, he is a sweet thing. A pushover really. But he is a magical powerhouse. Your offspring would be able to hold a throne without help from a dragon."
"A pushover?"
"He will not contest for your hand in marriage. He is the type of fellow you can sire offspring with and be friends with after with no problems. Also, he is attracted to men so there will be no lasting feelings for you as anything other than the mother of his child. It will make other heirs for other provinces and finding a love of your own less messy will it not?"
She has a point there. If I ever do fall in love how will he feel about me having kids from so many men? I will need people to rule spaces far off when I am in another region and such. So, a strong heir with a father I can be friends with but will not have any attraction to me sounds like a marvelous plan.
"I agree. Within ten years. Five if things are settled by then."
She stands a smile on her face hand outstretched.
"Then the kingdom of fairies surrenders to Queen Elainne. We will ready the portal to move us all. Have you alerted your people to prepare for our arrival?"
"Yes, it was the first thing I spoke of earlier when we talked."
"You were that sure I would say yes?"
I shrug nonchalantly and finish my food.
"You enjoy your meal. I will need to prepare for the move. It will take all of us."
I wipe my lips with my napkin and stand.
"We will help."
She smiles and takes my hand. "That will help. Thank you."
She releases me and steps forward using a spell to make her voice loud and booming throughout the kingdom while she makes the announcement.
"Do you think they will be okay with her decision?"
Talon has sidled up to my side. We will see. And I am loathing leaving Aiden with this mess while I travel to the other kingdoms. There is little other option though.
"I wonder if our people will be okay with this decision."
He smiles and loops an arm over my shoulders.
"Well, we never do things the easy way do we?"
I shake my head. "Where is the fun in that?"
He laughs before letting me go.
"Are you three still prepared to help? It will be magically taxing?"
We nod and step forward.
"Normally we can braid our magic because of its likeness. We shall have to hold hands to succeed at this with you three. Please join hands with us."
We take her advice and close our eyes concentrating on braiding our magic with theirs. I can feel them. All their hopes and nerves. Their joy and sorrow. Their excitement at being part of the world again. I hold on to their dreams of a broadened future. I will not disappoint them.
I feel the shift as their dimension melds with ours and we appear far back into the palace gardens, the one only royalty is allowed in. It is the largest and now there will be a second reason for it. All the buildings come. Except for the crystal palace. It is a much smaller version now. More like a manor than a place fit for a throne.
"It suits better here. I am no longer a queen."
"I think to your people you will always be a queen. I would not have minded."
She pats my cheek fondly. "But it would not be right; it would cause too much hesitation. My people answer to you now."
"I will introduce you to my steward before I leave tomorrow morning. He will be working with you to settle everyone. As well as monetary exchange and so on. He will also introduce you to the council you will now sit on."
"Very well."
"He is kind, you will like him. He is also very logical."
"Very well."
I take her hand. I have to do this before they all settle into sleep. Viktor and Talon follow. I still have to figure out what to do about Viktor. I can’t keep things like this. He is not even a Kemp anymore. I am not even sure I trust him with my life.
I push my way into the throne room holding hands with a woman that towers over all but the tallest of elves.
"Everyone I would like you to meet the newest council member. The former queen of fairies. She is representing her people who have surrendered to me. Any questions?"
The squabble that’d been going on stops and everyone stares in shock except Cullen and Aiden. Aiden stands and bows, Cullen, waves from his chair where he is turned and, on his knees, to look over. He looks more childlike than ever doing it but I am not telling. It does put a smile on my face though.
"FireHeart that is Cullen. He joined the council only days ago so you will have lots in common. He represents the mages."
"The magical people. Like your champion."
"Yes. Take a seat next to him. Aiden bring her into the loop. I need to see Avren and the four of us will discuss who is next on the visiting list."
I stride out of the room as quickly as I entered silently apologizing to Aiden wishing we had a psychic connection so he would hear how sorry I am to leave this to him. We are on a time limit; I have little over one week until I have to leave for the summit to pick a ruler. One fit to rule. So far no one seems capable of controlling the riots even so I doubt I will find a good one. I admit it now. Avren is right the world needs a change and I am going to be it.
Chapter nine
"So, do we canter about like bunnies aimless or do we set out looking for a race of creatures in particular?"
Avren looks to me and gives me the dragon version of a shrug. Great. He is going to pout and be a pain in the ass.
"Fine. Talon you will stay."
He looks hurt and shocks. Everyone in the circle does.
"I want you dragon-ed and in training for that side in a week. The sooner the better. Up for the challenge?"
"Are you sure? That means the only protection you will have is Viktor."
"I am capable of protecting myself but I have no doubt he will fulfill his Kemp duties to the best of his ability. After all, I need to be alive to do as he and Avren wish. Isn't that right you two?"
They don’t look away but they have the grace to look ashamed. I stare them down until they do look away. Now that we have figured out who is actually in charge I look back to Talon.
"I have no doubt you will find it easier than Viktor. You had a similar process to acquire your cemented mage powers. You also are not filled with guilt, self-hatred, and indecision. I also would like Aiden to see the process before he undergoes it. Only Avren and Aiden will have access to you. I will check in as frequently as I can. Be safe and please come back. I don’t want to have to be stabbed yet again."
He hugs me tight winking as he pulls back.
"You know it won't come to that. I know what I am going into."
Avren blows hot air on us mussing our clothes and gathering our attention.
"You have an opinion?"
"It is not possible."
"You will devote all your time to him so it is possible. You will be with him all day and night unless Aiden needs you. You will take a 'hands-on approach'. Understood?"
"Yes, my queen."
"Good. Tonight, you will infect Talon. I will oversee it. Most of us will get some sleep and Viktor and I leave in the morning to seek out the other races. This time we go on foot. The horses were terrified of the dimensional shift and I don’t think they could mentally handle another. So just in case, we walk."
Viktor nods and leaves to rest. Or help Aiden. I am not sure how much I care. I just need to get things straightened out. Rulin
g seems like a breeze compared to what is going on now. I hate this. Why can I not send representatives? Oh yes because of the damn prophecy.
"I have a headache. Wake me when Talon is infected if I am needed. Give me an hour though."
Avren and Talon nod and fly off to prepare for the ceremony. I can sense Avren thinks a ceremony rather than emergency attempts to save someone will make the melding more complete and the side effect of rage less prominent. I sure hope so. Talon doesn’t have the luxury of time. Pressure. It is all around us, the thing pushing us forward. And my biggest enemy.
"No spell can touch this headache. I understand Aiden's complaints so much better now."
I crawl into bed still wearing my traveling clothes and not caring. I have an hour before I am awoken and will be contributing to Avren's conversion of Talon.
True to my request I am awoken an hour after I go down. I am exhausted. Sleep does not come easily lately. I will need a vacation before I make it to the century mark for sure.
"What do you need from me?"
Avren is using his magic to hold Talon in a small cell area. No actual bars but the way he thrashes you wouldn’t know it.
"Use your magic to call him. Try to calm him."
I do as he asks. Not putting words into my message to him just feelings. How much I depend on him. How he is like a brother to me. My best friend. I let him feel those hoping he will know we are not going to hurt him.
He doesn’t still but the thrashing seems more logical like he is trying to find the way to the happy good feelings.
"Should I go down there?"
We are in Avren's dimension which is still separate from the world we usually live in. It is a haven he says. I am thinking of building a home here and using it as a getaway when I need it later on. If Avren agrees anyway.
"No. It is too soon."
"Can you call on my power the way I do yours?"
"Yes. It is frowned upon for familiars to do so but I am powerful enough to do so."
"Then do it. When you need him to feel my presence and calm him do it."
"Are you sure? You will not know when it will happen the further you are the more, I will be taking to get just the level I want to him."
"I will survive. Viktor will be with me. You have taught him well yes?"
Avren nods his big dragon head with his sad wise eyes. Odd only I can look into his eyes and tell his feelings. Even before he was my familiar.
"Then do so. I need him at least humanized by the time I come back. Even if he cannot use his new powers. Having them in an emergency will put me at ease. Going to the human kingdom and getting them to submit will not be like the other kingdoms. We can't use the stealth we did here or the prophecy we will be with the other races. No. this will be a full-scale war unless we can overshadow them with so much strength, they give in to survive."
"Yes, my queen."
I nod and walk away slowly weaning Talon from the calming effects of my power. Best to let the aggression run his system for a bit, hopefully, it will lower with time. What little time we have. Avren will know, he will know best, I will trust him with this one thing.
"A mountain base would be best for dwarves. Let's find the nearest mountain and teleport there."
"No teleporting my queen. In case I have to do what, we talked about. The effects are so jarring you could end up inside a mountain."
Okay, so we are walking. That is disturbing. The nearest mountain is…well, weeks away and I have a week to finish my visits.
"What am I to do then? We do not have time for walking. Even with horses, it will take too long. Do we skip the dwarves?"
"We can help."
The air shimmers and suddenly two horses stand in front of me. But they are not horses, no they are unicorns. One is pure white except for a grey muzzle. The mane is braided with flowers as is her tail. It looks so elegant, like a lady of the court, but far less vindictive.
The other is all grey with a black muzzle. It is not as adorned as the white one but still has grasses twinned into his horsehair.
"Welcome to the Elvin kingdom. I am Elainne. Thank you for your desire to help but it is too far even for horses…"
They whinny out loud but I hear laughing in my head. Much like talking to Avren. Comes out of the mouth dragon, in my head, it is Elvin sometimes the human common.
"We do not run like normal horses. We fly over the land almost as fast as an air beast."
I look to Avren who nods. Okay, so unicorns want to carry me to a mountain base. I am not really sure how to process that…like at all.
"We can be there in less than a full day."
"I accept." I don’t question the offer or the shimmering in and out of visibility. I can question later. For now, this saves us lots of time. Viktor and I climb on.
"I am SnowDrift and that is Charcoal."
"Nice to meet you."
I barely have the words out of my mouth and they are off. They are right they basically fly. It is so fast I have to close my eyes and cast a protection spell on my eyes before I can even think about opening them. When I am able to see, I see nothing but blurs of color. We streak by as one-color bleeds into the next before they hit their max speed then the world appears only white. How do they go so fast and see where they are going? I can’t wait to question them.
When we stop, I basically fall off. Viktor wants to help but he is in the same situation. Honestly, if they hadn't used magic to hold us on, we would not have stayed on there. I feel a bit bad for Viktor. He likely expected a smooth easy ride. But there is a huge difference riding a horse all day for training and riding a bareback unicorn running so fast the world ceases to exist.
I, on the other hand, expected to feel terrible. Though I expected it only in my legs and back. Wrong. I feel it in my stomach and head as well. My eyes are watery too. Even after blinking many times the world is still moving far too fast.
I feel a light tap on my head and the spinning stops, the butterflies in me settle, and I feel less wiggly in my legs.
"What did you do?"
"Our horns hold the power to heal. It is why we were hunted so. The humans didn’t know only we could work the magic so it was needless deaths."
"Why did you not tell them?"
"Only those with magic can hear us speak. As with your dragon."
So, it would be like trying to send a magic message to a dud. Well, that will be useful if we have to invade the human country.
"Why did you help us?"
She, or so I assume as the voice echoing in my head is beyond maternal, tilts her head and I can almost feel her smile.
"You are to bring peace. A place we will fit in once again. We are few, your stables could fit us all in, and we have no safe haven. Our young cannot use invisibility charms as we did. We cannot let our numbers grow until we are safe."
I smile thinking of changing my vacation home ideas…"How would you feel about a connecting dimension that is all wild with a permanent pathway to a stable stall for when you wish to visit?"
I can almost feel the relief flow off her. Either I am becoming an empath or unicorns don’t hide their feelings the way others do. I sure hope it is the second option. All I have seen of empaths is them being burnt out or control by emotions not their own. No one wants that curse.
"You might want to stay in the stables for a bit though…there's a Dragonoid mage running around there right now. He's receiving training and is not exactly in his right mind."
The barracks have their own stable separate from the palace one. The barracks are full and being expanded using lumber from the palace one. However, even diminished it can easily hold a hundred horses. We have maybe three in there. I have no royal steer so it is really just good travel horses for when I have to journey on horseback.
"I will let my steward and the grooms in the palace know to expect you."
They bow down with a head flourish and are off. I summon a visual spell right away. I know how fast they are.
"Elainne get back here right now! Cullen and FireHeart have done nothing but fight with the rest of the council!"
"Aiden in a few moments unicorns will be arriving. Please see to it they are taken to the royal stables and seen to until I can come back and turn Avren’s dimension into a horse sanctuary."
"Elainne don't you dare! Don’t you dare drop anything else on me! I will quit! Do you hear me?"
I try really hard not to roll my eyes. "Calm down Aiden. Tell Avren I give him permission to shut everyone up. And do not be afraid to let him singe some behinds. They will heal."
"Are you serious?!"
"Yes actually."
Anger, shock, then relief. There is my Aiden. Cool, calm, Logical Aiden.
"He flew off saying not to disturb him but if it’s a command from you."
"Yes, he is with Talon. You will see him tonight so you know more about what to expect."
He nods and opens his mouth. This will go on forever if I don’t finish it.
"Just summon him back to quiet the lot. Then tell them how things will go. I chose you as my steward Aiden. No one but you."
He nods and stands.
"I can do this."
"Yes, you can. Now go welcome the unicorns we saw earlier and their herd. And tell Avren to contact me as soon as possible."
"Very well. But I am still mad at you for leaving them all here for me to do deal with."
"And I have an eternity to do it. A week will not kill you."
He huffs but walks away muttering under his breath. Well, at least he didn’t quit.
"Will everything be alright while you are gone?"
I don’t remind Viktor he is not to speak until spoken too. I have to decide what to do with him. I can’t keep him by my side but him being a Kemp makes that hard. We have both felt the negative effects over the last year. I have to make a decision on how to handle his constant lies.
I could rip open the Kemp bond so he can’t hide but I have always said I wanted him to follow me willingly. Not because he is my puppet. I won’t go back on my word. There has to be a solution that gives him the freedom to choose. I just have to find it.
Champion Complete Series Page 51
