by Bonnie Lamer
“Yes.”
Putting my hands on my hips, I snark, “Did we pass?” Not that I really care. The farthest thing from my mind right now is making peace with the Elves.
Addylyn’s smile is genuine this time. “Yes, you did. No matter what, you stayed loyal not only to Lielle and her safety, but to me, as well. You did everything I assured the high council you would do.”
“So, this was not about a treaty between the Elves and the Fae. You want to enter into a treaty with the Witch Fairy,” Kallen discerns from her words.
Addylyn shakes her head. “No, it will be with the Fairies, as well.” As well? She must realize I am in no mood to enter any type of agreement with her.
“Right this moment, I have several ideas what you can do with your treaty,” Dagda informs her.
Inclining her head, Addylyn says, “I hope those feelings will pass with time.”
My curiosity getting the better of me, I ask, “What about the matters of the heart. Did those get resolved?”
Flashing a bright smile at her warrior husband, she says, “Yes. Adelaide and I will rule together. She and Herion will marry as they once meant to do. The practice of marrying the sons of nobles to the Queen will be abolished, allowing those Elves to find love matches of their own. My husband will be first and foremost in my life.”
“How neat and tidy for all of you,” I grumble. “You used us to achieve your goals and now things will be perfect.”
“How could you do such a thing to our child?” Addylyn’s husband asks.
“She was never in danger,” she assures him. With a surreptitious glance toward me, she adds, “Until…”
“Until my magic broke through the wall in Whysper’s mind and woke up the real Lielle,” I finish for her. “Which could have driven them both mad as neither could have a true understanding of what was happening to them.”
The warrior searches his daughter’s face. Even more worried than he was before, he asks, “Is there lasting damage?”
“There should not be,” Isla tells him. “I believe Xandra was able to prevent it.” She smiles proudly at me making me blush a little.
Rising to his feet, the warrior asks, “Do you have a healer. One who can tell such things?”
Tabitha moves forward. “I can see souls,” she informs him. Placing her hands on Lielle, she does her thing. When she drops her hands and smiles, my clenched heart begins to pound again. “She is fine,” she assures the baby’s father.
“It is partly because of your skills that I was forced to remove Lielle’s soul completely,” Addylyn explains. “You would have sensed my presence immediately.”
“Do not blame any of this on me,” Tabitha growls.
Addylyn bows her head. “That was not my intent.”
Growing tired of this conversation, mostly because I am physically exhausted thanks to Addylyn’s stint as an obnoxious baby, I say, “It’s time for you to go.” The Elf Queen’s eyes widen in surprise. What? She expected us to be welcoming her with open arms?
After a closer look at me, Addylyn says, “I do apologize for how tired I have made you. I needed to be certain you would stand by us no matter what physical or emotional strain you were under.” Tears threatening to escape again, she looks back and forth between Dagda and me and adds, “You were willing to go to war to save my child. Despite whether or not it really would have happened, I will always be in your debt for this.”
“I’m not interested in you being in my debt,” I inform her. “What I’m really interested in is a nap.”
Putting on his regal face, Dagda forces himself to look at the situation as a political one. “A treaty with the Elf realm could be beneficial for both of us.” Glancing at the warrior holding his daughter, he adds, “It seems you have quite a bit to deal with when you return home. Once things are settled, send an envoy and we will discuss the possibilities.”
“Okay, that’s settled. Boot ‘em out now,” Taz suggests with a great deal of enthusiasm. “I need a dose of bacon and three days on a feather mattress to catch up on all the missed sleep I’ve suffered.” He has taken naps here and there over the last couple of days so I don’t believe the sleeping for three days bit. He couldn’t go that long without eating.
Addylyn walks to the Elf warrior she loves and places a hand on his arm. He flinches slightly but doesn’t move away. “If I thought our daughter was in any real danger, I would have never agreed to this.”
“You knew she was the only one who could reverse what you did,” the warrior says, jerking a thumb in my direction. “If she was not who you thought she was…” He can’t bring himself to say the rest. I’m not even insulted by his words. Addylyn doesn’t know me. She was only guessing how I would react. She guessed correctly, but that is beside the point.
“So, about that leaving thing,” I interject. I am not at all interested in watching this play out between husband and wife. For Lielle’s sake, I hope they do work things out. Just not here. “Let me help you along.” I tear a hole in the fabrics of the realms. I didn’t quite know where to send all of them, so I opened it to the Queen’s bedroom again. Adelaide and Herion must have expected this because they are pacing nervously across the room and back.
“Thank goodness,” Adelaide says when she sees her sister alive and well. The two embrace when Addylyn steps through the opening.
“I do not want to go back,” Whysper states.
Addylyn turns to her. “You have served us well. You deserve to find your own way now.” Great, she just stuck us with one of the most obnoxious humans I have ever met. What are we going to do with her?
Reading my mind, Whysper says, “I want to go home.”
“Okay,” I hedge. “But there are few things you will need to know about the human realm. Things have changed a bit since you left.” Good thing Tana created the refugee camp. Whysper can go there to learn what she needs to know.
As the Elf warriors file through the passageway, I lean back into Kallen. His arms are holding me tight, his chin resting on my head. Finally, the last warrior is gone and I can close the passageways. Turning to Dagda, I say, “I’m going to wait a few days to open the regular passageways. I’m too tired right now.”
Dagda nods. “I am fine with that.” He is debating if he wants them reopened at all.
Looking up at my gorgeous husband, I say, “Ready for bed?”
The slow grin which forms on his face tells me what he’s really ready for. Bending so he can whisper in my ear, he says, “Teleport us.”
My own grin forms and I do just that.
26 CHAPTER
“If anyone knocks on that door, I will kill them,” Kallen says, his eyes that of a predator.
I giggle a little. “I will help you.”
His mouth is on mine in a heartbeat. All the pent up passion from the last few days explodes between us. I want him desperately. Just as he wants me. Our clothes are disappearing as he steers me to the bed. Once there, he swings me up so he can lay me atop it. He joins me, his delicious, naked body covering mine. “I have missed you,” he says as he joins our bodies which are more than ready.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I gasp as pleasure surges through me.
Sleep is the farthest thing from our minds. It is not until our passion is temporarily sated that we allow our eyes to close and we drift off to sleep. The sun is high in the sky again before we wake up. Curling my body into his, we begin anew.
This time, we are interrupted by a knock on the door. Feeling less homicidal than the night before, Kallen sighs and replaces our clothes. “What is it, my annoying cousin?”
The door opens and an ashen faced Kegan is standing in the doorway with Alita struggling to hold him up. She is the one to speak. “I am hoping Xandra can heal him. He has been like this since I told him I am pregnant.”
“I’m not certain I can heal shock,” I giggle. “But, I’ll try.”
Soon there will be a new baby in the house. One who doesn’t have glamour. I g
o to my friend and hug her before leading the addled minded Kegan farther into the room and placing him in one of the yellow chairs.
“You do realize he will probably be like this for the next eight months or so, right?” Kallen teases.
Alita nods and says with a smile, “I probably should have waited to tell him until after the memory of Lielle faded a bit.”
She’s probably right. I set to work trying to bring Kegan back to the land of the sane. At least, until their baby is born.
Table of Contents
1 Chapter
2 Chapter
3 Chapter
4 Chapter
5 Chapter
6 Chapter
7 Chapter
8 Chapter
9 Chapter
10 Chapter
11 Chapter
12 Chapter
13 Chapter
14 Chapter
15 Chapter
16 Chapter
17 Chapter
18 Chapter
19 Chapter
20 Chapter
21 Chapter
22 Chapter
23 Chapter
24 Chapter
25 Chapter
26 Chapter
