In Malice (The Stolen Queen Book 1)

by A. M. Hodges

  “Hello little one,” she says with a soft smile.

  The girl wraps her little arms around Reyna’s neck like she is holding on for dear life. Reyna holds her the same, her face buried in the girl’s cotton candy hair.

  “We should find the others and let them know it’s over.

  They can’t stay here though. Everything is destroyed,” Miles looks around sadly.

  “We’ll send them to Pyra. It’s the closest village and they

  will all be willing to take them in,” Josiah says.

  I know I should be weighing in on this conversation, but all

  I can do is stare at my mate and the little girl wrapped in her arms. When I look at her like this, I see our future. What we can have if the outcome of this war is in our favor. Pride and determination fill me.

  I will do absolutely anything to have that future. To see her cradling our own children like that. Motherhood suits her.

  Without another word, we head to the building where the rest of the Fae are hiding. Reyna trails behind us, still not putting the girl down. It seems as if both are refusing to let each other go. When we step through the door, the survivors tense and ready themselves to fight again.

  “It’s okay,” I assure them, “It’s over. They’re gone.”

  They relax but I don’t miss the unease on their faces as they eye Reyna. She walked in quietly and took a seat near the window, the little girl curled up in her lap, fast asleep. I watch curiously as Reyna subconsciously starts to rock the sleeping child while waiting patiently for the next part of the plan.

  “We understand how traumatic this has been, for all of you.

  I am deeply sorry that we couldn’t save your homes. What we can do, is give all of you shelter in Pyra. It’s a day’s travel south for whoever wants it.”

  They all whisper amongst themselves, deciding whether they want to stay or go. One of them stands up from the others. “How will they know we need refuge? How will we know where to go?” the orange haired Pixie asked.

  Before I could say anything, Reyna spoke up.

  “We will take you.”

  I turn to look at her, to remind her that we have other matters to attend to, but her face is set in hard determination. I know that look, just as I know no matter how much we argue with her about it, she won’t budge on the matter. Not even an inch.

  With a resigned sigh, I turn back to face the other survivors.

  “We will take you,” I echo, “We will leave in one day’s time. It isn’t safe to travel at night so spend today getting plenty of rest and pulling together whatever supplies you can.”

  The sun peaking over the horizon reminds me that it is early morning. We were all woken from our sleep by the attack.

  As they all shuffle out, I catch Marita and her grandsons in the back of the room. When they go to pass Reyna, one of the boys stops in front of her. Marita looks over her shoulder before shrugging and continuing out the door.

  “Her name is Briya,” the boy whispers to Reyna, “She doesn’t talk so good yet, so I wanted to make sure you knew her name.”

  “Thank you,” she regards him kindly and he turns to leave.

  “Wait!” she calls after him, “Does she have any family?”

  He stops at the door and stares at the ground as he answers her.

  “Only her mother.”

  I heard the sob the Reyna choked back as I stared out the door after the boy. There was only one reason that would make her cry and cling to the child like that.

  “What happened to her mother, Krasivaya.”

  She shakes her head and puts a finger to her lips.

  Wordlessly she taps her temples and I nod my understanding.

  Suddenly, I’m bombarded with images.

  The creatures backing Reyna into a corner. Briya’s blood curdling scream. Her mother being ripped apart in front of her. The creatures going after her.

  “So that’s why you lost control.”

  She gives me a sad smile and begins softly stroking Briya’s hair and humming what I assume is a lullaby. As I stand there, silently watching my mate cradle the little girl in her arms, I am sure of one thing.

  That little girl is ours now. No one will ever separate her from us.

  Chapter 36

  Reyna

  The trip back to Pyra was blessedly uneventful. Lucah shifted and let Briya ride on his back the whole way. They became fast friends, the two of them. I can’t help but giggle every time she runs up to him yelling ‘Kitty! Kitty!’. He doesn’t seem to mind, even his panther smiles when she is near.

  The others are going to give him hell for it later though.

  She spent most of the day bouncing on his back and yelling ‘go!’ as she pointed off in the distance, like he was some valiant steed. My heart breaks for the loss of her mother, but I am relieved to see that the trauma hasn’t stripped her of her innocence. I braided her hair like mine before we left this morning and had a minor heart attack when she got ahold of my daggers.

  Yeah. We will definitely be baby proofing the cottage and hiding the weapons.

  Jeb hasn’t said a word about my decision to keep Briya. He doesn’t seem angry about it at all. Actually, he seems as smitten with her as I am. Especially when she calls Lucah kitty. I think my memories may have something to do with it. I saw it in his eyes the minute the images stopped playing through his mind.

  The anger. The determination. The protectiveness.

  He isn’t willing to let her go either and that was the end of it.

  We still have a lot of things to discuss, considering there is a war brewing, and we are at the center of it. Neither of us can fathom abandoning her, and I know that Julianna will care for her while we’re gone. That not an issue. Being away from her however, that is a big issue. It’s only been a day and I’m already more attached to her than I’ve ever been with anything in my entire life.

  Well, besides my mate.

  I finally understand what Jackson felt that day, the day he found a helpless baby alone on the firehouse steps. He couldn’t fathom leaving me either.

  If I don’t leave, then this world will never be safe for her. I have an important duty to this realm. If I want to save the future, her future, then I must go. The corruption is already spreading and it’s only going to get worse.

  The sound of a bustling Pyra greets us as we near the village. Jeb and Josiah go ahead of us to gather supplies and tell the locals what happened. When we make it to the village everyone is waiting with smiles and sympathy on their faces. Fresh food and drinks are ready on all the carts as the Fae of Pyra approach the survivors, offering them shelter and sustenance. After everyone seems settled with a place to stay, Jeb scoops up Briya and we start towards his mother’s place.

  Dahlia is lounging on the stoop when we arrive.

  “Bramble and the others went to find the Badarac Council. They said they would be back in four days. Considering the little hitchhiker on your hip, I assume you need to talk to them?” Dahlia raises an eyebrow at us.

  “We’ll wait for them to get back,” Jeb nods before glaring playfully at Briya as she tugs on his braids, “This is Briya.”

  Before Dahlia could ask for more details, I gently pull Briya from his arms.

  “Come on little one, let’s get you something to eat and a bath,” I lean in and kiss Jeb’s cheek, “We’ll be at the cottage when you’re done.”

  I know he needs to tell Dahlia what happened, but Briya doesn’t need to hear it. Josiah joins them as we leave, and I give him a small wave.

  I set her down inside the doorway when we reach the cottage and she immediately takes off to explore. Since all our weapons are safely out of reach upstairs, I let her run ramped for a bit while I make her some dinner. I don’t know much about what toddlers can eat without choking, so I settle for soft foods just to be safe.

  When I go to look for her to tell her it’s time to eat, I find her sitting on my chaise trying to figure out my iPod that Jeb had s
muggled here. I take it from her and put on the most kid friendly music I can find in my downloads. She bobs her little head to the music as she sits at the table eating.

  I had to stack up some books in her chair so she could reach the table, but it worked out.

  After her diner, she is an absolute mess, so I take her upstairs and give her a bath. As I fumble around wondering what the hell, I’m supposed to dress her in, Jeb walks into the spare bedroom with a bag hanging from his fingertips.

  “These were Josie’s when she was little. They might be a little too big, but she’ll grow into them. We can have the seamstress start on some new clothes for her tomorrow.”

  He pulls out a tiny purple nightgown while I dry her off. After I slip the gown over her head, I settle her between my legs and begin to brush out the swirling pinks and blues of her hair. Jeb sits on the edge of the bed across from as and Briya stares at him intensely.

  “I have something for you, dande faan,” he tells her softly as he reaches behind his back. Her face lights up as he pulls out a stuffed cat that’s about as big as she is.

  “Kitty!” she scrambles out from between my legs and onto his lap as he settles the stuffed toy in front of her.

  “He is yours to sleep with every night,” he kisses the top of her head.

  I move off the bed and turn down the blankets for her to climb inside. She drags the stuffed cat with her, with no small amount of struggle. Once she is settled, Jeb positions it comfortably next to her and I pull the blankets up to tuck her in.

  “Were just down the hallway. If you need us, come get us,” I smile at her before closing the door, leaving it cracked enough that she can wedge her tiny fingers through it to get out.

  We tip toe to our room and quietly crack the door. I strip off my armor and grab one of Jeb’s shirts from the closet before going to the bathroom to wash my face. When I walk back into the room, he is sprawled across the bed in a pair of low hanging sweatpants. He silently pats the spot to his right, and I climb in next to him, curling up into his side.

  My mind turns with words that need to be said.

  “I know it isn’t logical to keep her. We are at the center of this war. I am the future Queen of Malatia, and we must leave soon.

  We may never come back. I know all of this and still, I can’t fathom her being with anyone else. We’re bonded to each other just as much as you and I are.”

  “Shh, Krasivaya. We will figure it out. If you want her to be the start of our family, then she will be the start of our family. She is too young to remember the trauma that she suffered; we’ll grow to be the only parents she’s ever known. I will love her and cherish her as if she has been my daughter since birth. If this is what you truly want, then it is what we will do.”

  And just like that, I fell even deeper in love with this male that I am mated to.

  I beam up at him and he kisses my forehead before reaching to turn off the lamp next to our bed. My eyes are closed no more than ten minutes before my Fae hearing picks up the pitter patter of little feet in the hallway. I wait quietly to see what she is going to do. Sure enough, a minute later, our door creaks open as light floods in from the hallway.

  She walks up to the trunk at the edge of our bed and looks at us shyly, asking a question with only one look from her sweet face. Jeb chuckles and scooches away from me to make room. I pat the middle of the bed to tell her that it’s okay.

  A small grin appears on her face and she climbs up onto the trunk and then onto our bed. I pull the covers down to make room for her and she nestles herself underneath them, pushing her butt up against Jeb’s side and curling up in the crook of my arm. Almost instantly, her body relaxes and soon the only sound we hear is soft little snores.

  ∞∞∞

  It’s been almost a week and the others still haven’t returned. After the first two days, we sent Josiah ahead to the army camp with Miles and Dahlia. We’re expecting a message from them within we next day or so to let us know that they have made it safely. Lucah argued to go but it was determined that Miles was the more logical choice, given his offensive fire ability.

  Plus, I knew that he would want to see that Josie is safe when she gets back. I make a mental note to pester Josie about their relationship when she returns, and we have a moment away from Jeb. Everyone else may be blind, but I’m not.

  Briya has been adapting well to her new home. I learned that she does speak more than we thought she did, but not much in English. Speaking to her in Malatian has become good practice for both of us. Our nightly routine has been the same. Every night we put her to bed in her room, and no more than thirty minutes later she is sneaking in and crawling into our bed. I told Jeb that she needed a crib so that she can stay in her own room, but he refused.

  Jeb has gotten to the point that he automatically leaves a space for her before he falls asleep. The little bug has him wrapped around her finger already.

  He is every bit of the father I imagined he would be. Every morning, he does his training exercises with Lucah while I make breakfast. Pancakes are apparently Briya’s favorites. The two males join us at the kitchen table and spend the entire time doting on the sweet baby.

  I would have thought that the lack of attention would have made me jealous, but it doesn’t. Instead, my ovaries almost physically implode at the adorableness of the two of them together.

  Jeb seems to effectively divide his attention between us equally.

  Honestly, could he be anymore freaking perfect.

  Three days after our arrival, four trunks full of clothes and toys were delivered to our doorstep for Briya. Lucah and Jeb spent the entire second day painting, decorating, and rearranging her room. They even let her pick out the color. I don’t think there has ever been a little girl so spoiled.

  Right now, the full-grown warriors are sitting at the coffee table having a princess tea party while I lounge on the chaise reading a book. The sight is forty percent hysterical and sixty percent the cutest thing I have ever seen. I’ll admit, I haven’t paid a lick of attention to the book I am reading.

  A knock at the door pulls me out of my daydream.

  The three females we’ve been waiting for are standing on my front porch when I open the door. I quickly put a finger to my lips and invite them inside, hoping to let them catch a glimpse of the situation in our living room. When I point to where they are seated around the coffee table, Julianna’s face lights up while Josie and Bramble work to contain their amusement.

  I’m a little worried about how Briya will react to Bramble.

  The Goblins are the ones who attacked her and her mother, but I’m not entirely sure what else she saw. Whatever she does, I’m right here to comfort her and get her through it.

  Jeb must sense my trepidation through the bond when he notices us standing there, because he immediately pulls Briya into his arms and stands with her. I wait anxiously as the three walk further into the room. Briya eyes Josie and Julianna curiously before her eyes land on Bramble.

  I mentally brace myself for the screaming I was sure was coming, but nothing happens. She just continues to stare at Bramble, as if she is a little unsure of what to do. Bramble lets her features relax into a gentle smile and approaches her. She reaches out for her little hand, and Briya lets her take it.

  “Hello sweet one. My name is Bramble,” she croons softly in Malatian.

  Whatever uncertainty Briya still held evaporates as she grins and holds her arms out for Bramble to take her.

  “Dahlia got us a message before they left,” Julianna says lightly, not taking her eyes off of the tiny Pixie, “She didn’t offer up many details, but she did tell us that there was a little one with you and to take it slow with Bramble at first.”

  “This is Briya,” I tell them as they stare adoringly at her trying to hide in Bramble’s tree like hair.

  “Where’s her family?” Josie looks at me curiously.

  My face falls as I look at Briya, trying to find a way to discretely explain what
happened. Before I could begin, Jeb’s voice slices through the air.

  “We are her family now,” his tone left no room for argument.

  Josie looks like she is going to try anyway, so I cut her off.

  “We will explain it all at another time,” I cast a meaningful glance toward the little ears in the room. Understanding fills her eyes before turning into deep sorrow. Lucah takes that as his cue to step in.

  “Hey Princess, how about we go outside and play,” he holds his arms towards Bramble.

  “Kitty!” Briya scrambles to get down from Bramble’s arms.

  Josie cackles and Julianna’s eyes shine with amusement. Lucah glares at Josie before bopping Briya lightly on the nose and picking her up to take her outside.

  Everyone takes a seat in the living room as we begin our story about what happened to the village on our way to the army camp. Jeb fills them in on the details surrounding how we ended up with Briya because I couldn’t do it without sobbing. They all accepted our decision to adopt her as our daughter immediately.

  “Obviously, we still have things to do,” I sigh as the conversation darkens, “War is still brewing, and we are still at the center of it. We need to warn the armies and get them on our side for when the time comes to take down Rune.”