by A. M. Hodges
“You don’t even have to ask, love,” Juliana smiles sympathetically, “Of course we will take care of her.”
My body physically deflates as a sigh of relief rushes from my chest.
“We would like for her to be raised here, at the cottage. This is her home now and we want her to have stability,” Jeb explains.
“We can manage that,” Bramble grins at Julianna.
“And in the meantime, our home is open to any family that is in need of it while we stay here with the little one,” Julianna declares.
Good. That’s that then.
My eyes well up with tears. There’s nothing left to discuss. Briya will be taken care of and our home watched over. Which means, I have no reason to stay here any longer. I must leave her.
“We don’t have to leave just yet, Krasivaya,” Jeb whispers to me, “Josiah and the others are already at the first camp. They will wait for us. We can take the week to make sure that she is settled and give you more time with her.”
I reach over and squeeze his hand gratefully and take a deep breath to calm my emotions. Whatever did I do to deserve a mate like him. The universe truly blessed me the day that he came into my life.
“It is I, who am truly blessed my love,” he seals his lips over mine. Everything else disappears.
Chapter 37
“She likes pancakes every morning for breakfast, but don’t forget to cut them up first. Oh! And the brazenberry syrup is her favorite. But not too much, otherwise she will be s sticky mess. And music! She likes to listen to music while she eats. I made a playlist of on the songs she likes on my iPod. Just look for her name.”
Briya is smarter than any of us could have imagined. She sees more than we notice and understands more than we realize. For the most part, she is an extremely well-behaved child. There have been a few meltdowns when she got overly tired but that is to be expected.
Bramble and Julianna have been by every day to get Briya used to their presence while we are gone. We’ve been leaving her with them for a couple hours every day while we train to help the transition. So far, it’s going well. Briya calls them ‘Bamble’ and
‘Nahnah’. Her growing fondness of them doesn’t make it any easier to do what comes next.
“Her kitty is in her room. Never forget to put it to bed with her. The weapons are locked in an armoire in our bedroom, so you don’t have to worry about her getting ahold of them,” Jeb says sternly, “The key for the armoire in on top of the bathroom door frame, in case you are ever in need of weapons.”
“Make sure you don’t fill her bath water too high. And use the lavender scented bubbles she likes. Oh! She has her own shelf in the library. She likes to have one read to her before her nap and every night before bed.”
I am an emotional wreck, I’ll admit it. Julianna successfully raised triplets on her own, with the help of Bramble. Still, she isn’t us.
“She will be fine, you two,” Julianna assures us, “Never forget, I raised Jeb and his siblings, and they all made it to maturity in one piece.”
Briya runs up and tugs on my leg. When I look down at her,
I have to fight back tears.
“Hey sweet girl,” I squat down in front of her, “We have to go away for a little while. You are going to stay at home with Bamble and Nahnah. They will take good care of you and we will be back before you know it, I promise,” I switch to Malatian, to ensure that she understands me. Although she looks a little sad, she nods her head and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Mama,” she whispers into my shoulder.
I hold onto her like a lifeline that contains my last breath. It takes everything I have not to break down in front of her. When she pulls away from me, she turns towards Jeb’s waiting arms.
“Come here, dande faan,” she jumps into his waiting arms, “I am so sorry that we have to leave you, but they will take care of you. This is your home now; you never have to leave again. We will miss you and think about you every day until we are back home with you.”
She nods her head and snuggles into his neck.
“Can I tell you a secret?” he asks her, and she looks up at him eagerly.
“You are a real princess now, Princess Briya.”
Her face lights up with a grin as she giggles excitedly.
When she wraps her arms around him again, she whispers something so softly that even I can’t hear her. Tears well in my mate’s eyes as he hugs her closely and gently strokes her hair.
“Yes, dande faan. I am your Daah now.”
My heart nearly explodes. She has chosen to accept us as her parents, to love us as much as we love her. She didn’t have to, with the death of her mother being so fresh. But she did. She trusts us to love her and take care of her. That means more to me than I ever thought possible.
When he puts her down, she runs over and grabs onto
Julianna’s hand. Alright. Time to go.
Lucah is waiting outside, giving us time to say goodbye.
They walk us to the door and stop on the porch to watch us go. I make it down the path, to the beginning of the grove, before I turn around to look back at our cottage. Bramble and Julianna wait on the porch, Briya standing between them, with sad smiles on their faces. My strong little bug watches us with determination, like she is refusing to cry. Determined to remain strong for us.
She gives me a small wave and a toothy, chubby cheeked smile.
I wave back, smiling with tears rolling down my face. Then, I turn to follow Lucah and my mate. Towards war. Towards uncertainty. Towards heartbreak and death.
∞∞∞
Every night Jeb hunts while I set up our “camp”, which is really just two bedrolls and a fire that is just big enough to cook our dinner. Lucah goes in search of water to fill our water skins for the next day’s journey. With every step I take away from Pyra, the hole in my heart grows bigger. We have one more day before we reach the army camp, which means I have one more day to get my head on straight. We should be there before dusk tomorrow.
Jeb sent a message before we left, telling Miles and Josiah of our anticipated arrival. Josie will be arriving about a week behind us.
Halfway through our final day’s journey, Jeb grabs my hand and pulls me to a stop.
“Go ahead,” he nods at Lucah, “We’ll catch up.”
He shrugs his shoulders and continues through the woods. When the sound of his footsteps can no longer be heard, I am swooped up in a blur of motion. My legs reflexively wrap around Jeb as we come to a stop, my back pressed against a tree. The hunger in his eyes and the desire coursing through my veins from the bond has my questions dying before they can escape my lips.
He slowly pulls the zipper of my armor over my chest and down to my navel as he trails soft, wet kisses across my jawline and down my neck.
“You looked like you needed to release some tension,” his husky voice tickles the shell of my ear and vibrates my ear drum.
My head falls back against the tree with a groan as the vibrations tingle throughout my body. He lightly trails a finger across my collar bone and down my skin to the crevice between my breasts where it lingers. His canines lightly graze my bottom lip, whispering of the impending kiss. Shudders rack my body when his mouth finally takes mine. I groan again as his tongue forcefully seeks entrance passed my lips and he roughly wraps my braid around his fist.
Something cold and wet smacks into our faces, snapping us out of our trance. When we look around to figure out what just happened, we find Josiah and Miles casually smirking at us. Josiah has another ball of water waiting in his open palm, ready to be launched at us.
“Fucking seriously,” Jeb whines as he buries his face into the crook of my neck, as if hiding them from view will make them go away. He softly bites my neck and begins kissing it again and my eyes roll into the back of my head.
Another blast of water, considerably bigger and colder than the first, drenches us.
“Fuck! Alright we get it, you can stop now,” I giv
e Jeb’s chest a light push and unravel myself from his arms.
“What?” Miles feigns innocence, “You looked like you could use a cold shower. We were just trying to be helpful.”
Josiah snickers and I had to grab onto Jeb’s bicep to prevent him from launching himself at the two Fae. Honestly, this is the first time Josiah has been anything other than stern and stoic. It completely transforms his features. He should smile, or smirk rather, more often. The two males now seem completely at ease with each other.
“Well, you two seem to have gotten cozy. Does this mean that you are switching teams little brother?” I arc a brow at them with a smirk.
Ahh, there’s that frown I’ve come to know and love.
Miles shakes his head incredulously and Josiah glares. Now it’s my mate’s turn to snicker at their expense. Lucah pops up just in time to hear my last comment.
“I knew it!” he grins wildly at Josiah, “Never with a woman by your side. Turns out its because you like a little sausage in your porridge.”
It has come to my attention that Lucah enjoys plucking
Josiah’s nerves immensely, just like every bratty little brother in the universe.
“I’ve had plenty of women and I do not have the patience for your antics right now. Can we please get a move on?” Josiah snaps.
“I missed you too Jojo,” Lucah winks before wandering off.
The three of us follow them the rest of the way to the camp,
Jeb explaining everything that’s been going on since they left while I gush over Briya. Just as we suspected, the camp comes into view well before the sun begins to set. Although smaller than I expected, the camp meets every other expectation I had.
Soldiers meander about nonchalantly, while still dressed for battle and prepared to fight at a moment’s notice. Despite the constant threats the camps have been facing, they don’t seem to be on edge. Banners fly high in the sky while various tents are spread around, small fire pits occasionally breaking up the empty spaces. Water troughs are placed strategically, some with horses tied to them. I think I can make out a blacksmith’s tent as well as a butcher with animal skins hanging from a line of twine that runs across the front. Given the wet haired and often shirtless soldiers coming from one of the tents, I assume that it’s the bath house.
In the bigger gaps throughout the camp there are soldiers paired up and running through training exercises. Others are sitting on logs sharpening weapons or standing around exchanging pleasantries with mugs of, what I can assume to be, ale in their hands. I do catch about a dozen or so of the soldiers standing in various positions on the outskirts of the camp. I quickly surmise that they must have a rotation of guard duty, which explains why everyone else seems to have the ability to be relaxed.
As we enter the camp, I catch a blur of movement brushing passed me. When I turn around, I see a copper-haired Pixie attached to my mate, her legs wrapped around his waist. Jeb stands tensely, his arms out to the side and a stunned look on his face. Josiah’s features turn even more stern than normal and Miles and Lucah grimace. A low growl reverberates from deep within my chest.
“Don’t. Touch. Him.”
The female chooses not to remove herself from my mate.
She does, however, turn her head to smirk at me.
“Awe, Jebbie. It seems you have a new plaything,” she croons as she runs her fingers through his hair, all while daring me with her eyes.
My fists clench at my sides as I fight for what little control I have over my temper.
“Sage, I wouldn’t if I were you,” Lucah warns, amusement tinging his tone.
The veins around my eyes begin to pulse, their color turning an inky black.
“Take your hands off my mate,” I growl, “or find every limb that remains touching him removed from your body and thrown into a fire before I dance on your bones.”
The daring look in her eyes turns glacial and the smirk drops from her face as it transforms into a snarl. She unwraps herself from around Jeb but doesn’t leave his side. Her hands move to her hips
as she turns to face me fully.
“Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t scare me,” she challenges.
Everyone tenses and looks everywhere but at me, like they can sense the empath inside of me fighting for control. Soldiers have begun to migrate towards us and gather around. It seems that we have attracted a crowd. Good, I’ll only have to do this once.
I spot Dahlia amongst them, grinning from ear to ear at the spectacle with her arms crossed casually over her chest. Dramatically, she motions for me to continue the spectacle she is waiting for.
“She should be,” Miles mumbles from beside me in response to the female’s declaration. I shoot a questioning glance over the female’s shoulder and my mate smirks at me.
“Do it. They are going to find out anyway.”
With as much malice as I can muster, I grin at her and raise to my full height, with my shoulders pulled back proudly. My glamour is ripped away and my wings snap out behind me as I flare them out towards the sky. They begin to beat slowly as I hover above the ground for all to see.
A collective gasp rushes from the crowd as the whispers begin, only pieces of them reaching my ears. More soldiers rush over from the camp.
“Is that…”
“…the queen.”
“Where has she been?”
“She has returned!”
“Who I am, is Reyna Sorialla Valdikye,” I hold her stare as her jaw drops nearly to the ground, “And you will bow at my feet.”
Chapter 38
Well. That just happened. Me and my damned temper.
I have never been this possessive over my mate. I never really had a reason to be. No human girl would have dared to try what this Sage just had and in Pyra, all the females looked at him with respect rather than lust. But this bitch had to go and screw up all my plans. I know, I could have controlled my temper. Try telling the territorial Fae inside of me that. It just sucks that I didn't get even a day to let them warm up to me.
Gone was the chance to slowly push my way into their ranks. Disappeared was the opportunity to do some recon on their feelings towards Rune. Evaporated was my anonymity. Now I only have one option, and it is blaringly obvious as I stare at the hundred or so warriors on their knees at my feet. I am not their friend. I am their Queen.
There is no immediate uproar or outrage. Well, except the pure fury radiating from Sage. No cries of blasphemy are being shouted from the crowd. When I look at them, I only see astonishment, respect, and confusion. I'm choosing to take that as a good sign. Slowly, I lower myself until my feet once again rest on the ground.
My wings cease their movements, but I do not put them away, just as I do not drop the carefully crafted façade that had been drilled into me by Bramble. Everything I learned, starts now. My emotions are leashed tightly and all aspects of my personality in private will remain just that, private. My companions were prepared for this day, they have been since the moment they met me, and they dawn masks of their own.
My mate takes up the position to my left, his brother to my right. Miles, who I notice is once again cloaked in glamour, takes his place behind me and Lucah joins him, standing on his right just off Josiah's right shoulder. They stand tall and imposing, guarding me like proud sentries. Because that's what they have become, my sentries. Every queen has them as a part of her Royal Guard. I just hadn't noticed that they were mine until now.
I don't even spare a glance at Jeb, I can't afford to show that weakness, as I command my people. A Queen never seeks permission.
"Rise, Warriors of Malatia."
As one they stand before me. I have thought long and hard about this moment and what I would say when I truly decided to embrace who I am. After all that time, I am still at a loss for words.
Standing before them now, my mind stumbles over what to say. This is so much different than my experience in the village. They didn't know who I am, only that I s
aved them. This is different. Here, all my cards are on the table. I feel utterly exposed and vulnerable.
A calming breeze brushes over me, and I feel as if the Gods themselves whispered to me. Instantly, I know exactly what to say.
"I know that you all thought me dead long ago. The shock that you all must be feeling is one that I know all too well. Be that as it may, I do not wish to start our journey together with secrets and deceit. So, I will give you what answers I can, and that will have to satisfy you for now."
They all watch me with rapt attention, silently waiting and willing me to continue. Hoping that it will help them trust me more,
I switch from English to Malatian.
"I was taken from this world when I was only an infant, though not in the way that you have been led to believe. For eighteen years I have been raised in the human realm, knowing nothing of this one. I was guarded, although without my knowledge, for most of my life. Two warriors came and found me at the behest of the King. Yes, you heard me right. Your King is well aware that I am alive."
