by Vella Day
His mind fuzzed. “Bevon,” he telepathed. Kenton dropped to his knees before he could finish communicating with his brother.
For no apparent reason, the demon flew backward, slammed against a tree, and landed with a thud.
Gentle hands grabbed Kenton’s shoulders. “Kenton, are you okay?”
“Tory?” What was she doing there? Hadn’t he told her to stay put?
Bevon and two other Feys appeared and faced Kai, arms crossed. “Leave and don’t come back,” Bevon commanded.
One second later, the demon was gone. The fuss that followed was totally embarrassing. Kenton had never been this incapacitated before. “I’m okay,” he managed to say, though from the way he was panting, he clearly was not.
“No, you aren’t,” Tory said.
“She’s right, brother. Can you teleport into the house?” Bevon telepathed.
If he couldn’t do that, he’d be completely devastated. Thankfully, both he and Tory instantly returned to the bedroom since she’d been touching him at the time.
Her hands shook, and her legs seemed less than steady when she stood up from the bed and faced him.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Me? Yes and no.”
Before he could ask her what was troubling her, Fay, Meena, and Bevon were by his side. “Treniam? How the hell did he get a hold of that?” Bevon asked.
“He said centuries ago when his family was banished from Feyrion, they removed a bunch of it and began growing it somewhere on Tarradon.”
“Thank goodness you didn’t ingest any. You might have died,” Fay said with too much concern.
“You don’t need to remind me.”
“Let us heal you,” Meena said.
While he didn’t like Tory to see him in this condition, she needed to understand everything about being Fey. “Be quick about it.”
Fay glanced to the ceiling and shook her head slightly. She then cupped his face while Meena scooted onto the bed next to him and clasped both of his arms. Together they chanted something in ancient Feyrionian while both Tory and Bevon watched. Slowly, the poison leached out of his body. When they let go, relief washed through him.
Kenton smiled. “Thank you. Your powers have come in handy more times than I can count.” He hugged each of them.
“Stay away from that demon,” Fay warned.
“Yes, sister.” Both were bossy, but Fay was more so.
They disappeared.
“I’m going to talk to the men,” Bevon said. “We need to find the source of the Treniam and destroy it.”
Kenton—and any other royal—was quite powerless against a demon who possessed that plant. “That would be wise.”
When Bevon disappeared, Kenton turned back to his mate. Tory was sitting across the room on a chair. She looked anything but fine. Kenton walked over to her, knelt in front of her, and clasped her hands. “Tell me what’s wrong. I’m better, by the way.”
“I know, but I can’t stop thinking about what happened out there.”
“Yes, a demon tried to kill me. I was there.”
“I was talking about how that demon flew through the air.”
He too was a bit confused how that had happened. “Did one of my sisters or Bevon do that?” His heart pumped hard. Or were Tory’s powers finally coming through?
“No. I think I did it. I wanted to see what was happening outside, so I stepped onto the porch. Without warning, Kai was on you in a flash. When I saw you fall, I just held out my hands and yelled at him to stop. That was all. Next thing I knew, he was thrown backward.”
Only now did he remember her calling out. It had to have been her powers kicking in. Neither Bevon nor the other two men had arrived yet, and Fay and Meena would have told him if they’d helped. He had to tell Tory she’d been responsible. She was bound to find out soon enough. Kenton sat on his haunches. “I’ll tell you what I think happened, but please do not get upset.”
She stilled. “Upset?”
“I know you’re going to say I should have warned you sooner, but you weren’t ready.”
“Ready for what?” she asked, her lips pressed firmly together.
This was not going to be easy without sounding like some jerk. “We are mates.”
“That much I know.”
“My father is the king of all of Feyrion, which means at some point in the future, as the eldest son, I will be king.”
“I see.”
He inhaled. “Which means you will be queen.”
Tory shook her head. “Me? I don’t see a dragon shifter as a Fairy queen.”
He let go of her hands. “That was why when you first arrived on Feyrion, close to death, my mother decided it would be best to slowly groom you for the position. It will take years though.”
She held up her hands. “You’re not making any sense. Years for what?”
“For your magical power to develop enough in order for you to rule.”
Her eyes widened. “You really think I am going to turn into a Fairy when I mate with you? No offense, but I will not let anything jeopardize my dragon status.”
He was mucking this up. “You won’t. Trust me, you’ll never turn into little points of light like my sisters.”
“Then what?” Her patience appeared to be wearing thin.
“You’ll have enough power to do what you did today—like hold up your hand and shove someone backward—whenever you want.”
Tory bit down on her lip. “If what you say is true—that your mother plans to groom me to be queen—how can she do that if I live here?”
“She doesn’t have to be here. She already inserted her magic inside you.” He rushed on before she could object. “Think of it like a seed of magic if you will. She did that when I was giving you part of my life light.”
Her mouth opened. Tory jumped up from the seat and nearly crashed into him. “What? I know most people would be grateful to be given all this power, but if this occurred months ago, why didn’t you tell me then? Is there anything else you’ve lied about?”
Kenton stood. When he tried to take hold of her shoulders, she shrugged out of his grasp. “Tory, you weren’t ready to learn you were possibly going to be the queen of a realm.”
“Maybe not then, but a little hint would have helped. I’ve been going crazy thinking something is growing inside of me.” Her voice had escalated.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m faster. It’s almost as if I can teleport. Only I can’t really.”
It was happening. “It’s natural.”
“Natural? Is it natural for someone to implant something in my body without my permission? I can understand you giving me your life light. I mean, you were trying to save my life.”
“I was.”
“But to erase my memory and expect me to be okay with being set up as a future queen when I had no idea who you were is not acceptable.”
When she put it that way, it might have been a mistake to do both rituals at the same time. “I’m sorry.”
“You suck, you know that.”
Tory stormed off. The front door slammed. Well, fuck.
Chapter Twenty
Tory saw red. When she was unconscious, it made sense that Kenton would do everything in his power to save her, but deciding she’d be queen without asking her? That was the last straw.
Needing to clear her head, Tory decided a long flight back to Edendale might help. She ran down the path toward the eternal flame in order to reach the path that would take her out of the woods. Before she reached it though, she was in her living room at home. Tory spun around. “What the hell?”
She had to be hallucinating. This couldn’t be real. Tory touched the back of the sofa. It was solid. Had she just teleported? Given the time lapse, it was the only thing that made sense. But how? Was this yet another power his mother put in her? Kenton said it could take years to develop. Well, it had only been two months.
Wanting to test her abilities, Tory closed her eyes an
d pictured her bedroom. When she opened them again, she was still in the living room. So much for being able to teleport at will.
Now she was more confused than ever. What she needed was a stiff drink, but this time she wouldn’t go to Wings. Kai might show up there. Besides, she might have more hidden powers inside of her that could harm innocent people.
She snapped her fingers. Wait. Angelique could help figure out what was going on, or would the Four Sisters be better able to help her? Since the root of the problem was with her not-so-truthful mate, the Four Sisters it was.
Not wanting to attempt the teleporting thing without instruction, she slowly walked out of her house, shifted, and flew to her destination. It was possible her heightened emotions had triggered her teleporting abilities.
It was still during business hours, so hopefully one of the four women would be able to help her. Inside, Poppy and Primrose were manning the store. Both sisters looked up and smiled. Poppy rushed over. “Tory, this is a surprise. I’m sorry we missed you the last time you stopped by.”
Acacia must have mentioned her visit. “Can we talk?” Tory glanced over to the customer with Primrose. “It’s kind of delicate.”
“Of course. Come into the back and tell me what is troubling you.”
Once out of sight and earshot of the others, Tory sat at the same table as before. “It’s about my mate, Kenton Forrester.”
Her eyes twinkled. “He’s a fine man.”
“Yes, but he’s withheld information from me that is quite troubling.” Tory told her about how he’d implanted his life light into her. During her discussion, Tory had the distinct impression that Poppy already knew all of that. “Yesterday, we spent the day in Feyrion where I met his mother, Queen Arianna.” Tory waited for Poppy to react, but she did not. “Did you know about her?”
“About their mother being the queen?”
“Yes.”
“I did.”
When Poppy just sat there with a pretty smile, Tory continued. “After a wonderful sightseeing tour, we returned home only to be met by one of the Gromley demons.”
Poppy’s mouth opened. “That must have been scary, but I’m glad to see no harm came to you.”
“Not to me.” She explained about how the demon tried to poison Kenton. “When I held out my hands and yelled at him to stop, I must have created some kind of force field or something. It threw the demon backward.”
“Very interesting. Did you ask Kenton about it?”
Interesting? That was all? “Yes, but he just said that my newfound powers had been his mother’s doing, that she had put something inside me to help me become the next queen.”
Poppy reached across the table and grabbed Tory’s wrist, her eyes full of joy. “You’re a Fey?”
“More like a Fairy. At least, I think. I honestly didn’t stay around long enough to learn all of the details.”
Poppy grinned. “I think it’s wonderful—not the leaving part, but the Fairy part.”
Was it? “Kenton said I’ll always be a dragon, albeit one with a lot of power.”
She leaned back. “I’m not sure I see the problem then.”
Was she kidding? “The problem is that Kenton and his mother did this without asking my approval.”
“Hmm.”
Poppy’s response wasn’t helping. “What should I do?”
“Do you want to spend the rest of your life with Kenton?” Poppy asked.
The more time Tory spent with him, the more she wanted him. “I thought I did even though we haven’t known each other for long. It’s just that the lies don’t seem to end.”
“You are fated mates. Nothing can change that. Do you want my opinion?”
“Yes, it is why I came.”
Poppy tapped her nails on the table. “Go back to Kenton and tell him exactly how you feel.”
“He knows I’m mad.”
“You need to figure out the source of your anger then. You have to decide if you are merely scared or if you feel he treated you unjustly.”
Poppy might be right. Clearly defining her objections would be best. It was what any Guardian would do. “Fine. I’ll take tonight to think, and then I’ll approach him.”
“Good.”
“Oh, there is one other thing. One second I was in at the eternal flame and the next I was in my house. And I didn’t fly there. I teleported.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but I can’t do it on command yet,” Tory said.
Tory reached over and patted her hand. “Give it time. If you want me to work with you, I’d be happy to. You’ve met Ivy, right?”
“Yes, she’s Jace’s mate.”
“She is. Ivy came from Earth to learn how to control her teleporting abilities, and I was able to help her.”
Relief washed through her. “I might take you up on that offer.”
Poppy pushed back her chair. “I hope you do.”
While Tory wasn’t sure how much meeting with Poppy helped, she did feel better.
Kenton paced his living room. “I messed up, brother.”
Bevon grabbed two beers and handed him one. “She’s upset, that’s all. You never warned her that her powers would arrive someday—and apparently without warning. That was your choice. In retrospect, it might not have been the right one.”
“I know that now. You should have seen the force with which she shoved back that demon. It surprised even her. I think going to Feyrion triggered something.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Bevon asked.
“I’m going to talk to her. She ran out of here in a huff. She was upset and probably confused.”
Bevon walked into the living room, dropped down onto the sofa, and then propped up his feet. At least one of them was comfortable. “You have that bracelet thing. You can ask if you can see her.”
“Seriously? She’ll say no. It would be better just to show up. If I can just hold her, I think I can get her to forgive me.”
Bevon held up his drink in a salute. “Good luck with that. I’m just glad I have not yet found my mate.”
That thought almost made Kenton smile. “I don’t envy the woman you end up with.”
“Appreciate the vote of confidence.”
Kenton smiled for the first time in a while.
He stood and then inhaled deeply. It was time to face his mate. Kenton hoped he could say the right things. With a mental nod, he arrived outside of her house. When Kenton placed a palm on her front door, he could sense her. Kenton knocked, and then he waited. And waited some more. Could she sense he was the one at her door and was refusing to answer? If that were true, her powers might be stronger than even he imagined.
Kenton knocked again. “Tory, it’s me, Kenton.”
Footsteps sounded inside, and the door opened. She still had on the same outfit from this morning. “Yes?” Her tone came out quite terse.
“Come on, love, don’t be like that. I know you’re mad, but give me a chance to explain.”
“It seems as if you do that all too often.”
The image of them making love on Feyrion played in his mind’s eye. “I don’t think I was explaining or apologizing when we were enjoying ourselves in the lake or on the bed of frenlen needles.”
Her cheeks colored. “Fine, come in, but know that I am pretty freaked out.”
“I would be too. Not telling you was wrong, but I’ll use the excuse of trying to find and then fend off a demon.”
Tory tilted her head. “Today maybe, but you had plenty of time while we were on Feyrion to let me know what was going to happen to me.”
“Guilty as charged.” Her pain was seeping into his soul. Sharing their life light made them connected. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like when they mated. “We need to talk. Can we sit down?”
“Sure, but I haven’t forgiven you for lying.”
“I totally understand. I haven’t forgiven myself for that either, but can we put that aside for now? I’m really worried that t
he demon might come here to harm you, and I can’t let that happen.”
“Why come after us now? Was it because my family didn’t help his kind way back when?”
Kenton sat on the sofa and patted the cushion next to him. “That’s possible, but I know for sure that he wants to harm me. The worst thing he can do to me is harm you.”
She then sat down next to him. “If he comes near me again, I’ll just push him away like I did before. I don’t think that herb stuff will affect me.”
Kenton loved her can-do attitude. “True, but what if there are more than one? Can you be sure you can duplicate that force field thing on command? Powers can be sporadic at first.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Like my ability to teleport that I could only do one time?”
He stilled. “You teleported. For real?” Kenton failed to keep the excitement from his voice.
“I did one time, but when I tried again, I wasn’t able to.”
He tried to think if anything like that had happened to him. “When I was a toddler, I really struggled with telekinesis.”
“Moving objects using your mind?”
“Yes. No matter how much I focused, one time I could move a rock two inches and the next it would go flying.” He had to chuckle at one not so pleasant memory. “Once, the rock flew through the castle window. Needless to say, my father was pissed.”
A small smile lifted her lips. “I can only imagine.” She lowered her arms and faced him. “How did you learn to control it?”
“Practice. I can see that I should have warned you about your abilities. In all honesty, I didn’t think they would be triggered when you went to Feyrion. I swear I was going to tell you about it as soon as we returned, but we were interrupted before I could.”
“You should think about the consequences before you change a person’s life, you know.”
He smiled. “You are an amazing woman, love.”
“Don’t call me that.” Tory looked away.
Kenton reached out and turned her chin toward him. “Why? You are the love of my life.”
She finally locked her gaze with him. “I’m not feeling the love today.”
