by Honor James
“And you know this how?” Azure didn’t like how well they knew her. She should have realized that, of anyone, her personal guard would have known the cost to her personally to ensure that all of their people made it home, dead or alive.
Both of her guards looked at her and snorted. The taller of the two, who was cleaning her weapon she had used, placed the weapon back into the lock box for the weapons range.
“I guess that was a silly question?”
The other guard whose voice was soft, which belied his size, spoke next. “Majesty, we have known you since you came screaming into the world. Of course we know what it costs you. What all of this costs you. We have always known the delicate line you must walk to keep from turning into something that none of the Council could fight. We know that you keep the secrets of our Race very, very carefully hidden.”
All she could do was blush. “Well, it’s still time for our people to come out of the shadows. We have many Warriors who want to return to this side so that they can do what they can in order to protect the Veil. They all know that it’s time we began to provide our share of protection as well.” And they were anxious to learn if any of them could find mates on this side of the Veil, as well.
“I still feel that it is unfair for them to ask you to come forward. You should be protected. Gods only know the other races protect their Royals.”
“Well, this Royal refuses to hide any longer.”
“We just pray that this isn’t the end of your line,” the shorter and wider of her guard stated quietly, “which is why we are here.”
“I know.” She smiled fondly up at her guards. They had truly been there in her life since it began, and she adored them. They had spent more time with her than her own father had, and in a way, these two men were more father figures than guards to her. “I am proud to have you both with me. I am happy that you are the heads of my personal guard. I know that I sometimes forget to tell you, but I am thankful for you both.”
Both men smiled and bowed their head to their Princess. “It is time to meet with the Regents from the Veil, as well as the Human regent.”
Taking a deep breath, Azy nodded. “We should stop by my rooms. I think that I am a bit underdressed.” No one would take her seriously right now. She was dressed in blue jeans, something she found she loved, and a T-shirt, again something from this side of the Veil she loved. “It will only take me ten minutes to change.” Into the stiff and formal garb of Royalty.
“As you say. We will let them know we will arrive in twenty minutes. They can wait.” Atol, her shorter guard, stated softly. With that last statement, they were off.
Chapter Two
“Ready?” a voice asked behind him.
Turning, he nodded as he finished tucking his shirt into his pants. Grabbing up the suit jacket, he slid it on. Oh, the crap one had to deal with in the Human realm. Rolling his eyes, he followed his friend toward the door.
“Any idea why we were demanded at this shindig?” he asked.
Volos shook his head. “All I know is that when the Council steps foot over here and he sends word for our asses to be there, we damn well show up.”
Stopping, he stared at his friend until Volos realized he wasn’t following and stopped before turning. “He’s coming over?” he asked, incredulous.
“He’s head of the Council now. Damned straight, he’s coming over. He may not like it here and he definitely doesn’t like Humans, but he’s coming.”
“Son of a bitch,” Drake muttered. “Really wish you’d told me that before I agreed to go with you,” he said with a glare at his friend.
“Then you wouldn’t have agreed.” Volos smirked.
“I hate you. You realize this, right? I completely, fully and totally hate you right now,” he grumbled.
“M’eh.” Volos shrugged. “I seriously doubt that, given that you think I’m adorable and all.”
“I never said you were adorable. Directly. I may have said that to the woman you were trying to pick up in the hopes of giving you a shot. But even she knew what bullshit that was,” Drake told him.
Moving forward again, he shot his friend another glower. Volos knew better than to keep that kind of shit from him. Especially when it came to him. Drake was not ready to see him again, not now, not ever, really. How the hell had anyone talked him into taking up the center seat on the Council? Fuck, that was just mind-bending to even think about.
Reclusive to a seriously scary point, Drake knew the other male preferred solitude to the machinations of the Council. The fact the male had taken center chair spoke volumes, not all of it good, either.
Sliding into the passenger seat of his friend’s custom-made hotrod of a car, he shot Volos a look. “Take the long way around, if you would.”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “Not a chance in hell, brother.” They weren’t actually brothers. Hell, they weren’t even the same race, but they were likely as close as any brothers could possibly be.
“I hate you,” Drake said again, without much heat in his voice. Volos just laughed as they launched out into traffic and on their way to the Council Chambers location.
* * * *
The Council Chambers - Earth, location: Classified
Standing by the doors into the main chamber, Drake eyed up the various folks filtering into the room. Some were Human, others were, well, other. Vhampires, Spirytes, Ahnjels and Luhpynes. The guards at the door were Luhpyne and Vhampire, the two strongest of the Races. Or so they thought.
Shaking his head, he rubbed at the bridge of his nose before a scent caught his attention. Lifting his head slowly, he glanced around lazily until he found the source, a petite female in Royal garb with two large brutes at her side.
He easily recognized the guards for who they were. But no one else would, not then, not ever. No, they were pretty damned good at hiding who they were from all the very sensitive noses in the place. They’d have to be, to keep their secret.
Like him finding them amongst the many, they, too, spotted him and knew who he was, what he was, right away. They gave the smallest of nods his way before their attention refocused on all the potential threats to the Royal they were protecting.
His own attention tightened on her. She was beautiful in an unconscious manner. She obviously played the role of a Royal but wasn’t comfortable in the mask. Not the first time he’d seen that before.
But he was more interested in what his inner beast was telling him. She was important in a way that no others there truly understood. They just saw her for the position she held and the power she wielded. That wasn’t what he wanted from her. What he would get from her.
Waiting until the Royal and her entourage went into the chamber, he finally turned to the open doors. “Into the deep we go,” he muttered.
“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad,” Volos said next to him.
The damned Vhampire really could move faster than he could track sometimes. Of course, all the other scents in the room definitely helped his friend’s cause.
“That’s what you think. I know what’s going to happen after this little party,” Drake said, not happy about it, either.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” Volos asked, way too chipper as he bumped shoulders with him before heading inside.
“I really wish you hadn’t asked that,” Drake muttered with a groan.
Following on his friend’s tail, he shot a look to the table where the Council would sit empty except for the Human regents. But then, the Council did so love making an entrance.
Rolling his eyes, he took the chair next to his friend and discovered he had an unobstructed view of the Royal. Sweet! Grinning slightly, he undid his suit jacket and settled in to wait. The Council could arrive immediately, or not. It was their prerogative as well as a safety measure. In the meantime, at least he had a great view.
The large, fortified doors of the main entrance were sealed, the crowd whispering among themselves as they looked around in impatience. Drake c
ould have told them that it was to build the atmosphere for the grand entrance, but didn’t. Like they’d believe it until they actually saw it for themselves.
Shoving a hand through his short white-blond hair, he scratched his thumb nail over his jaw. He likely should have shaved, but it was such a pain. And really, it wasn’t that long yet, still relatively short, given how quickly it grew. Fingering the scar under his chin, he watched as the Royal sat perfectly straight. She didn’t speak to anyone and didn’t look around. If he didn’t know better, he’d have placed good money on her being nervous and giving herself a pep talk.
Interesting. Very, very interesting.
“All rise!” the call came. The rustle of clothing as everyone stood was loud in the vaulted chamber.
Great acoustics, he thought as he got to his own feet. But, again, it was all part of the planning of the place. It ensured that no electronics were needed, for the Council or anyone they called before them could be heard in every corner of the room. Yet another safety measure the Races took to protect their governing body.
The Council filed in through a door, perfectly in sync and without hesitation. They all stopped behind their chairs and then slid into them.
But his attention was only on one person, the cloaked figure at the center whose face never once appeared from the deep shadows created by the layering of the hood.
“Be seated!” another call went out.
Another rustle of clothing and now some low talking as people who hadn’t yet met the newly formed Council got their first looks. Two Luhpynes, two Vhampires, two Spirytes, two Ahnjels and two Raythes, the newest Race to be given a face before the Humans. And then there was the mystery member, the mediator, the chair, at the center of them all. Drake, and Volos of course, knew just who and what that Council member was. But the others would not, outside the Council members, of course.
“Princess Azure,” the hooded Council member said.
Drake grinned slightly as everyone around him shivered from that deep, dark and foreboding voice. Straight out of the Pits of the Human’s Hell, he’d heard it described. Actually quite fitting.
“We welcome you, Princess,” he continued. “Please, begin at your leisure,” he added.
Sliding his attention back to the female, Drake, as well as everyone else there, waited for her to speak. He needed to hear her voice, desperately, he found, as he leaned forward ever so slightly and began to rub his thumb over the bracelet covering his left wrist.
* * * *
Azy stepped forward, her head held high as she did so. She hated being in the spotlight, always had, and she honestly always would. She was here now because her father had asked it of her. His dying wish was that their people no longer play from the shadows but step forward and into this alliance with the Council.
After the room went quiet once more, Azure spoke. Her voice was soft, but held confidence. “We are the Raythe,” she said simply. “There are two that sit upon your Council, two that hold positions which have held my secret for far too long. I am Princess of our people and now ruler in the wake of the loss of my father.” She took a breath, the air smelling wrong to her on this side of the Veil.
“I am also more. Only to those of this Council will you know the truth of the burden that my father knew. We lost many in the war with the humans, however the number was never told because I ensured that their bodies and souls were brought back home for their burial. I am the Necromancer.” She heard the breaths, knew just what they thought. She was a myth. She was not real. “My father never allowed the truth of what I am to be released because he felt that far too many of you would want to use my abilities to your gain. Now, however, things have changed. The Dead have spoken, my father has spoken, and it’s time that I come out to only you as who and what I am. Outside of these walls, you won’t remember. Inside of them, you shall. It is how my line has been protected, how we have been hidden. Only in case of the most dire of emergencies am I called upon.” She hadn’t wanted to give her secret away, that much was clear.
“Our races are being hunted now by the humans. Their souls are all reaching for me, and it’s become too much. It’s time for me to come to this side of the Veil so that I can be closer, so that we can stop the atrocities that are being rained upon all of our people. The humans that are against their own people are also pulling apart their own race to figure out what makes some of the women mates to our males. I want to stop them. However, I can’t do this alone.”
She paused for a moment, allowing them to discuss this among themselves. “I will be able to help. However, I can’t do this alone. It’s time for me to take my place among you and request a team to be assigned to assist in saving our people.” And now she waited. She waited for the fallout from what she had said.
The Council sat silent as the Human Regents muttered among themselves. Finally, the hooded member at the center stood, all falling silent. “We of the Council of the Races welcome your help. You will be provided a small team, those that can be trusted by not only this Council but by you as well. You have the blessing of this Council to do whatever is needed to ensure the safety of your Race and any others you can help. Whatever is necessary, do so with clear conscience.”
The others of the Council stood and, as one, they all bowed to her. As they straightened, they turned and left the chamber.
For all of two seconds after the door shut behind the last of them, silence held. Then absolute and complete chaos broke out as people began to shout questions and demands her way.
The smallest of movements caught her eye as a pair of males paused by the door to the antechamber where the Council had gone. Both were looking her way before a guard pushed the door open and they disappeared within.
Azy took a deep breath and looked up at her guards. “I am done,” she said quietly. “What I needed to do has been completed. They are now aware of what was happening, and now it is time for us to learn if they will keep with their promise and allow me a team. They will not recall why they are offering me a team of skilled warriors, but they will do it all the same.”
It was what was inherent in her DNA—those that she didn’t want to recall her, wouldn’t. It was unconscious to her, and something she couldn’t stop had she wished to. “We will return to our rooms on this side of the Veil and request the files of those that would step forward to assist us.” She wasn’t a warrior. She had never been one and was thankful to have her Guards at her side because they were just that, Warriors.
“Of course, Majesty,” one said, gesturing her toward the doors that were opened.
Chapter Three
“The prodigal son returns,” the deep voice from the hood said.
Rolling his eyes, Drake stuffed his hands into his pockets and just lifted an eyebrow.
“Clear the room,” he demanded. Being who he was, he got what he wanted and quickly, the other Councilors moving to other rooms until they could be taken back across the Veil safely.
Only then did the hood get pushed back to reveal the harsh features underneath, including the eight-inch ragged scar that cut through one eye, which was white from the attack that had nearly taken his life and his mate’s. “Good to see you, Drake,” he said.
“You, too, Father,” Drake said. He stepped in and accepted the bone-breaking hug from the man that was his father, biologically and in every other way.
Stepping back, he tipped his head to Volos. “You remember Volos, I’m sure.”
“Of course.” Dracon held out a hand to Drake’s friend and nodded his way. “Good to see you again.”
“Sir.” Volos shook his hand and then stepped back.
Amused, Drake shot him a look. “Don’t worry, he only saves the bone grinding for those of us that can survive it.”
“Not chancing it,” Volos said, and then grinned.
“Why did you invite us to this party?” Drake asked, his attention returning to his father.
“Azure,” Dracon said. “You know who she is, who she’s
always been, and who she will become.”
“Of course.” Drake nodded. Sadly for the little Raythe, her Necromancer ability didn’t work on his race. He’d remember everything she’d said until the day he died, as would his father and others of his race that had been in the room. But they were secretive as well, and would never break the pact and speak of what she’d revealed. It wasn’t their way.
“Good.” He nodded again. Turning, he picked up a folder and handed it to Drake. “Everything else you need to know is in there. You and Volos are now officially her team. Keep her guards with you. They are loyal to us, son, and to her. They will be a benefit to keeping her safe while she takes on her mission.”
Not looking into the folder yet—he would later—Drake eyed up his old man.
“What?” Dracon asked, sounding exasperated.
“Just wondering how in the hell you got talked into playing mediator for a bunch of Councilors who don’t even realize our race is still alive and more than kicking.”
“Ah.” He grinned suddenly. It was a feral and mildly terrifying sight. “Because the one who asked me to knew that, should it be necessary, I’d have zero qualms about terminating each and every one of them.”
“Oh,” Drake said. What else could he say to that? “Well, there’s a pleasant thought to keep me warm at night.”
Snorting, Dracon shook his head. “Boy, you don’t need that to keep you warm. Not if you go and get your mate like you should. Just remember, the Raythe do not trust easily. Show her who you are inside before you reveal who you are meant to be to her, for the rest of time.”
“Right, thanks,” Drake said, and then grinned. Giving his father another hug, he passed on messages of love to his mother and the rest of their mates as well as his several siblings. Leaving the antechamber through a back door, he walked with Volos toward the car.
It was seriously odd, getting relationship advice from his father, the man who’d pretty much kidnapped and then browbeat his mother into accepting her fated mates. Stubborn ran in his family, on all sides.
