It was only after Ava returned to their AltVeritas of Vyronas, and she was able to learn the secrets of blood magic herself, that they were able to defeat Ralina. It nearly had cost Ava her life but she had prevailed. Ava lived and Ralina was dead.
Since then, Kestevayne, as well as all of the other countries in Vyronas, had enjoyed peace and idyllic harmony. Carrick and Ava had married and within a year had popped out the most gorgeous woman in the known universe. Emma…Kieran’s niece.
Okay, so Kieran doted on his niece. She was perfect in his eyes. She had Carrick’s blond hair and Ava’s green eyes, which lit up every time Uncle Kieran came to visit her… which was, oh, about five times a day. Living in the palace, in his own Royal apartments, it was nothing for Kieran to stop by often to play with Emma. She was innocence personified. So what if he was a little bored being a soldier in a peaceful country? Emma deserved to live in a world where she could be free from hate and violence.
Kieran realized he had a huge grin plastered to his face just thinking of Emma. Who would have thought I would like kids? Not that Kieran wanted kids of his own. He was perfectly fine to play with Emma and then be able to hand her back to her parents. An uncle’s prerogative so to speak.
Besides, children deserved to have two parents and he had no intention of ever marrying. It’s not that he was cynical about love. In fact, he had never seen a more perfect union of love than between Carrick and Ava. It was something he knew existed. It’s just not something he ever aspired to. He was having too much fun living the single life.
Anyone that knew Kieran would describe him as such: carefree, funny, and happy-go-lucky. He was forever joking and rarely got angry. He was not the slightest bit embarrassed that he was also known as a lady’s man. Carrick had called him a man-whore on more than one occasion but he was sure a better nickname could be found for him. Carrick was probably just a little jealous.
Yes. Kieran enjoyed women. So what? He gave them immeasurable pleasure and no one had ever left dissatisfied, himself included. But they all knew the real deal. Yes, they all knew that Kieran was off the market when it came to committed relationships. He was up front about it and never promised a woman anything more than a little fun between the sheets. Which didn’t seem to be a turn off for most women. Vyronas was a land of freedom and sensuality. Sex was not shameful and what went on between two consenting adults was respected.
And Kieran never had a problem finding a female consenting adult. Rarely a night went by that he had a cold bed. At 6’5”, Kieran was packed with solid muscle. His hair was blond but streaked with so many different shades it seemed to sparkle in the sun. His eyes were deep blue and usually crinkled in mirth. He never stared at himself overly long in the mirror but if he did, he would see strong, chiseled features and slanting eyebrows. He could radiate danger or with just a crook of his finger have every female in a twenty foot radius climbing all over him. Again, not that he minded that type of attention. He just rolled with it.
But, it seemed lately that’s all his life revolved around. One lady after another. And it’s not that he had a different woman every day. Please. He wasn’t that good. He was monogamous but he didn’t do long term relationships. If there was even a whiff that a woman wanted something more than no strings sex, he cut it off. He didn’t have time or any desire for emotions deeper than a good orgasm.
So here he was on vacation. Life in the army was nothing more than training since there was no war to wage. With downsizing the army, there were hardly any new troops to train. He had no real hobbies, other than spending time with Emma, so if he had to be pressured to admit, he would have to say his life had become quite boring.
Thinking back again to the things he had to accomplish today, they were, and in no particular order, well… nothing. He would probably clean up (done with a simple magical incantation which would take all of ten seconds), then go eat breakfast with Carrick, Ava and Emma. Then he would get some training in. Not that he had to, because, well he was on extended vacation. But today he would get in some spell work since he tended to ignore his magical fighting abilities. He’d much rather cut down an enemy with a sword. Then he’d brush his horse, then go play with Emma, then he would get lunch. Then play with Emma again, do some more training then dinner. Then figure out who would warm his bed. Probably Kayla. Or was it Kara? He should figure that out before she woke up.
Kieran sighed. When had his life become so dull? Not that he didn’t enjoy any of those activities. Again, Emma was the light of his life. But he needed something more. Some action, or adventure. Anything to break these doldrums.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Kieran glanced over at Kayla/Kara to see if whoever was pounding on his door had awoken her. Nope. She was still sound asleep. Sighing, Kieran got out of bed and pulled on a pair of loose, drawstring pants that hung low on his waist. Padding out of his bedroom and to the front door of his apartment, he ran a hand through his long hair, hoping to give it some semblance of normalcy before he saw who was on the other side. Screw it. I don’t care what I look like.
Opening the door, Kieran saw the smiling face of his brother, Carrick. Even better, he held Emma in his arms. Upon seeing Kieran, Emma reached her chubby arms out and happily screeched, “Unca Keera”. She had not mastered the English language yet, but he knew what she wanted. Taking her from Carrick’s arms, Kieran gave her a soft kiss on her head.
“Hey, munchkin. Why are you visiting your Uncle Kieran so early?”
Kieran didn’t expect Emma to answer, so he looked over her head at Carrick with his eyebrows raised. While Emma happily babbled in Kieran’s arms, Carrick stepped inside the front door.
“Good morning sunshine. Did we wake you?”
“Nope. Just been lying in bed pondering life’s mysteries.”
Carrick snorted. “Probably pondering the name of whatever girl you have in that bed with you.”
Kieran grinned but didn’t respond. He didn’t need to…his brother knew him well. He walked into his living room, smooching kisses over Emma’s face. She laughed gleefully. Sitting on the couch with Emma in his arms, he looked back up at Carrick, waiting for him to answer his original question as to why they were there. They normally ate breakfast together every morning around 8:00am so it was out of the ordinary for Carrick to show up this early at his apartment.
Carrick didn’t beat around the bush. “We have a problem. The Scepter has been stolen.”
Kieran gaped at Carrick. Reaching behind a pillow, he pulled out a stuffed teddy bear. He had all kinds of kid’s toys laying around for when Emma visited. He put Emma on the floor to play with the teddy bear and turned his attention back to Carrick.
“What do you mean ‘stolen’”?
“What about ‘stolen’ don’t you understand? It’s gone. And it can’t have just vanished into thin air. Ergo, it’s been stolen.”
“How? You have armed guards surrounding it day and night.”
“We have no idea. The guards were rendered unconscious. They were found at the shift change at 6:00a.m. I came directly here to let you know.”
“It has to be recovered, Carrick. You know we can’t go unprotected.”
Carrick sighed. “I know.”
Picking Emma up from the floor, he looked at Kieran. “Come have breakfast and we will fill you on everything we know.”
Purchase Stolen Heart from Amazon
Second Chance Page 23
