by Missy Lyons
"Oh they'll be willing enough, lass.” Hannah chuckled.
"Well you can have them.” Alyssa had no desire for fights under the covers. She didn't want to share a man with the hundreds of women here or to put her chains to such a use. She always thought of the chains dangling from her waist as more ornamental than useful. It just went unsaid that the Elisaid took no prisoners. As a sexual device, chains were just unnecessary.
Through the Bath festivals, they had always been able to couple with men and continue the line. Chains weren't necessary, but they would definitely hold a man still until he became willing.
"Oh lass, but your virgin body has never known the mating heat of Bath festivals, have you dear?” Phillipa's face was deadly serious. It was not so much a question as a statement.
"No, but if it's been nigh near twenty years, then you're a virgin too. Why don't we do the festival anymore anyway?” Alyssa asked. She was still fairly new here, and didn't know all the Druid's secrets.
"That is something I brought up with the council myself. Preservation should make us continue the festivals. We need to do something to keep the Elisaid line alive, but they are afraid of the past repeating itself,” Hannah said while forming the dough into neat loaves of bread to cook in the pans.
"What are they afraid of?” Alyssa asked.
"In the past, knowing a man's touch was not forbidden but encouraged. Then Autumn and Lady Isabella herself were abducted. Terribly tragic.” Hannah shook her head with the memory. “When Autumn and Isabella were gone we had to do away with the rituals to protect ourselves. Isabella returned, but Autumn—no one is really sure what happened to her. I have always wondered if it was her blood that sings in your veins. Druid magic is usually handed from mother to daughter. There is a great mystery that surrounds you, since no one is sure who your mum is."
"I wish I knew who my mother was, too.” Alyssa's mother had died in childbirth and her father had always spoken little of his wife. He avoided the conversation as if he had something to hide.
In truth, it was unlikely that the missing Autumn had given birth to her; her stature was tall in comparison to the Elisaid. The Elisaid women averaged around five-feet; in comparison she stood five-foot-ten. Her features were well-muscled and the most obvious of all, her hair, which should be the boldest of red, was a dark black. Her eyes were not the emerald green, but simply brown, the color of a peasant. She was definitely not marked by Druid blood.
"How long has it been now?” Phillipa asked.
"Nineteen years.” Alyssa's age was eighteen so it was possible she was the last one born. The timing was right but she knew in her heart this was not her true home. She did not belong here. No more children had been born since the last fire; Elsbeth was the last child born in the fort. “So a child has not been born since the last fire? Surely they will have to do something or have the line die out. All the Elisaid will grow old and die."
"Exactly. Mark my words. Any other visitors would be killed on the spot, but these are men and we have not seen a man in nearly twenty years. They won't be leaving soon.” Hannah grew serious as she spoke.
"Are you really a virgin?” Phillipa asked with a smile, “My, but you are nearly an old maid. But how is that? You lived in the city where there were plenty of men to choose from."
"Some people value their virtue and my father taught me to value mine.” Alyssa blushed.
"Have you even kissed a man before?” Phillipa asked.
"No, but every woman has to make her own choice, Phillipa.” Alyssa was still not used to speaking so openly about sex, but she was no longer in London or in Paris. The Elisaid Keep was like being in a different world sometimes.
"Really, Vara.” Alyssa perked up at the name her sisters insisted on calling her. It emphasized just how much she did not belong here. Vara. It meant stranger to this land. “You should be paying more attention to your lessons. There are reasons you need to know seduction and kissing etiquette. Some even say it strengthens their powers to feed on their lust. Even warriors indulge once in a while just for the fun of it. It's not just about necessity. When you are in the right man's arms...” Phillipa ended in a sigh.
"But you have never been in any man's arms!” Alyssa was growing frustrated.
"We could arrange a tryst for you to lose your virginity. It would be a discreet way to begin your education. I'd say this is perfect timing with our male visitors,” Hannah said.
Her words brought no comfort to Alyssa. “Don't worry about me. I don't need any help."
"Don't you want to be one of us?” Hannah cocked her head quizzically.
"Yes, but—” Alyssa wasn't about to get into a lengthy discussion, but she knew sex without love was only half of what she needed to fulfill her. The Elisaid would never admit such weakness among their own, but such a deficiency would not go unfulfilled. Therefore, the Elisaid sought to fulfill their lives in other ways. Actually, some of the women seemed a little too friendly and Alyssa suspected that they might have developed a similar love and passion for women and not men, but she had never said anything and was too afraid of the answer to ask.
"Then know this is what we do. We are hunters. Elisaid women must be in control of their passions. We hunt men to continue the line. Even the warriors will partake of the men. It strengthens their gifts.” Hannah dusted the flour off her hands onto her apron and moved the loaves of bread one by one into the oven.
"I could never have a tryst without losing my heart.” Alyssa said. Knowing how intimate the details were, she shivered. To bare her body, to be naked with a stranger—she couldn't let herself because she knew her weak heart would fall in love. Moreover, in Alyssa's world love was quickly followed by pain and then death. First her mother, then her father. Everyone she had ever loved, she lost.
"There may not be another chance for quite some time. Just think on it. You may never know the full potential of your skills without giving of yourself fully. That is part of the power of the gifts. That kind of power does not come to those without the warrior's heart, to those who will not take."
"I live to serve the sword.” Alyssa embraced the ways of the warrior, eschewing everything feminine; there was no room with revenge in her heart. No room for love, romance, or anything soft when her own death would be embraced as soon as she killed the king's own man. She accepted her fate, knowing it would bring her peace in the end. Her year of service was almost up and she had learned as much about her magic and fighting as she could. Her skills had been honed, and her gift of magic showed no signs of advancing. She would not be denied her revenge by the steward dying of old age.
"Those that live by the sword die by the sword,” Hannah's lips pinched together, not liking Alyssa's answer, “but there is more to life than that. I still wonder about Lady Isabella's abduction. I didn't think it was possible for a warrior to be kidnapped until it happened. Do you think she wanted to be abducted? Or did she run away with a lover?"
"She would never give up being Lady of the House of Elisaid, would she?” Alyssa asked.
"Oh, but her blue blood is true and has a stronger call to her duty than her desire. But there was a time, when every woman lived for the day they would find their life mate. A magic you have yet to know. Yet you may never know, if you are an Elisaid ... There are no more druid men, so the magic can continue only on in our blood. Only in our teachings and only by us. It is why we keep to ourselves and mate only for breeding. It prevents magic from being misused.” The lady Autumn was the only one she had heard of leaving and not returning. Alyssa wished she knew the whole truth.
"But I thought if you were a warrior, you could not breed?"
"Aye, the choice. The clan laws protect our mothers. If you are breeding, you must abstain from being a warrior, but only one year."
"So you can be both?” Alyssa asked.
"Is not Isabella the strongest warrior here?” Hannah queried.
"Yes.” Phillipa's response was instinctual. It went unquestioned that their
leader was always the strongest among them.
"Well, Isabella has had children.” Hannah stated in response.
"But I only know of Elsbeth. Who else?” Alyssa went through faces in her mind's eye, imagining who would bare a striking resemblance to Elsbeth. Which face might that sister be? None other than Elsbeth had shown her such an instant dislike. So if temper were a gauge, she couldn't tell who it was.
"Forget what I said.” Hannah turned her head away. “I should not have mentioned that.” Alyssa's last question went unanswered; her attention was brought back to the men who would be visiting their hall. “But really it is up to the lady of the house to deal with these men and decide their fate. She will decide."
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Chapter 2
Prince Xanther stooped to enter the doorway; his large frame was much taller than the people that lived here. None of the door jambs were made to fit a man of his mass. He stepped into the crowded room, giving little thought to the hundreds of women that stared at him. He felt confident, calm, and at ease, wearing his house colors, blue and silver. Colors that marked him as a man from the royal house of Sinclair, even if someone managed to miss the crest on his cape or the seal on his finger. A lion and a dragon painstakingly embroidered in silver thread on his cape.
It felt like coming home, he mused. He knew the placement of every stone on every wall. Slate floors smoothed flat by wear, scrubbed clean by feminine hands. In truth, it should be new to him, but he visited here frequently in his dreams and he recognized every face that welcomed him from the great hall.
The great meeting hall was probably the most exotically decorated room in the fortress. With lush Persian rugs lining the floors, islands of silk pillows, and beautiful women surrounding him, it was much like visiting a sheik's harem.
His second in command, Liam, was at his side. Liam was an experienced soldier hardened by wars and had even spent some years in search of the Dragon Heart stone. A new man, Remington, trailed slightly behind him, both men dressed in much plainer attire. They wore navy blue uniforms but much like their master, quickly filled the room with their broad shoulders and large frames. He had handpicked these men for their loyalty, and their self-control, because Xanther knew their control would be sorely tested.
Heaven only knew what magical offspring would result from a union with a Sinclair and an Elisaid. Xanther had witnessed the heartless nature of the Elisaid personally. He wasn't going to be responsible for anything like that happening a second time.
Not that his other men were any less loyal, he mused, but with the treats that were about to be laid before them, nothing short of castration would stop them from partaking in this kind of sensual buffet. He knew these men to be disciplined. The others had been ordered to await his return at the base of the mountain.
* * * *
A dark shiver left Alyssa cold at the sight of the three men.
Not here. Not now. After all this time? They found me!
Alyssa gasped, lowering her head. Not that much could make her stand out any less. Her hair was dark, with not a trace of red like her sisters. Her eyes were brown, not green. She towered over the others. The other ladies, even with their military training, never built up any mass of muscles, while Alyssa had muscles where no proper lady should. Alyssa slumped her shoulders and drooped her neck. She tried to slip into the background and go about her duties of serving the tables.
She recognized the seal on his cape, for she had an identical mark on her back. This man was dangerous to her, and she sensed a darkness about him that threatened her freedom as much as Drake McAllister would have liked to. Only she was not repulsed by him like she had been by Drake. This man was handsome in his looks and tall in his stature. She was mortified to feel an attraction of sorts and something else. A strange pressure in her stomach. She was torn between the desire to approach him and the desire to flee the room.
The strength of the attraction deeply unsettled Alyssa when she paused to think about it. Quickly, she tamped down any emotion she might inadvertently act on. She might as well be throwing herself to the wolves to go anywhere near these men. Especially that arrogant peacock strutting in the middle.
The other women had already taken their seats on the lush rugs and pillows that lay on the outer reaches of the room. The room was decorated exquisitely and the women only added to the dramatic effect. It was a room full of red-haired women and almost all were dressed in simple black hooded gowns.
The whispers and chatting grew louder and a knot of anxiety rose up in Alyssa's throat as she spoke. “Mother, do you wish some wine?” she asked softly, raising the pitcher of wine she held. The woman answered by bringing her glass closer to Alyssa. Alyssa noted Lady Isabella's pale complexion. Her skin lacked the wrinkles defined by aging, even though she was by far the oldest woman in the hall. She looked regal today in her silver robes.
Alyssa had never thought of it as odd how she always chose the Sinclair colors before. Always silver or blue. But now that she saw the prince in his regal colors next to Lady Isabella, they were definitely the same colors of royalty that she wore. Alyssa wondered what link they had. She decided she would have to ask more questions about the year Lady Isabella spent outside of the Elisaid walls.
"Thank you, Vara.” Alyssa would be glad when she was given a real name. Vara, meaning stranger, was the name she was given after she arrived here, and it irritated her now. Yes, she was not fully one of them, born into their midst, but she didn't like being constantly reminded she was a stranger. She would always work hard, doing everything in her power to repay the Elisaid. Learning everything she could do to bring honor on her newfound family and herself closer to a personal revenge. “You know, our guests should be given some entertainment tonight to help distract them and I was hoping you would consider dancing the Fall of the Angel, as our angel."
"Angel?” There was no mistaking Alyssa's shocked look and thoughtless reply that said I would prefer to be tied down and horse whipped! “Couldn't I be the warrior?"
"No. Ceallach is already playing that part."
"What about a different dance? I am very good at the fire dance."
"The fire dance won't fit my plans. We need to remind the ladies of their duties. Need I remind you of yours?” Lady Isabella frowned contemptuously.
"No, mistress,” Alyssa sighed in resignation. “I live to serve."
"You aren't questioning my judgment, are you?"
"Never. I would be honored to dance for you, my Lady.” Alyssa blushed, bowing low to show her respect. Her mind was reeling, thinking of the deeper meaning of the dance.
This particular dance held so many meanings. But it would serve as a pointed reminder to everyone here that they had a duty to follow—protecting the line and protecting their lore. Every woman here had a duty. One duty and one choice. Some would choose a simpler life, raising their children to follow in their footsteps, while others would choose the harsher world of the warrior. Alyssa knew when it came to her, she would choose the sword. None of that bed sport for her. She wouldn't be a slave to love, chained by her desires and lust.
Alyssa made her way into a connecting room to find the costume she would dance in. The costume was made of thin layers of silk that were meant to be discarded as the dance progressed. Alyssa's heartbeat raced as she realized another thing she could not hide besides her nudity during the dance. They would see her mark. If they had not come for her, they would definitely want to leave with her. Alyssa's fear rose as she thought about the possibility of escape. There was none. If she ran, the Elisaid would cut her down as a traitor.
She fingered the silk scarves before donning the costume, regretting she had no further choice in the matter. She would have to leave it up to fate to decide what would happen. Maybe she would get lucky and not even be noticed by the strangers. Although her instincts said the opposite. Her stomach was now filling with butterflies.
The first sight of the men brought silence to the ro
om, but now the ladies were chatting once again among themselves. Many women were trying to curry the men's favor already with seductive glances.
The men were dressed in plain uniforms meant for travel. The man that was obviously the leader was larger and broader than the others, nearly a head taller than them. With clothes that held more details, like the shirt he wore. It was a royal silver shirt edged with lace with blue pants that had a matching silver cape that framed his broad shoulders. He must be a titled noble ranking officer; his dress was almost too elegant to be out here in the wilderness. His red hair was not bright red but a strawberry blonde. But with his looks he could easily blend in with the rest of the Elisaid women, as if he were born here. Just as strangely, he acted at ease, as if he belonged here.
Alyssa mused, He must be some kind of rogue to be so at ease. He must visit the cathouses nightly. He was swaggering with every step. He was too handsome and too conceited by far in the midst of all these hormonally charged women. Any normal man would have been overwhelmed by the women in their numbers and by the fact that every woman was armed, but these men were not surprised, nor were they frightened.
The footsteps of the three men became the only sound. The other two were handsome enough, but it the leader was the one who put her on edge. His every movement made him seem to be graced with a restrained power and masculinity.
The Elisaid followed the men in their full black hooded gowns. Their guides to the keep. Alyssa briefly wondered if they struggled before being led here.
Xanther's men followed at a safe distance but kept near to him. They too felt the energy of this ancient place, the raw power, but not the voices. They were handsome young men, physically in good shape and hardened by their military training. There was no doubt any of them would be welcomed warmly in any bed.
"Peace be on you, gentlemen.” All turned to the Lady of the House as she stood and opened her arms in welcome. She approached the men with what looked like restrained joy. The Mother Superior was their leader. She strolled gracefully to the strangers and openly embraced the perceived leader of the men. A joy sparkled in Isabella's eyes that had not been evident in many years. “Welcome to our house. I am sure after your journey you are tired and in need of rest. We have prepared a humble meal and rooms for you. Please, join us at my table and feel at ease."
