“Thank you” Aggie started softly, “both of you.” The look on Mitchell’s face was priceless. It was as though he expected Aggie to react as he did and not with gratitude.
Ren leaned forward and his words caressed her, without him once physically connecting with her. “I’m happy to help in any way you ever need me to.” The chills returned even without direct contact like the promise was enough for her body to remember.
“I’ll keep that in mind. The fact of the matter is I haven’t been able to calm down during a storm since my mother was alive. That was the first time someone has been able to help. You really have no idea how grateful I am.” Getting up onto her feet, Aggie made her way to the group of men. Now with a renewed focus, she could contribute and know that her opinions were valid and not stunted or broken. “Now that I’m no longer caught up in that nonsense, where were we?
Before anyone could answer her the door to the parlor flew open and a woman waltzed in carrying herself with an air of superiority. Aggie immediately honed in on her elegant black dress that looked more like raven feathers stitched together into a never-ending seam, then draped over her and wrapped to fit her body perfectly. She abruptly stopped at the center of the space and the clack of her heels instantly silenced without a misstep. Standing there was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. Her coal black hair matched her dress perfectly as though they dyed it to match and not a single hair was out of place in her pristine coif. Just being in her presence was intimidating and Aggie found herself taking a small step back. So she didn’t have to be so close and perhaps judged against this beauty of a woman.
“Yavari, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?” Mathius said formally with a slight bow towards her. The rest of the guys followed suit, but none were very low. This woman was some sort of royalty but judging by her lack of headgear Aggie deduced that she was likely not the queen.
“Mathius,” Yavari purred and took a few steps to run her hand over his jaw in an affectionate way that hinted at a familiarity that made Aggie want to fly across the room and tear her hands from his face and off her body. A sharp pain radiated from Aggie’s face as she realized she’d been clenching her jaw far too tightly. “I heard you boys had arrived last night. I wanted to come and see you upon your arrival, but unfortunately a prior engagement kept me ensnared for too long.” Yavari never put any distance between her and Mathius and she looked at him as though she could eat him whole. Digging her nails into the palms of her hands, Aggie remained firmly planted in her place slightly behind Xavier. Not that she was scared of this woman, more like this reaction to the situation was making her nervous.
“We were quite busy and got an early start on the matter at hand. We are back at it again this morning. Do you have anything new to share with us that will help us resolve this any faster?” Mathius took a step back turning his body to face the rest of the room. In his own way, including everyone and pointedly looked at Aggie. Then Mathius nodded his head almost imperceptibly, but she saw it and for that she was thankful and surprised. That tiny gesture settled her nerves and his obvious effort to separate Yavari from him allowing some much-needed space between the two.
“I wasn’t even home at the time when poor little Rikan was taken. It was so devastating for all of us. His sweet mother is simply a wreck.” Yavari placed her hand on her heart and her eyebrows bowed in a compassionate gesture. Something about her words were off to Aggie. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it was there.
“I hope if you hear anything that could help us you will pass it along.” Mathius held his composure but Aggie noticed a hint of frustration in his eyes. She hadn’t known these guys well but her connection to them was strong and she had a way of reading them in a way she could only read close friends.
“Of course, I will, Mathius.” Yavari crooned again and made Aggie want to hurl. This woman was clearly delusional and had a thing for Mathius. After realizing Mathius didn’t share her attraction, Aggie felt herself relax, but she didn’t move. Drawing attention to herself was the last thing she wanted to do at this point. It seemed Yavari only had eyes for Mathius at this point anyway. With that, she flipped the train on her dress, that Aggie hadn’t noticed before, and sashayed out of the room just as dramatically as she came in.
Chapter 9
Once again alone, the room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Aggie was the first to speak up, “Who the hell was that?”
“That was the King’s sister, Yavari. She is a bit of a handful and quite the character. We have to tolerate her because she is still royalty no matter how we feel about her.” A visible shudder ran through Mathius and Aggie knew there was a larger story to tell there.
“Did you two have a thing, once upon a time?” Aggie blurted without a hint of jealousy and something more akin to taunting.
“I would rather not discuss it.” Mathius grumbled and turned away from the group and began to pour himself another cup of tea.
“Oh, come on, I know so little about you guys and I’d rather not start off with a long list of secrets to unravel, but time is already against us.” Aggie pleaded and even batted her eyelashes a little for good measure. Just before she broke out her signature pout, Mathius sighed and his shoulders drooped.
“She has had a thing for me our entire lives. She was second in line for the crown and I was always to be head of the royal guard. We grew up in the same circles and she was always there. I never returned her affections, but that didn’t once stop her from pressing her luck. I’ve been telling her no for years.”
“I figured as much.” Aggie knew her words would catch him off guard but the speed at which he grabbed her made her breath catch. Quickly she realized he had dusted her to the other side of the room and pressed her back against the wall. His lips were on hers faster than she could get herself under control from the magical transportation and was quickly lost in the feel of his touch and his lips moving with hers. Nothing else mattered, the room fell away as did the remaining inhabitants. It wasn’t until they were startled by someone clearing their throat, that Aggie felt guilty. She had been kissing Mitchell minutes before and now Mathius, all while everyone was in the room and watching. This wasn’t who she was. Aggie never cheated on boyfriends and never really paid attention to other guys if she was in a relationship. Is that what this is? A relationship? Nothing has been defined, and, if that is the case, then who is to say I can’t kiss or hug or touch any of them if I decide to? Aggie let her brain wander for a moment attempting to justify what had just taken place.
Without another word about it, Mathius went back to all business. “Now that we are all on the same page, where do you want to start today?”
“Ren and I will walk the castle and see if any scents from the room become clear or more defined. Perhaps we will find a lead.” It must be the Alpha in him that makes Mitchell so much of a dictator. I wonder if he is always in control or if he lets his guard down for, ‘special activities’. After their brief moment Aggie had a few new ideas about this macho man standing before her.
“I would like to go outside the castle walls and visit with any of the towns folk and see if they have any new information. While I know the previous scenes have grown cold now, I’m hoping someone has a tiny piece of information that will give us something to go on.” Xavier was stoic as ever and so rigid. Aggie wondered if he ever let loose.
“Do you have the power of compulsion?” Aggie was making it a habit of blurting her thoughts out of the blue at them, as though they had been friends forever and wouldn’t be offended. She heard Ren chuckle at her antics. Aggie remembered that he said her method wasn’t the politest way to ask them about their powers. This seemed to only be a formality and none of them seemed to be taking offense by her method of getting information out of them.
Xavier’s smiled pulled slowly across his face, Aggie made a note not to meet him in a dark alley where he might be upset or hungry showing her that devilish grin. “I have the power
over the weak-minded.” He was always so straightforward and simple when he spoke. Never mincing words, but also never fully explaining. Aggie knew they had more important tasks at hand so she filed that away on her ever-growing list for a better time.
“I will go with you.” Liel spoke as though he knew Xavier wasn’t going to share anything else with Aggie. Aggie scrunched up her face at him in a childish way, but he wasn’t even phased.
“As will I. I’m sure I can persuade one or two to share some stories.” Kyrel added quickly.
“I’m not sure those stories are the kind we are trying to uncover,” Ren chimed in with a smirk. Everyone just shook their heads at his train of thought. He really was the troublemaker of the bunch.
“That leaves the rest of us to go through the mail.” Mathius finished his tea and made to leave the room.
“Mail? You guys have a mail system here?” Aggie thought she was confused before, but now she was off the scale.
“Not in a sense that you would think, but more of a magical sending system. It isn’t as easy to maintain, but we can send messages through magical means directly to a person we have a connection with. I want to check and see if I recognize any signatures or if Gryson can break them down for any trace.” Mathius spoke as though this was perfectly normal and not the most insane things someone might have ever heard. The rest of the guys never questioned so she had to assume this was a normal thing. Trying to go with the flow she merely nodded and followed them out. Everyone went their separate ways when a hand clutched hers a new sensation ran through her. It felt like a thousand butterflies were flapping across her skin and inside her stomach. Aggie slowly looked up and saw Eldon keeping pace with her. Though he wasn’t looking at her she could feel him throughout her body and the draw was unbelievable. Destiny. This must be what people mean when they say fate. Aggie walked silently as her thoughts drifted. Eldon never let go of her hand and she never pulled hers away. She was content to feel him and how her body reacted to him.
Soon they stopped in front of a simple looking door and Aggie was puzzled. “What is this place?” All the other places she had seen in the castle were overdone and ornate to draw attention. This room seemed to blend into the wall. The only real reason she knew it was a door, was the knob that materialized the closer they stood to it. Does this place exude magic all the time? Is everything imbued with spells in order to make this castle function? Rubbing her temples Aggie realized all of this was giving her a headache. Perhaps humans shouldn’t spend too much time in the other realms to prevent mental overload. Again, this was placed in her mental file.
“This is our security room. It’s not on any maps and is intended to be inconspicuous.” Mathius’ hushed tones weren’t completely a whisper but they were obviously an attempt to keep people from drawing attention to them.
Stepping into the room, Aggie was in awe of the tactical space. Everything one could possibly need was here. Weapons, ones Aggie could recognize like swords, ax-like blades, and daggers, combined with ones Aggie couldn’t dream of explaining or describing. There looked to be a meeting space in the center. She could picture the guys all sitting around the table exchanging ideas, like a great meeting of the minds. Without asking she made her way toward the table and ran her fingers over the worn wood. Many conversations and heated debates had taken place at this table. She could feel it, as though the wood was radiating the feelings through her hand and telling her all about it. She smoothed the aging boards in small circles almost as though she were reassuring a small child. Aggie didn’t know why she was drawn like this but she had to assume it was because it was a connected piece of furniture to all the guys.
“We are going to start over here.” Gryson cupped her elbow and guided her to the far corner of the room. It had a blank wall on it that looked like a projector screen was embedded in it. With a wave of Mathius’s hand, it came to life with an ethereal glow. That was quickly replaced by mixtures of rainbows swirling on and a fog lightly poured over the surface. Nothing was tangible and Aggie felt as though she was watching the opening scenes of a movie before the credits began to roll. Quickly, shapes started swirling around on the screen and leaving her imagination to take each shape into consideration, as she didn’t know what was happening.
“Don’t you want to see Prince Rikan? He will be disappointed if you leave before he gets to see you.” A woman’s voice filtered through the space. Causing Aggie to whip her head left and right to determine the source.
“I haven’t the time, dear sister. I’m late for a meeting now as it is.” That voice, Aggie recognized and wondered who Yavari could be speaking to. The guys didn’t mention another sister.
“If you must then.” The mystery woman’s voice was disappointed but strong. “Please don’t stay away too long or he may forget what you look like. He always did adore you.” Aggie was beginning to put the pieces together. The picture faded out back to the faint light from nowhere. Although Aggie told her mind there was a hidden projector in the room. Just trying to ease the throbbing in her head.
“That was Queen Annare speaking to Yavari.” Mathius supplied when he thought he knew what caused Aggie’s confused look. Aggie just went with it to not bring up how hard this magic concept was for her to handle.
“It was the night of the kidnapping.” Gryson added as they all continued to stare at the blank screen, Aggie decided to call things what they looked like and not over think it.
“Do any of you have a piece of paper and a pen?” The three men looked at her as though they were asked to produce a unicorn. “You know so the non-magical here can take notes. My brain might miss details, but if I write things down I can be helpful.” With a flourish of his fingers and a smile Gryson created her request from thin air. The best part was she noted that he had procured another bit of information from her life at home somehow. He had supplied her favorite pen. Something with a gel ink always wrote better than the traditional ballpoint or stick pen. So now she could take these notes and feel a little more at home. As a reward, Aggie leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. Technically, the first kiss she had initiated but she was taking things slow. He had saved her twice today with his magical abilities and for that she was grateful. It was the least she could do was to show her appreciation. Gryson took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and hold her, for just a second, before he released her back to the floor. Only then did she realize he had lifted her off the floor to assist her in her task at hand. She really was a midget in comparison to these guys, but she would make up for it with her big personality.
Using her new pen and paper, Aggie noted that the queen and her sister-in-lawhad a conversation about the prince, on the day of his disappearance.
“Well at least she was telling the truth about not being home when he was taken.” Eldon piped up and his lyrical voice caught Aggie in a spell that ended the moment he stopped speaking. She really wanted to get to know him but he was the quietest of all the guys. At least Xavier spoke up more often than Eldon, even if he was vague in his comments and not forthcoming with information. She knew more about Xavier, the second quietest of the bunch, than she did about Eldon. Their moment in the hallway had been nothing short of a surprise, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say.
“To be honest, and I know I’m new and don’t know anyone, I didn’t think her statement was completely truthful. I’m not sure what it was but it felt off to me or forced in some way.” Aggie didn’t want to upset anyone or step on toes, but maybe they were too close to the situation to have seen it. Perhaps an outsider was just what they needed. “Am I the only one who noticed that?”
“She seemed perfectly normal in character to me.” Mathius confirmed her suspicions that he was blinded by something. He said he had no attraction for her. So, maybe it was the fact that he was avoiding her and couldn’t see everything clearly because he wasn’t looking at her under a microscope and more like trying not to touch her with a ten-f
oot pole. Gryson nodded his agreement and this frustrated Aggie because she needed them to trust and value her opinion, just as they would any of the other guys.
“I sensed something as well.” That beautifully captivating voice cut through Aggie’s frustration like a knife. “I’m unable to say exactly what it was but her story didn’t sound genuine to me either.” With a small shy smile in Aggie’s direction, he was finished with his statement. Back to his silent, reflective self, Eldon had captured her interest better than any of them could have ever dreamed of doing.
“We have no evidence against her and this,” Mathius gestured at the screen, “gives nothing but proof in her favor.”
“I didn’t mean to insinuate that you were wrong, but she might not be as innocent as she appears. Instead of jumping to conclusions, let’s just make a note to keep her in mind and not write her off.” Aggie made a show of writing down this on her paper but didn’t say another word.
Another wave of Mathius’s hand and the screen came to life again with rainbows and fog.
“Trust me they don’t know anything.” A familiar voice, once again, trilled over the airways.
“How can you be so sure? They can’t find out about us.” This was a mysterious male voice and Aggie wasn’t sure if either of the guys knew who it was.
“I told them I had a meeting, as you know, I have many official meetings at all hours of the day or night. I don’t operate on a daytime schedule like my brother.” Yavari’s tone was dripping with disdain and that concerned Aggie. She had never had any siblings but knew that some, even as adults, didn’t see eye-to-eye all the time.
The Final Link_The Gateway Saga Page 8
