“When you’re feeling better… we can put it back on you,” Chevalier said.
Emily shut her eyes and brought the ring to her lips, then looked down at it and slipped it into the top pocket of her overalls.
He smiled, “And I’d appreciate it if you don’t bite me again.”
The heku all watched as she got up on her knees and looked at Chevalier.
“What?” he asked, watching her closely.
She scooted forward a little so her knees were up against his. Very timidly, she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against his. The heku didn’t move, but turned their eyes down as the moment seemed too private to share.
Chevalier resisted the urge to wrap his arms around her and press her against him. He looked into her eyes when she moved back to kneel in front of him, and was surprised when she didn’t immediately turn away from him.
He finally found the breath to talk, “It’s about time.” He smiled and reached a hand out
She looked down at his hand and then turned back to the puppies.
“Baby steps,” Lori said. “Course, that was a big one.”
“Are you ok, Elder?” Silas asked Quinn, who was watching them from the window.
He nodded, “Yes.”
The heku spun suddenly when the bedroom door flew open and banged loudly against the wall. Dain stormed in and immediately began screaming.
“Is the Council ignoring me now!? I demanded a meeting over my induction into the guard staff…” His voice trailed off as the scent of Emily’s blood hit him. A hiss escaped him just as Mark and Kralen plowed into him and pinned him to the floor. The massive heku fought against them, growling and snarling to get to his prey
Chevalier stood over the young heku and watched as he began to slowly acclimate and calm down. Mark and Kralen stood up once he was under control. Dain sat up suddenly and looked over at Emily as she rocked in a ball in the corner.
“Dain…” Kyle said, stepping forward.
“Who is that?” Dain growled, standing as his hands balled into fists.
Chevalier stepped in front of him, “Get out.”
“No! Tell me who that is.”
He sighed, “You know who that is.”
At that moment, Emily slowly looked over at her son and her eyes grew wide. Though he hadn’t appeared to age, years of anger cause him to harden and his features were dark and malicious.
“Mom?” he asked, stepping closer to her.
She again buried her face in her arms and continued to rock.
Chevalier put a hand on his arm, “She’s not well.”
Dain quickly took in the shackle and the pillow beside her on the floor. He turned glaring eyes to his Dad, “Why is she restrained!?”
“She’s not restrained. The shackle isn’t locked. She can take it off when she wants to.”
“She’s alive,” he whispered, watching her closely
“Yes, she is. She’s been through a lot though and we’re doing all we can to help her.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Emotional trauma mostly,” Lori said, moving closer. “As the Elder said, we’re helping her and she’s come a long ways.”
“Mom?” Dain said again, kneeling down beside her. The heku were close by in case he began to show rage.
Emily’s breath caught, but she didn’t move out of her tight ball
“Mom, talk to me,” he whispered.
“She doesn’t talk,” Chevalier explained.
“Who did this?” Dain asked, looking up at his Dad.
“Salazar, the former Chief Interrogator of the Valle.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in our custody under interrogation.”
Dain looked back at his Mom, “Does she know me?”
“Probably, but we aren’t sure.”
“How long has she been like this?”
Chevalier glanced at Quinn and he moved forward, “Not long.”
“Why didn’t you tell me she was here?”
“Because we weren’t sure what we were dealing with,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t until just recently that she showed any recognition to any of us.”
Dain studied how she rocked slowly, “Are you sure it’s her?”
“Yes,” Chevalier told him.
Dain reached out to touch her, but Mark stopped him, “She doesn’t like to be touched.”
The young heku stood up, “I want to talk to this Salazar.”
Quinn smiled slightly, “There’s nothing you can do that’s worse than what your Dad has put him through already.”
Chevalier looked at Quinn, “You feel bad for him?”
“No, however, I’ve never seen anything like what you’ve done and it just makes me glad that you’re on my side.”
“Dain?” Alexis said softly from the doorway.
Dain looked at her, “You knew?”
“Yes,” she said, and took his hand. “It’s best if we leave her alone for now. Let them do what they can to help her.”
Dain watched Emily as Alexis pulled him out of the room. Silas shut the door behind them and turned back to Emily.
***
Silas shrugged and looked down the hallway of the empty fifth-floor, “It’s not wrong, that’s not what I’m saying. It’s just shocking.”
“He removed…” Mark started.
“I know,” Silas said, cutting him off. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Kralen grinned, “We all know that he’s protective of Em. This whole thing with Salazar went beyond triggering that.”
“I swear, if she ever gets hurt again in my care, I’m going to retire before he finds out,” Mark chuckled.
“I’ll just repeat what Elder Quinn said… I’m glad he’s on my side,” Silas said.
The three heku turned suddenly when the bedroom door opened. They stepped back some when Emily looked out at them
“Did you need something, Em?” Mark asked
She just looked at each in turn. Emily had now been back in Council City for twenty-months. Thoughts of what was hidden on the fifth-floor faded and was no longer the topic of conversation. The last rumor held strong that the heku were training wolves in secret to become guardians of the Council.
Emily had made little progress since the huge bounds she made when she first slept in the bed, and it was now a normal occurrence. The three heku involved with Emily’s capture were still held on the third-floor under Chevalier’s watchful eye.
Kralen smiled, “Would you like some lunch?”
“Or do the dogs just need to go out?” Silas asked. The wolves were now massive dogs that shouldn’t be kept in a bedroom, but no one had the heart to take them away from Emily so they could begin training.
“I bet that’s it,” Mark said, and held his hand out. “Let me have their leashes and I’ll take them out.”
Emily just watched him, but didn’t move from the door.
“Hmm, or not.”
Shocking the guards, she slowly stepped out of the bedroom and looked down the hallway toward the fifth-floor foyer. Her hair had grown to just past her shoulders and she still wore only white t-shirts and plain blue overalls that were rolled up at the bottom and baggy.
Mark thought for a moment, “Did you want to go out around the palace?”
“It’s fine if you do,” Silas said. “We can have the palace cleared out in just a few seconds.”
Chevalier, Kyle, Lori, and Dr. Edwards came at the request of Mark and stopped, shocked when they saw Emily outside of her room
“Did you need something, Em?” Chevalier asked.
Kralen grinned, “We’ve played the guessing game. The last option was if she wanted to walk around the palace a bit.”
“Clear the palace immediately,” Chevalier whispered. There was a brief rush of movement and then the ancient stone walls fell silent. He turned back to Emily, “There, now you can go wherever you want.”
She took a few steps toward the foyer and then
checked behind her to make sure she wasn’t alone. The heku just smiled when she looked at them and by the time she got to the stairs, they were carefully scanning to make sure no one was around
Emily looked down the staircase and put a shaky hand on the railing. She took one small step down and again glanced behind her. Quinn and Zohn were watching Emily from the fourth-floor.
Chevalier spoke loud enough that Emily could hear, “I want Mark at point, Silas and Kralen and four and eight. Zohn and Quinn can take two and ten and Kyle and I will go where we feel is right.”
Emily felt some comfort knowing how many heku would be around her, and she finally made it down to the fourth-floor with the other two Elders.
“Good to see you out, Child,” Quinn said, smiling. Chevalier looked at Emily for a moment, half-way expecting her to yell at him for calling her child, but she simply started across the foyer to the other stairs down.
“Where are we going?” Kralen asked from the side of her
Lori smiled, “It’s great that you decided to come out, Lady Emily.”
On the main-floor, Emily stopped and looked at the front doors and her heart began to race.
“Were you going outside?” Mark asked, watching her.
She didn’t move, but had broken out in a light sweat.
“Em,” Chevalier said softly, and took her hand. “We’re ok if you are ready to let the others know you’re back… but make sure that’s what you want. If you go outside, there’s no turning back.”
Emily looked down at her hand and it tightened on his, pleasing him greatly. She looked up at the door again and slowly walked forward until she could reach the handles of the large stone doors.
“Are you sure?” Chevalier asked her.
She looked up at him and opened the door. The front door guards smiled and turned, “Good day, General.”
Mark smiled slightly and then stepped out into the light of day. The door guards gasped in shock when they saw Emily appear, surrounded by Elders and Cavalry Guards.
“Oh my God!” the closest one gasped. He was supposed to salute the Elders, but was too surprised at who he was seeing.
Kyle cleared his throat and the two guards immediately snapped to attention and saluted the Elders. Mark stepped further out and Emily followed him as she raised her face toward the sun and felt it’s warmth on her skin.
“Where are we going, then?” Kyle asked her, and stepped forward a bit.
Emily looked over at the stables.
Silas smiled, “I figured. Let’s go.”
“The entire Cavalry is in there,” Mark told her. “They’re cleaning out stalls today. Are you sure you want to face all of them?”
Chevalier watched Emily’s reaction and she started slowly for the stables. Kyle walked beside her with a hand on her shoulder for comfort and she still gripped Chevalier’s hand tightly. The small entourage made it to the stables and Mark opened the large double doors, throwing the stables into light. The heku were working inside and preferred dark working conditions.
“General,” Horace said, moving forward. “Is there a pro… Oh, hello Lady Emily.”
The sounds of working suddenly stopped and the faces of all 94 members of the Cavalry appeared at her name.
“Oh my God,” one of them gasped. The others watched, stunned, as someone they once cherished and lost appeared in the stables.
Emily looked up at Chevalier and then back at all of the heku watching her.
“Clear out,” Mark ordered, and the Cavalry all blurred out through the back doors of the stables. He then turned and smiled, “We’ve grown a lot over the last 3 years. It wasn’t much fun during Cavalry training without you.”
Emily stepped in apprehensively and immediately walked up to the stall where she’d kept her stallion. When she saw he was still in there, she opened the door and buried her face in his warm neck.
Devia ran in after her and sat at her feet, watching her with the large horse.
“We have 97 Cavalry now, the three of us included,” Kralen told her. “With the few extra horses we house just over 112 of them in here thanks to yet another new addition.”
“Thukil was pretty surprised when we got more Cavalry than they have,” Silas said, grinning.
Zohn turned defensively when he heard someone behind him, but straightened up when Alexis and Dain walked in.
“Good to see you out, Mom,” Alexis said, and walked in to pet Emily’s stallion
Dain seemed uncomfortable and unsure, so he stepped back to stand against a large stack of hay.
“Do you know, after all this time, he won’t let anyone ride him?” Alexis said as she rubbed the soft velvet of the stallion’s nose. “Not a soul. We all take turns taking him out for exercise, but he’s not been ridden since you last did it.”
Emily reached up and ran her hands along the stallion’s sleek hair.
“You know what would be fun?” Alexis asked, walking out of the stall. “If you and I went swimming.”
Emily walked out of her stallion’s stall and shut the door behind her. She slowly began to walk down the long corridor of stalls, looking in at the horses in each stall as she passed.
“Maybe not,” Alexis said, smiling. “When you decide you want to though…”
A sudden blur knocked Emily back against the wall of the stables and she immediately fell into a tight ball as an over-anxious heku stopped at the Elders.
“Sir, there’s a…” his voice was cut off by Mark’s strong hands around his neck.
Mark barely had time to let go of the heku before Kyle and Chevalier had torn him apart right in the middle of the stables. Seeing it happen, Alexis knelt down and blocked Emily’s view. Emily was now rocking softly as her body shook with fear and Alexis gently put a hand on her back.
Lori, watching silently until now, also knelt down beside Emily and helped block her view of the bloodshed behind her, “Are you hurt, Emily?”
When she didn’t answer, Lori looked back and servants were already cleaning up the blood. Chevalier and Kyle were yelling at a City General who was standing outside of the stables. Mark was waiting his turn to begin yelling, while Silas and Kralen positioned themselves around Emily for protection. The other two Elders were gone, having gone to find out who sent the heku and who he was.
“Do you want to go back inside?” Alexis asked, frowning at the fear that emanated from Emily as she rocked. “What do we do?”
“Let’s see if the Elder can talk to her,” Lori said. She looked back and whispered softly. Chevalier looked up angrily, but his features softened when he saw Emily rocking on the straw. He left Mark and Kyle to deal with the City General and walked over to Emily.
“Em?” he asked softly, and knelt down. “It’s ok. He just had a message and we’ve dealt with him knocking into you.”
Alexis looked up to see where Dain was, but he’d left when the entire incident started. Emily’s nature was foreign to him and he didn’t know how to deal with it.
“Mom, we can help you back inside, ok?” Alexis said. She stood up and tried to pull Emily up, but her Mom didn’t move.
“We need to get her inside, now,” Lori whispered. “Before this sets her back any.”
Chevalier nodded and gently picked her up, amazed when she didn’t fight him. He covered her head with his cape and then blurred her into the bedroom, where he put her down in the corner of the room and she continued to rock slowly.
Mark came in a few minutes later and walked up to the Elder, “The news spread faster than I could imagine. We’ve already been called by Banks Coven to see if it’s true.”
Chevalier nodded, “I figured it would travel fast. Let’s see how long it takes to get back to the Valle.”
They watched Emily for a few minutes before Chevalier ordered the room cleared out. Once everyone was gone, he sat down beside her and leaned up against the wall, “I’m so sorry, Em. You know we try to keep everyone under control, but there’s always one that just has to push i
t.”
Emily slowly pulled out of her ball and turned red eyes toward him. She looked at his chest and then into his eyes.
He smiled and unbuttoned his shirt, “Better?”
She uncurled and moved hesitantly toward him, watching him closely.
He looked into her eyes, “What, Em? Anything you want, just tell me.”
Slowly and carefully, Emily crawled onto Chevalier’s lap and looked into his eyes with a slight frown.
He smiled, “What’s wrong?”
She slipped her hands into his shirt and around to his back, then gently laid her head against his chest so she could listen to the sound of his heart.
Chevalier sat silently and unmoving. He shut his eyes and reveled in the feel of her against his skin. His arms ached to wrap around her, but he was afraid any movement and she might return to her ball on the floor. When she fell asleep against him, he gently wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly on the top of the head.
Time stopped as he felt contentment with Emily pressed against him and the feel of her in his arms again. Rain pounded against the window, but the room was warm and comfortable as Emily’s rhythmic breathing could be heard.
Chevalier refused to let anyone enter and wouldn’t tell anyone what was happening. He didn’t feel that this small bit of intimacy should be shared. He smiled and shut his eyes, focusing in on her slow breathing and how her hands twitched slightly in her sleep.
***
“They’re just getting too big to stay in here all day,” Chevalier told her. Emily was holding tightly to the leashes of all 4 wolf puppies. At just over a year old, they were full grown and had turned into enormous, protective wolves. It worried the heku how, as their Alpha, Emily was guarded and watched by them.
She glanced up at the strange heku in the corner beside Silas and Kralen, and then back to Mark and Chevalier.
“You know how wolves form a society, right? How they have families that last their entire lives? Well you’re their leader,” Mark explained. “We need to get them to form their own pack with the heku owners as part of it.”
Emily frowned and held tighter to the leashes, using her body to block the wolves from the heku. The largest male wolf, the one that had taken the Beta position, stood suddenly and his ears cocked forward as his hackles bristled.
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 65
