Her head cocked to the side, “Kyle?”
“Yes, that’s right. Can I go to her?”
She looked down at Kralen, confused, “He’s hurt.”
“I know, but he’ll heal. I need to help Alex.”
“Don’t talk,” Emily whispered, and looked around at the ashes. “Don’t talk.”
“Please, Em…”
“Don’t talk.”
Heku standing beside Chevalier gasped when he fell to ash, and they moved back away from where Emily was kneeling.
“You need to stop ashing,” Kyle told her.
She looked around, “Get Chev.”
He glanced behind him at the pile of ash and then smiled slightly at Emily, “He’ll be here in a bit.”
Emily leaned down and grasped the side of her head when over 20 of the City Guards turned to ash. Members of the Cavalry finally managed to pull the angry wolves from their pathing.
“Emily, listen to me,” Kyle said urgently. “You can’t keep this up. You have to stop turning us to ash.”
“Chief Enforcer,” Silas whispered, and Kyle followed his gaze off to the side where William was watching from far away.
“Damnit, get him out of here.”
Silas nodded and blurred away with Mark. Zohn met up with them as they approached the Encala Elder.
“Kralen,” Emily whispered, and shook his arms weakly. “I can’t stay focused, I need help.”
She teetered slightly and then suddenly fell back against the cold ground. In an instant, Kyle was knelt beside her while the Cavalry ran to Alexis.
Kyle stood up slowly with Emily cradled gently in his arms, “Gather up the ashes, I want them all.”
Horace nodded and Kyle blurred back to the palace, followed by a member of the Cavalry with Alexis.
Dr. Edwards met them in the bedroom and both were laid down on the bed.
“What happened?” he asked, sitting down beside Alexis.
“We know Em ashed 600 heku,” Kyle explained. “We’re not sure about Alex.”
Dr. Edwards nodded and began looking Alexis over, “She has a concussion and four broken ribs. It looks like someone tried to pull her away because her wrist is sprained.”
“She’ll be ok?”
“Yes,” he said, and began taping up Alexis’ side.
“And Em?” Kyle asked.
“I’ll check her in a moment. If it’s just effects of turning heku to ash, she’ll sleep it off. Do we know if she was physically attacked?”
“We don’t know anything. I need to go start reviving,” Kyle whispered. He hesitated and then went down to where the ash was being collected.
Quinn met him in the great hall where bodies of the killed were piled along the wall, “I heard Kralen did this.”
Kyle looked over, “Yes, by himself it seems. It’s starting to look like he did it to save Emily.”
“Not many heku could take on 18 others.”
“I know… before being turned to ash, Chevalier mentioned we may need to reevaluate our decision.”
“I agree,” Quinn said, and then chuckled. “So Chevalier is ash also?”
“Yes, she thought he was Exavior.”
Quinn sighed, “Seems we’ve been wrong about a number of things.”
Kyle simply nodded, and then went to first revive Chevalier. When Chevalier reformed, he growled furiously and his hands balled into fists. Those around him moved back, except for Quinn and Kyle, who put restraining hands on him.
“Calm down, Elder,” Kyle said. “It was just Emily.”
He finally regained control and then stood up and pulled at his shirt, “Damn that hurts.”
Kyle chuckled and went off to revive the others.
“I’m sorry,” Quinn said softly. “We were wrong and I see how it almost cost us.”
Chevalier nodded, “I may not be the one to apologize to. Emily thinks we’re going to bury her for this.”
Quinn went over to help with the revived while Chevalier headed up to check on Emily and Alexis. When he got into the room, Dr. Edwards was just finishing examining Emily.
“Lady Emily is fine, she just needs to sleep this off,” he told the Elder. After going over Alexis’ injuries, they both turned when Garrett came in, still shaking.
“You ok, Boy?” Chevalier chuckled.
He nodded and looked at Alexis, “Is she ok?”
“She’ll be fine,” Dr. Edwards said. “Were you ash?”
“Yes,” he whispered, still trying to catch his breath.
Kyle came in a few minutes later and looked over at Emily before turning to Chevalier, “Ours are revived. What do you want done with the others.”
“What faction are they?”
“Seems unfactioned,” Kyle said. “From what we can gather, they saw the reports on Emily and came to see for themselves if she’d returned.”
“Banish them then,” Chevalier suggested.
“The other Elders want to talk to you. I think they realize some mistakes have been made.”
He nodded, “Ok, Em’ll sleep for a while anyway.”
When they headed to the council chambers, Kyle turned briefly to the stairs and then back to Chevalier, “Kralen’s still recovering, he took quite the beating.”
“I owe him,” Chevalier said as he stepped into the council chambers.
“How are they?” Zohn asked when Chevalier sat down.
“Alexis is beaten up, but Emily just needs to sleep it off.”
“We’re sorry.”
Chevalier nodded, “At least the other factions don’t know she’s still an active Winchester.”
“Damnit, I forgot about that,” Kyle growled. “William knows.”
“Perfect,” Chevalier sighed.
“Our mistake almost cost Emily her life,” Quinn whispered. “We’re sorry and it won’t happen again.”
“About Kralen…” the Chief of Defense said. “We were wrong about him also and I suggest immediate reinstatement back into the Cavalry.”
“Not many heku could have done that,” the Chief Interrogator said.
“He’s still rash,” Kyle said. “But I agree… if we want the elite on the Cavalry, he’s it.”
“That takes care of Emily too,” Zohn said. “It’s harder for her to slip by seasoned members of the Cavalry, and I bet she still holds her promise not to slip Kralen.”
Chevalier nodded, still irritated that the Council put Emily’s life in jeopardy.
“Do we know exactly what happened?” Kyle asked.
The Chief of Defense looked over, “Yes. Kralen was on duty in sector 19 when he heard a faint whisper for him. He immediately realized it was Emily, and knew that she wouldn’t speak out loud unless it was an emergency. He headed for the hills outside of town and found her and Alexis surrounded by unfactioned heku.”
“He should have called for help at that time,” Kyle said.
“He did,” the Chief of Defense told him. “However, it was received by the gate guards and when he left the city, they considered him a deserter and refused to come to his aid.”
“What!?” Chevalier growled.
“We’ve remedied that… anyway… the unfactioned had Alexis and were trying to pull her into the trees when Kralen arrived. He told Emily not to turn them to ash and then began fighting. He said he was overpowered finally and just as he fell, he realized she’d turned the rest of them to ash.”
“Mark and Silas are already talking to him and notified him that he’s back on the Cavalry,” the Records Keeper said. “However, he’s not yet agreed to the reinstatement.”
“Why not?” Kyle asked.
“For the same reason he once tried to quit.”
“I’ll go talk to him,” Chevalier said, standing up.
“First though…” Zohn hesitated and then looked over at Quinn. “We wonder if you’ve considered re-bonding with Emily.”
Chevalier smiled and sat back down, “I have… I’m waiting for her.”
“If you
could read her again, it would make a lot of this easier.”
“I understand that, but she’s lenient about being fed from and drinking my blood.”
“I can see the hesitancy to be fed from, but she’s had your blood before,” the Coven Liaison Officer said.
Kyle chuckled, “He tricked her into that.”
Chevalier couldn’t help but laugh, “That I did.”
Zohn gasped, “She didn’t know?”
“No, she wouldn’t have done it.”
“Do it again,” the Chief of Finance suggested.
“She’s not going to fall for that again,” Chevalier told him. “Besides, I won’t trick her again. I haven’t even told her about the bonding differences for an Elder.”
Zohn cringed, “You haven’t?”
“No, why would I? We were already bonded when I became an Elder.”
“True”
Quinn thought for a moment, “I’m not sure we can break with tradition on that.”
“I wouldn’t want to. It’s just going to take more time to convince her.”
“Why not just get married this time?” Kyle asked.
“It won’t have the same effect.”
“I know, but it’s a start.”
“She may not do that either,” Chevalier said. “I’ll try though. This entire incident could have been different if I’d known she was in trouble.”
Kyle nodded, “In the meantime, Kralen wants to talk to us.”
Zohn called out for the doors, “Derrick, let him in.”
Kralen came in slowly and limping slightly. He stood before the council and bowed.
“How are you feeling?” Kyle asked him.
“Like I got run over by a train,” he said solemnly. “I was told the Council wanted to see me though.”
“We want to apologize,” the Chief of Defense told him. “We don’t often, as a Council, admit to mistakes… but this is one we cannot ignore.”
“I am reckless though. Emily once told me I’m the only one of the Cavalry that’s exactly like she is. Which I guess is true.”
“You’re good, Kralen,” Zohn said. “We want you back as one of Emily’s guards and one of the Equites Cavalry.”
Kralen thought for a moment before nodding, “Ok, and I will try to be less… impulsive.”
“Why don’t you return to your coven for a week?” Kyle suggested.
“No, I’d rather stay here if Emily is going to be under attack.”
Chevalier smiled, “Very well, you may go.”
***
Emily woke up from a haze and looked up at the ceiling. Her memory was foggy and it took her a bit to realize she was in the palace in bed. She sat up slowly and looked over at Alexis, who was reclined in a chair while Garrett sat to her side, holding her hand.
“Good morning, Mom,” Alexis said, smiling.
Emily frowned and studied the bruise on Alexis’ forehead.
“I’m ok, really.”
Garrett smiled, “She’s tough.”
“Do you remember the attack?” Alexis asked her.
Emily thought back and then remembered the incident on the hills. She sat up slowly and looked around the room before standing up. As soon as her feet hit the wooden floor, she stumbled slightly and Garrett appeared beside her and steadied her with a hand to her back.
She looked up at him and then walked toward the bathroom with Garrett still helping her along. Once she was inside, he shut the door and then returned to Alexis with a chuckle.
“What?” Alexis asked, taking his hand again.
“I just thought you were short.”
Alexis smiled, “I’m tall compared to Mom.”
“Don’t let Emily hear you calling her short,” Chevalier said as he walked into the room.
Garrett stood suddenly and bowed, “Elder…”
“Carry on,” he said, looking around the room. “Where’s Em?”
“She went into the bathroom,” Alexis told him.
Chevalier sat down beside her, “How are you?”
“I’m ok. I think my wrist hurts worse than anything.”
“Can you tell me why you and your Mom were up there alone?”
Alexis glanced quickly at Garrett and then sighed before looking at her Dad, “I was up there on horseback alone… Garrett and I… kind of… had an argument. I just needed to think. All of a sudden Mom came up and that’s when the heku came out of the trees at us.”
Chevalier glared at Garrett, “Argument?”
Garrett gasped and looked at Alexis when she spoke, “It’s ok. We just had a small misunderstanding.”
“So you slipped your guards for that?” Chevalier asked, irritated.
“I wanted a few minutes alone.”
Chevalier turned and then stood up when Emily came out of the bathroom, “Are you ok?”
She watched him and glanced at Alexis before she began pacing nervously along the wall.
“We’re not going to punish you for that,” he told her, but she continued to wring her hands.
“Mom, you aren’t in trouble,” Alexis tried to assure her.
Chevalier thought for a moment and then walked closer to her, “You have Cavalry guards again… including Kralen.”
She stopped and looked over at him with wide eyes.
He smiled, “Yes, he’s back on the Cavalry and at your door.”
Emily spun suddenly and walked over to her door. She opened it and looked out at the Cavalry, which consisted of Kralen and three heku she didn’t know.
Kralen smiled, “How you feeling, Kiddo?”
She moved forward and wrapped her arms around Kralen, as the other three gasped in shock. They all looked up when the Elder appeared, sure he would tear Kralen apart, and were surprised when he just shook his head and smiled.
“It’s good to see you too,” Kralen said when she stepped back. He watched her for a moment, “You playing the silent game again?”
Chevalier watched her, but she didn’t speak.
“Guess so,” Kralen chuckled.
“Come back in, Em,” Chevalier said, putting his hand out. “I need to talk to you.”
Emily ignored him, but put her wrists out for Kralen.
“No,” he said, shaking his head.
She pushed her hands closer to him.
“I’m not doing whatever it is you think I am.” Kralen looked up at Chevalier.
Chevalier thought and then sighed, “No one’s going to punish you.”
“Especially not me,” Kralen added.
Emily frowned and then lowered her hands, and looked at the rest of the Cavalry in the hallway.
Only one of them was her guard before her death, and he smiled, “Neither are we.”
She hesitantly turned and returned to the bedroom, shocked to see that Alexis and Garrett weren’t by the chair anymore.
“They’ve gone so Alexis can rest,” Chevalier said when he saw her confused look. He shut the door and then sat on the bed, “Come talk to me.”
Emily looked at him silently.
“I thought we were past the silent game. Kralen’s returned just as you wanted. Now it’s time to talk to me.”
She looked around the room and then sat down beside him.
“First thing’s first. Now that you’re no longer retaliating about Kralen, I want to know who put you into the grain silo.”
Emily reached over and took his large hand in hers.
Chevalier smiled, “No buttering me up. Who did it?”
She looked into his eyes.
“Was it Valle?”
Emily shook her head.
“Wasn’t Encala was it?”
She again shook her head.
“Was it those guards from Powan?”
Emily lowered her eyes and barely nodded once.
“See, that’s not hard,” he said, smiling. He fully planned on dealing with the Powans later, “Now I want to talk about bonding.”
She pulled the beautiful ring out of her p
ocket and held it in her hand as she watched it.
“I’m going to be completely open about this,” Chevalier said, and then took a deep breath. “It’s different to be bonded to an Elder than it was when I was Chief Enforcer. Do you remember how, after my coronation, you had to be presented to the Council?”
Emily looked up and her striking green eyes made him smile.
“Well, to be bonded to an Elder, means the entire Council has to actually be present to show their acceptance.”
He saw a flashing glimpse of worry pass over her eyes.
“It’s also done in the ceremonial room because it’s a lot more formal of an occasion than when we had Morgan do it on the island.”
Emily tried to slip the ring back onto her finger, but it wouldn’t stay.
Chevalier lifted her chin gently so she was looking into his eyes, “I want you to re-bond with me. I miss your feelings and emotions, and I miss being a part of you.”
She swallowed hard and put the ring back into her pocket.
“It’s important to me that we re-bond. Some of the things that’ve happened to you wouldn’t have if I were able to read you better. So if you don’t start talking like normal, we have no choice.”
Emily reached up and gently touched her neck, and then looked up at him again.
“Yes, it involves that. I figure we can just put mine in wine again like we did before.”
She unexpectedly reached forward and pressed her lips against his. Not sure what to do, he reached up and put his hands gently against her back. She pulled away from him, took his hands, and pressed them onto the bed.
He smiled, “I’m not allowed to touch you?”
Without speaking, she kissed him again and wound her fingers through the back of his hair. His hands ached to touch her, but it was obvious that wasn’t what she wanted. As her body pressed against his, he couldn’t restrain himself any longer and reached up to wrap a hand around the back of her neck.
Again she pulled away from him and pushed his hands to the bed.
“Sorry, my bad,” he whispered as he looked into her eyes.
Emily reached up and began to unbutton his shirt. When he reached out to stop her, she quickly slapped his hand and then gasped and looked at him.
Chevalier chuckled, “You’re not in trouble for that. I just…”
She stopped his words with a kiss as she lightly ran her fingers down his exposed chest. Her touch felt amazing to him and his mind screamed at him to stop her. He wasn’t sure if she felt the time was right, or if this was her way of paying him back for not punishing her for ashing the heku.
Eternity of Vengeance (Extended Edition) : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 84
