by Jaymin Eve
“Just give it a shot,” Gretley finished for her.
Ah, fuck.
“I hate when you two make sense,” I moaned. “Do you have to be so reasonable?”
Arms wrapped around me and the angst inside quietened. “We’ll always build you up, Justice. That’s what family does.”
There they went, making me cry again.
When we finally pulled apart, I felt lighter than I had in a long time. Less lost, in a way. Maybe if I gave this jeweled princess thing a shot, I’d finally have a purpose. It seemed that most people just wanted to feel successful, fulfilled, and respected in life. I might find all three here.
What about love?
I guess I’d worry about that once I dealt with the other shit first. If Jacob was meant to be, he’d still be there when I was done working on myself.
I might just be ready for a true mate bond by then. And hopefully he would be too.
"So how’s our other sister doing?" Gretley asked. "It just doesn't feel the same without you both close by."
I nodded. "Grace is doing so well, and her mate … he treats her like a queen. I doubt she'd come back to be a princess."
They laughed, the two moving closer together, as they naturally did. Cam and Gretley were the sort of couple that had to be touching, always within the orbit of one another. I liked that about them. I also liked that they were blessed as true mates. The Great Mother clearly didn't care that they were both female. And if she didn't care, no one else better.
Or I'd destroy them.
Leading them over to sit on a flat stone bench, I relaxed back. "Tell me everything that's been happening?" I said.
Over the next few hours, they talked about their lives in their jeweled homes. They'd been learning their duties, getting to know their families, and arguing over where they would live. The whole “jeweled lands don’t really mix” thing no doubt made it more difficult, but it seemed both lands were making an effort to work something out.
“And neither of you have been mistreated at all?”
We’d all been in the system at some point in our lives. Cam had it easier than Gretley and me— not that I knew for sure with the emerald princess—she was very contained, only sharing her darkest times with her mate. Fair enough too, I had not shared my worst days with them either, not in any sort of detail.
“Not even once,” Gretley said, shadows dancing across her eyes. “I keep waiting for the darkness to rear its evil ugly head, but it doesn’t seem to exist.”
Our eyes met, and it was there I saw familiar demons. That was how I knew she’d been through something similar to me.
"It’s amazing,” Cam said, bubbly as always. “Even our relationship has been no issue. Our families are searching out a neutral location for us to build a house, and we’ve already started our design, incorporating both stones."
"We're strongest around them," Gretley added, rubbing a hand across Cam's arm, before intertwining their fingers together.
"I do feel stronger," I admitted, "but the changes I can see on my body … it's jarring. You spend well over two decades believing a certain version of yourself, and then bam, you're something else. It takes some getting used to."
Cam snorted. "Girl, we knew you were a princess the first moment we saw you. You just have that regal, commanding sort of beauty. People naturally gravitate toward you.”
I hated compliments, but I also hated people who carried on about getting them, so I tried not to do either. "Thank you. I thought both of you were the nicest, kindest, most genuine people I'd ever met, and the time we hung out in the sanctuary is always going to be some of the best days of my life."
"So far," Cam gently reminded me. "Only the best so far. You have so many more in front of you. You haven't peaked, love, not even a little."
I wished I could accept that. Anxiety had an insidious hold, and at times I couldn't escape.
"The jewels help," Gretley said seriously, picking up on some of my thoughts. We were close enough that our bond was partly functioning. “They eased our anxiety, and I’m starting to think it might have been our separation from them in the first place that made all of us so highly strung."
Highly strung. The polite way of putting it.
"I believe you," I told her, meaning it. "I'm going to embrace the jewels, give it a real try. If that works out the way you and my parents believe, then I might be able to return to Earth and be the fey worthy of Jacob Compass."
Their eyes got wide as they focused on me completely.
"Holy shit," Cam said, leaning closer. "Tell me everything. Right. Now."
My laughter filled the air around us, and with a smile I couldn't wipe off my face, I started talking and didn’t stop until the sky darkened. This conversation with my sisters was exactly what I needed, and with it came a new resolution.
Tomorrow I would be ready.
Tomorrow I would embrace the jewels.
15
Jacob Compass
A task force was called the day after the president’s email arrived. We met in a neutral area near the Bahamas. I was almost certain that whoever claimed this zone as neutral between all the supernatural territories did so because of the absolute stunning beaches across this small island.
The island, Isle of Mages, had been under supernatural ownership for centuries. The landscape had changed in that time, according to the old maps, but the island itself remained almost the same: white sand, crystal clear turquoise waters, and an abundance of fruit trees that would feed a community.
A few years ago, we'd added huts over the water and some other recreational activities for the leaders to utilize during these meetings, but today there would be no time for water sports. We had serious business to attend to.
"Lots of Guild members here today," Tyson said, leaning closer to murmur in my ear. The head of one of the African nations was close by, and his vampire hearing was second to none.
"Yeah,” I nodded, watching the humans gather together near the back of the room. “I think it's smart to bring in the human side. They might see something we don't, especially those that already work in the government."
Tyson looked uncharacteristically somber. "Fucks me off that we're here dealing with this while our mates are back home. I don’t like being separated from Grace."
My chest grew tight at the mention of mates. It had been a day since Justice left to return to Faerie. Just a fucking day. Twenty-four hours. I'd meditated in the trees for longer than that and it never bothered me. Right now, though, a day felt like a lifetime.
"She's fine," Maximus said from my other side. "You would know if she wasn't. You said you can feel her energy occasionally. The beginning of the bond is already there."
Yeah, at this stage I barely even had a doubt that we were true mates, and in a black and white, cut and dry, no shades of gray world, that would be perfect.
But we didn't live in that world and with everything slashed with gray, I couldn't do a thing to change it.
"I feel only an occasional flicker,” I said. “Almost like an errant thought that I know isn’t mine, and it’s barely happened since she left."
My brothers were stressed about being away from their mates, but at least they were all existing in the same world. Mine was in Faerie, and time was moving differently there.
They shot me sympathetic looks, but that was about the most they could do to help.
The meeting kicked off soon after and we shut up to pay attention. There was close to a hundred supes in the room here, the majority leaders from around the world as well as the few dozen Guilds and some powerful former leaders … like Louis, standing up front, ready to address us all.
"Thank you all for meeting so quickly," he said. "I know you're busy, and as always it's not ideal for every leader to be out of their countries and prison towns, so we'll move forward and turn it over to a vote in a few minutes."
He was joined by more mages; the ancient ones who were all previous leaders and highly r
espected. Louis was the youngest of them, but as the most powerful, he commanded the room in a way they never would.
"I'm Reginald Walters," a gruff German sorcerer started. "We have received intel that the US president will expose us to the world if we don't agree to give him fifty supernaturals as a super-secret government-controlled group."
He continued on, listing out the demands we had received from the president. A Guild member got up next, and quickly detailed what they’d learned from closed cabinet meetings.
“The president is not allowing this information out into his general cabinet,” he said. “It’s very much still top, top secret. He doesn’t seem to want anyone else ruining this with policy or politics.” He continued on with more information, most of which wasn’t too important.
What was interesting was the way the president had been handling this all on his own. That was unexpected, and it made me curious about how he was even going to explain that task force when it appeared. It wasn’t documented in his email, and we should have asked before now.
When the Guild member finished, Louis spoke again: "The president has damning evidence. I examined it myself, and while I could try and prevent it from entering the world, I don’t think that would stop this from happening." He’d told me privately that his entire reversal of time when he released the information hadn’t worked, so there was more at play here. “Keep that in mind when voting.”
"Also keep in mind," John Johansson from Switzerland added, "that if we fight him on this, it could mean a war. A world war between supernaturals and humans. We are powerful yes, but they have many more numbers than us, and some of their weapons are deadly."
He was right, and while I hated the idea of being controlled like this, pissing away innocent lives just because we didn't like anyone pulling our strings was also an asshole move. The president hadn’t asked for anything too unmanageable, and I wouldn’t let my pride get in the way of this decision.
As leaders, we had to think of the greater good … the best for everyone as a whole.
The mages continued for a few minutes, listing all the information so it was succinct and clear, and then they moved to the vote.
"There are three options," Louis said, voice low and vibrating with energy. "One: we allow this deal and hope that he doesn't ask for anything else. We can rotate the fifty soldiers that will be under his command so no supernatural does more than five years. This will just be an ongoing agreement until we reach another. Two: we agree, but we will be actively working to get rid of him as president, and reinstate someone from the Guilds in the White House—" he waved a hand to where the humans sat, listening intently "—and finally control one of the most powerful governments in the world."
There was some grumbling and talk at that point, because everyone liked to think their dick was the biggest, and we had leaders from dozens of countries here.
"And third," Louis continued, voice shutting down the others in the room, "we vote no and fight. If that's the end result, we will need to discuss in more detail our plan for handling the fallout. My advice is that we release the information to the public in the manner that we feel is best to minimize the consequences."
Three options. None of them fantastic. But that was often the way it went with this type of vote. I already knew what I was voting, and it wasn't guilt that pushed me, it was the knowledge that the greater good should always come first.
"All votes need to be entered through magic," Louis added. "If you are not from a magic race, please ask one nearby to enter your vote."
We all turned to Tyson. "Option two," Braxton said, crossing his arms and looking annoyed.
"Option two for me as well," Maximus said. "I won't beholden us to a human permanently, but I also think war is a bad way to start. We might end up there eventually, but let's give it another shot first."
I nodded. "Yeah, option two for me as well. For the same reasons."
Tyson grinned. "Four option twos with the works, coming up."
He sent a burst of magic toward the front of the room, his energy slamming into the sphere that Louis had created to gather the votes.
Louis shot him a dirty look, shaking his head.
"You did that deliberately, didn't you?" I said, a flicker of humor pushing through the dark swirl of energy in my center.
Tyson shrugged. "Never hurts to remind him who was the youngest sorcerer. You know, just in case he forgot."
I laughed. My brothers stared, because apparently I didn't do that shit any more.
Fuck, I needed to sort myself out and fast. I couldn't be the morose fucker of this group. I refused.
And that meant I needed to get my ass to Faerie and track Justice down. We had a lot to discuss.
There was just one thing I had to do first.
One thing I owed to my mate to deal with before I took the next step in claiming what was mine.
16
Justice Winter
The next month passed in a blur of information and new experiences. I never realized how little I'd learned in my fleeting visits before, but my parents certainly made up for lost time, having my full attention now.
There were days of learning about our culture and history. Speaking to fey who were hundreds of years old and had actually lived through our wars and triumphs was definitely eye opening.
I was introduced to important members of our parliament, learned our most significant laws—there weren't a ton, but enough to give me a headache on top of everything else. And I also met multiple members of my family. This was a huge plus for being in the ruby lands.
Who would have thought poor little orphan Justice would actually come from a loud, friendly, hugging family.
Sure as hell not me.
“It’s time to connect to the stones,” Deloria said to me over breakfast on my thirty-third morning here. “You’ve aced your classes, started using your power regularly, and you’re fitting in just beautifully. There’s only one thing left.”
I swallowed roughly, managing to get the porridge type mixture they preferred here down without choking. “You think I’m ready? What if they reject me?”
She didn’t look remotely worried. “Time won’t change whether you are accepted or not, so it’s best to get the test over with. I’m satisfied that you shine with enough ruby energy to convince anyone that you’re fit to rule this land.”
Reaching out, she grabbed my hand. I returned her squeeze without flinching. Huge progress.
"You're ready," Deloria repeated. “Tomorrow morning. I’ll inform the council and townsfolk.”
Jumping to her feet, her face alight like she was about to marry me off, she rushed away, calling back that we’d talk later.
I had to laugh. It was that or I’d freak out under the pressure. Deloria hadn’t been lying—in my time I’d learned and accomplished a lot. I’d even reached the point where magic was often my second or third option to achieve my goals, instead of forgetting I had it at all.
It helped that the swirl of energy was so strong inside now that it made me very aware of its existence. And the fact that I quite liked the convenience of it was even better.
I finally felt ready to embrace it all.
Pushing minor nerves aside, I spent the rest of the day in planning sessions for this ceremony. Usually they had more time, and everyone was in a tizzy about it being tomorrow, but I didn’t really mind. My only request—one I kept to myself—was how much I wished Jacob could be there.
I missed him. Like … so much more than I expected. The way magic had awakened an awareness inside of me, Jacob did the same, and I always felt part of him with me.
Being separated like this was a decision I was growing to regret. I could only hope that all of it had happened for a reason, and that, in the end, we’d be stronger for it.
“You’re so beautiful!” Deloria cried, clapping her hands together as she stepped back to survey me head to toe. Reaching out, she adjusted the headpiece I wore before declaring me perfec
t.
I hadn’t been allowed to look at anything during the process, so this was my first chance to see what she’d done in her hour playing dress-up with me.
Taking a deep breath, I turned toward the large piece of reflective stone.
This land was no longer as it had been when we first discovered it—everything wasn't encased in gems, so it mostly looked like Earth. A shinier, magic infused Earth. But that didn’t mean rubies weren’t everywhere here still, and this particular piece was stunning. At least seven-foot-tall, shimmery and metallic, it showed a clear, slightly pink-tinted image of how I looked.
“I blessed each piece,” Deloria said, still fussing around me. “So you’re as one with our gods and the stones as you can be.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. A month ago I would have scoffed at this over-the-top attention, but I’d grown enough to know that I was blessed to have a family again, and that I needed to appreciate them for all they’d given me.
Stepping closer to the mirrored surface, I shook my head. "I barely look like me,” I whispered.
It started with a crown, a full set of ten rubies crossed my brow, each of them at least twenty carats in size. The metal that held the crown together was red as well, blending in so it almost looked like just the jewels themselves wrapped across my forehead. The piece was heavy, ornate, and absolutely priceless.
Draping off the side and over my hair was a red veil that matched the genie-style outfit. The top was sheer and red, lots of skin peeking through as it fell billowy over my arms until the point it tightened at my wrists. My stomach was on display, another set of rubies crossing a jeweled belt that hung lower on one hip and spanned below my bellybutton.
The red pants—they were definitely sticking on theme—were billowy like the top, tight on my ankles, and my feet were bare. My skin looked darker than ever, and after spending time with my father, I couldn't believe how much I was like him. Not just in looks, but even in mannerisms.
