by L. N. MALONE
I sigh, “Luke, have you made sure all security is up and running correctly. Without phones, it will be up to the silent alarm to alert you if it is needed.” Luke nods before saying “Yes sire, however, we did add one more bit.” At this news I raised my brows, so he quickly continued. “We added an intercom in the panic room. I felt it was needed for if an emergency does happen at least there will be a way for her to speak with one of us directly.” I nod telling him “I am impressed. Good thinking brother. I appreciate the help.” “You’re welcome. Now go make that woman fall head over heels so I can have a bloody sister already.” Luke says laughing.
Everything is loaded and I was told that Akasha had already given her bags over to be transported and she is waiting in the parlor for me. I was surprised to hear she only had two bags. All of the women I know need at least four bags for one night much less two nights. I look forward to seeing the differences in packing for sure, I think chuckle inwardly. I had advised Nada to remind her that we would be headed to a fundraiser gala first then make our way to the cabin so for her to be ready for that. I was expecting a reply from Nadia instead Akasha had sent her back with a handwritten note and a box wrapped in white wrapping paper. The note had said “As you wish my future husband. My wish is for you to wear this tonight.” I opened the box to find a silk deep green tie. The green was as deep as the color of wet grass on the Ireland hills of Knocknashee and was just as magnificent. I could not help but smile as I made my way to the parlor and waited for my future Queen.
Jai, Spade, and Mirella were already there dressed and complaining that it took the men longer to get ready than most females. I just smirked and rolled my eyes as I personally know that Spade has been known to take hours to get ready if she cares enough to try. Tonight, she was in a red leather gown with black boots and dark makeup. “You are definitely not in the mood for soft looks tonight, I see,” I tell her as a way of greeting. She just shrugged and said, “Not tonight. Tonight, I am She Master.” She said with a wink and we both laughed. Jai, on the other hand, was the complete opposite, she was in a soft blue dress that flowed out making it seem as if the water were falling on her. She was so dainty there was no one who would ever imagine she was as deadly as she really was. As for Mirella well, she was arm in arm with Luke wearing a deep purple dress that faded to black. I noticed the look Luke was giving Mirella and I wondered if she knew exactly how he felt about her. The rest of my circle all entered in one at a time all looking cleaned up and in various suits and tuxedos.
Everyone is gathering around talking amongst each other about how to proceed at the gala. Who to talk to and who not too etc. Then suddenly the world stopped spinning and the room goes quiet. I watch as she walks into the parlor and I do not dare to take my eyes off her. The air in the room seems to evaporate and if I had a heart the sight of her would have stopped it in an instant. I am staring at an angel in emerald. Words cannot describe how her beauty takes away my voice and leaves me utterly speechless. She is dressed in a long emerald dress that seem to make her eyes shine even brighter. The dress itself curves her body perfectly with a long slit up the right side that allows you to see her amazing long legs briefly. The top has a princess cut that is more straight along the sides of her arm allowing for her cleavage to show but still look classy and not too revealing. Her hair is up in curls with a few cascading down her back. I inhale as I realize the dress is backless allowing her perfect soft cream skin to be seen through. “Wow. The tie really suits you. It brings out your eyes.” She says breaking the silence. I see the heat in her eyes which tells me she sees the heat in mine. “You are divine, completely ravishing, for you are simply a Goddess’’ a soft pink spreads across her cheeks. “She blushes,” I say in a bit of a chuckle. That of course got her attention. “Well of course I blush, I am human to remember.” She giggles at her own personal joke and at that, I must laugh myself. Oh, wow. her laugh is like music to me sending chills down directly to my lower half. I shift to try and adjust myself without her noticing before I thank her for the tie as we make our way to the limos outside that are waiting for us.
The ride to the gala is filled with a comfortable quietness. We were about five minutes away when I realize that this will be the first time seeing her family after her move. Sending a quick message to Luke. “Akasha, we need to discuss something,” I say glancing at her sideways. She simply nods not showing much emotion one way or the other. “Your family will more than likely be in attendance. I have asked Luke to see if he can arrange for them to be moved to our table. I do not have a problem with you spending time with them while we are there. I would ask that you also remember this will be the first event with you by my side, and I would also ask that if Jayson does show up that you refrain from speaking or being alone with him.” I tried to keep my voice calm and not too demanding.
“I am incredibly grateful for you trying to get them moved to our table. I have missed them very much. I am familiar with the proper etiquette of a formal gala and I am also familiar with how to focus on my date regardless of any distractions.”
Thinking of her on a date with anyone else immediately flares up a possessiveness I am not familiar with. So much so I have to suppress a growl. “I did not mean to imply you did not.” I simply say trying to rein in my emotions a bit better. Just when she is about to say something my phone chirps. Looking at the message from Luke I tell her “Luke has secured a place for your family at our table, and they are already being directed there.” Whatever she was going to say seems to be forgotten because suddenly she twists and throws her arms around me in a tight hug that not only surprises me but also shoos tingles throughout my body. “Thank you so much” she softly whispers, and I feel her breath on my neck as she moves back to her seat. Damn, I will do anything to make her happy. I suddenly think to myself. She quickly straightens and we go back to our comfortable silence just as we pull up to the event. We are about to exit the limo when she stops me with a tight grip on my arm. “Armand, I know what is important and I will not betray my people or yours.” She simply said and let go of my arm. I nod in understanding and approval just before I step out to make our entrance.
* * *
The Gala is filled with the usual mix of others as well as humans. Everyone that is anyone is here and as we make way to our seats; we stop to make small talk and introductions to various people. We both play a part and I watch Akasha as she speaks with each person with poise and grace. Her smile never really reaching her eyes, however still she gives off the vibe that she is welcoming to all who speaks with her. I am in awe at how well she truly plays the part. We finally make our way to the table; I hear a loud screech. “AAAAASSSSSHHHHH!!!” I look up and see Princes Raine jump up and run to Akasha throwing her arms around her in a huge hug.
“Sush, Raine, you are making a scene. Oh, how I have missed you though.” Akasha told her sister. “I will keep quiet when pigs fart rainbows and birds poop gold,” the bouncy princess said. Akasha laughs and says “Oh, Raine, I do love your strange way with words.” I cannot help but now see how alike the two truly are. Akasha’s makes a comment about Raine’s way with words, yet she does not see that she does the same, I chuckle inwardly. Raine shrugs but I could see the love between the sisters that is so strong even an army could break their connection. I must invite her for a visit. Akasha would love that. We say our introductions to the rest of the family at the table and I am relieved to see Jayson is not here. That would have made tonight difficult to say the least. The food came and left, and everyone was talking amongst themselves. Akasha leans over and announces she must use the lady’s room. I stand and ask if she would like me to walk her, however she declines and walks away. “King Armand, I understand you have decided to take my daughter as your wife. Is that correct?” Akasha’s father asks me with a gaze of steel. I meet his questioning gaze and simply answer, “Yes.” His eyebrow raises and asks, “Why?” With an inward sigh I think about how happy Akasha seems tonight with her family close. Her fam
ily is her one love and I know that I must do what I can to keep the peace. “She is my chosen by the Mother Queen.” Then the moment the words come out of my mouth; the entire table gets quiet. Now all eyes are on me and looks of confusion and surprise is a common sight amongst the family. “Well, good luck with that King.” Princess Raine chuckles, and I cannot help with smile at her lack of filter. “Ash is harder than a doorknob stuck in cement. However, if you win her over, she is loyal and when she gives her heart, she gives her whole heart. You would be lucky to have her.’’ I nod in agreement then look back at Akasha’s father “King, I have no desire to harm or hurt your daughter. She is my chosen and because of that she will rule beside me. Equal in all counts.” I am prepared for King Daren to lash out, however what I am not prepared for is his actual response. To my shock, King Daren starts laughing, not just a chuckle either. He is stuck in a full-on belly laugh that seems to make his eyes water a bit. He must have noticed the surprise and shock on my face because soon he coughs and sobers a bit before saying. “Son, I laugh not out of disrespect but out of amusement. You see you said not to worry she will be equal and well, I would not doubt that one bit. I know Ash like a father knows his daughter and I can tell you that she would not allow you to give her anything less than equal.” He chuckles again and says, “King Armand, you are going to have your hands full!”
“Father, who is going to be filled with what?” Akasha asks just as coming up to our table. I look up and notice the strange difference in her as she scoots back in her chair. “Your father was just wishing me luck in our up-and-coming nuptials,” I advise her. She was just about to say something when the speaker of the evening came on stage to start her speech. The speaker is cut off mid-sentence with a loud bang that comes from the right-side stage. Redd smoke seems to be clouding the whole stage making it impossible to see what is going on. Within a second each guest seems to be frozen. Unable to move, unable to blink, it was like time has stopped all together for everyone but Akasha and I. We both looked up to the stage and that is when I saw the shadow man cross the hall coming toward us. I have randomly seen the moving shadow man for years now however living in the world of others I never found it unusual until now. Next to me Akasha tenses and then I hear her whisper, “I am not ready.”
Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Akasha POV:
“I am not ready.” I could not help but whisper. The moment I see the Shadow man and know he is here for me. I look up and see Armand looking at me with a confused look on his face. I am surprised that he is not frozen like everyone else around. “Akasha, did you need to tell me something?” Armand asks me calmly while lifting an eyebrow the way he seems to do when he is confused. A movement made me look back over to the Shadow man just as he materializes into the man I saw before. My eyes must have said something to Armand because he quickly followed my line of sight.
“My Queen. It is lovely to see you. I apologize for interrupting your evening however it is time for you to come home and help her people.” His husky voice comes out sounding a bit eerie if I do say so myself. He bows and then turns to Armand and does the same. Shifting himself back up he says “King Armand. I am glad to see you are doing well.”
Armand looks as surprised as I do at this point, so it seems he also is unfamiliar with our current guest. He calls his facial features to look completely blank however I can see the emotion that is swirling around in his eyes. “Who are you sir, and what have you done to the people of this event. I cannot allow harm to come to anyone here.” Armand says while releasing a little bit of power as the words come out. “My name is Bassel and please calm yourself. I have not harmed anyone and do not intend too. I have simply frozen the room so we could speak privately. I have urgent information for My Queen Akasha. Her people need her right away. I wanted to give her time to come to terms with the engagement and all, however she is now needed in her land as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence.”
“What do you mean my land and my people?” I am so confused.
“I do not have much time to explain My Queen. You must leave at once. Go to the cabin that you and Armand are to stay at, and I will meet you there.” He looks to the table I am sitting with and glances at each member of my family. Go now, the longer you stay here the more likely the people you love will get hurt in the crossfire.” Looking back at me he nods and then slinks back into the shadow before he is gone altogether. The room immediately comes back to life as if there was never a freeze in time or the red smoke never appeared. My father is in the middle of saying something when I interrupt him and say, “Father, I apologize however we must go immediately.” I say in a rush. His face filled with confusion before Armand helped me out and said, “King Darren, we received an important message from some members of our house needing assistance immediately. As you know a there is never any rest doing what we do and being who we are.” He said with a calm and confident smile. Understanding crossed my father’s face in a second and nodded. “Of course. I understand and wish you both the best in business.” He turns to me, “Ash I miss you dearly. I look forward to seeing you again soon.” Everyone at the table stands and nods their goodbyes when Armand surprised me, “Raine, we will be occupied in the next few weeks however I would love it if you would come visit soon and stay a month. I believe it would be good for Akasha to have you around however it will also help you to learn our ways as well. I will have my people contact your father and arrange it if you would like. Then the weekend before you leave back, we can hold a large a festival in honor of our families uniting” Everyone at the table must have also been surprised because each person’s face looked shocked. Raine to her credit composes herself faster than anyone and says, “I would love that King Armand. Thank you very much.” We finish saying our goodbyes and calmly walk back to the limo. Once we are inside and alone, every bit of calmness we were portraying is gone. We immediately started bombarding each other with questions we both knew the other one did not know. It was as if we just had to say the questions out loud before we forgot them. “Who was that?” “How do you know him?” “Have you seen him before?” “What was he talking about?” “How did he freeze the room?” After shooting these questions back and forth for a good four minutes we both stopped and stared at each other. Suddenly laughter bubbles out of me and must be contagious because he soon starts laughing with me. This has to be the added stress; I say to myself. After our crazy laughter finally subsids Armand lets out a vocal sigh. I feel his unease release from his body which was a welcoming feeling. “We must speak before he comes back, and I want to keep us all safe until we know more about him. Have you seen him before?” he asks.
I release a sigh in defeat before answering. “Yes, he has followed me for as long as I can remember. Always staying in the shadows until last night. I have never felt any fear because of him. He always felt more like a peaceful watchful presence.” I pause and take a deep breath before I finish my story. “Last night I saw him from the balcony. He was in the shadows as usual then he stepped out. He said that it was almost time that I come out of hiding for I am the Mother and must take my rightful place. Whatever that means. I have never told anyone about him, I did not want to seem crazy, I suppose. I refrained from announcing it also because he never made any contact with me, to be honest his presence was always comforting. However, after his contact last night, I was going to speak with you about it this evening.”
He stays quiet for a minute and then pulls out his phone. “Luke, we are heading to the cabin now. We are going to be early. There has been a change of plans. I need the whole circle there as soon as possible. Oh, and Luke, please inform Iris she will need to come this time too.” He turns a bit and looks at me. “It seems our plans have changed my âme sœur. I have also seen him before; however, he has never made contact. I assumed he was just another other in our world. Truthfully, I did not think much of it until he showed up this evening. About what he told you last night, Iris had a prophecy about the M
other Queen, now I am not sure if it is related however it would be best to bring her with us to help discover what is going on. Whatever it is must be connected to your past.”
“I agree. He knows my history and may be able to give me some insight about where I come from and my powers. I am sorry we will not have the time we had discussed.” I said, feeling a bit disappointed.
“Ah, no worries my âme sœur. We will have our time. You should rest your eyes a bit. It will be a long drive to the cabin.” he leans down and gently kissed my forehead. When did we get so comfortable with each other, I ask myself? I lay my head back and close my eyes. Rest would be good and before I know it, I am deep asleep.
* * *
“Akasha. It’s time to wake up my âme sœur.” I hear Armand say as he gently rubs my face. It is such a soothing sweet feeling that I do not want to open my eyes for fear he will stop. I sigh, and open my eyes anyway and yep, just as I thought, sadly he pulled his hand away. “Are we at the cabin?” I ask.
“Yes, Mirella has already checked the home and the surroundings. Come let us get you inside.” He opens the door and reaches in taking my hand to help me out. A simple two-story log cabin with a large wrap around porch stood before us. I am assaulted with the amazing smell of pine and earth as I walk closer to the house. The cabin is beautiful but doing a quick circle I soon realize it is nothing in comparison to the breathtaking forest we are currently in. The cabin is nestled in the middle of the forest giving it a “Snow white and the seven dwarfs” feel. “This place is beautiful Armand.”
“I am glad you like it … Ash.” I could not help but smile at him for using my family nickname. As we walk into the cabin it is just as beautiful as it is outside, although the word simple is not as I would describe it. You walk in and immediately greeted by two massive wood staircases that connect at the top. To the right is the living area where one whole wall was a large fireplace with a huge beautiful plush rug in front of it. The other walls were wall to wall books. There was a large oversized white couch with wood coffee tables. Across the way was a huge kitchen with a massive bar with barstools also made from what looks to be the same wood as the cabin itself. “The cabin consists of six bedrooms with each room having their own bathroom connected to it. All bedrooms are upstairs and four of the bedrooms have 2 sets of bunk beds in each room. The other two are the two master bedrooms that have a king size beds, those are our rooms. Downstairs consists of the kitchen, living area, theater room, meeting room and the sunroom. Your things are already in your room if you would like me to show you around.” “I would love that thank you.” We walk around and he showed me all the rooms of the cabins and explains how every piece of furniture was made with the same wood as the cabin. Each room is decorated to make you feel warm and cozy yet still holds an elegance and class to it. I am truly in awe. After the tour Armand advises me that Mirella and Luke are settling into their rooms, so we settle ourselves in the living room to wait for the rest of Armand’s’ circle members to arrive. Armand is building a fire while I curl up onto the couch that truly feels like I was sitting on clouds. Just as I am trying to decide if I wanted to change out of my dress a familiar red smoke appears and interrupts my thought process. Armand jumps up and stands right by where I was sitting as if he was my protector.
