“I was hesitant only because I wasn’t sure I could handle being a mother,” I finally admitted, to both him and myself. “I didn’t have the best childhood, and it soured me on the thought of having any children of my own. But if you really think it won’t happen for a few decades then, well, to me, a few decades is practically an eternity. It would give me a long time to come to terms with the idea. Hell, who knows the kind of person I’ll even be in ten years. What you and Locien are offering me is well worth the effort to change. You are offering me the chance to see a whole new world, to finally become a part of a family. How can I not say yes?”
“Then it will be done,” he promised. “Locien is going to be very cross with me when he returns as I shall have to send him right back.”
I laughed, feeling giddy suddenly. “Somehow, I don’t think he’ll mind it this time. What are you sending him back for?”
“Before we can go any farther, we must inform the king that we have found a potential bride. He must come here to approve you before a mage can be sent to perform the transmutation of your body that is necessary in order for you to live within the elven realm.”
“Wait—you really mean a ‘mage,’ mage? Like someone who actually uses magic?” I asked incredulously.
“After everything you have seen these past few days, the thought of a mage still surprises you?” he teased.
I sniffed. “It’s not like humans see these kinds of things everyday—if at all. Last week I would have called anyone who said mages were real—or even elves—crazy.”
Seren nodded. “We have so much to show you. A mage is just the tip of the iceberg. That is why I hope the Royal Wife will accompany His Majesty here as his presence without her can be quite daunting, if not frightening, these days.”
“How so?” I asked warily.
Just the thought of meeting an elven king was daunting in and of itself. The last thing I wanted to hear was that just the sight of him could be frightening.
“Standing in his presence when the Royal Wife is not beside him to temper it is how I would imagine standing on the surface of the sun would feel like if it did not instantly vaporize you,” he explained. “The sheer amount of energy that naturally flows from him has brought many a powerful Sidhe to their knees from proximity alone.”
“Talk about an initiation,” I said with a shudder.
After hearing all that, I could only imagine how terrifying it must have been for Emily when she was first brought to him. Yet, when we spoke, she seemed so genuinely happy with her life. It certainly gave me high hopes for my own future within the elven realm.
“King Sethian is a noble and fair ruler,” Seren soothed. “You have nothing to fear from him. I only wanted to prepare you for what you may face when you stand before him later.”
“Yeah, about that—is he just going to ask me a bunch of questions? How does he go about ‘approving’ a human bride?”
“The approval is not so much about you as a person as it is about the suitor, or suitors in this case. The Sidhe can so easily enchant the minds of humans that this final approval is His Majesty’s way of ensuring that the human woman has not been coerced in any way.”
I made a face. “Speaking of coerced, have you figured out which elf screwed around with my mind, yet? That still really freaks me out that someone was doing things to the inside of my head.”
“Unfortunately not, but I suspect that it was one of our political rivals out to sabotage our chances of continuing our family line. I don’t know if you still remember this, but we are cousins to the king. Our father was the previous king’s brother, so Locien and I are in direct line to the throne behind Prince Thaylan and Prince Anir.”
“No I don’t remember!” I exclaimed. “I knew you both were royals but I never thought you might be princes!”
He shook his head. “Our father held the title of prince, but the title given Locien and me is Stewards of the Royal House of Elerren. We handle all the affairs of our household and all the minor houses connected to us. There are many families we govern who crave the power we wield, thus we are constantly looking for shadows where it seems there are none.”
“Sounds brutal,” I remarked sympathetically.
He nodded solemnly. “It can be. That is why I must ask this again. Are you still certain that you wish to tie yourself to not only us but the House of Elerren? We both shall do our best to shield you from our enemies, but no doubt you will experience some of the more unpleasant attitudes some of my people hold towards humans, and especially our human brides.”
“Yeah, Emily warned me about that, but it’s really not all that different than all the various prejudices that humans have against each other. I’ll be fine.”
“On that note, as much as it pains me to say this, I think it’s time we rose and got dressed,” Seren said. “Locien should return any moment now, and we still have many things to discuss before I send him to talk to the king.”
I squeezed his waist affectionately before reluctantly pulling myself out of the circle of his arms. “According to Emily, we’ll all have thousands of years to cuddle, so I don’t mind,” I said with a grin, sounding much more nonchalant about the idea of an extended lifespan than I was. I suspected that I would freak out about it once I had more time to really think about all the implications.
“So,” I said conversationally as I began pulling on my clothes, “Are you gonna tell me about this ‘change’ that I have to go through or what?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Locien seemed frozen as he stared at Seren as though his younger brother had been speaking in tongues.
Then he slowly turned to look at me, his expression now unreadable, before he said, “It seems I missed quite the conversation.”
I shook my head. “I pretty much had made up my mind last night. Seren just eased my mind on one of my remaining worries.” I flashed him a lopsided grin. “You two were more persuasive than I could have ever imagined.”
Finally, his lips quirked up a bit. “I am glad you enjoyed yourself.”
“Now that has to be the understatement of the century,” I said with a laugh. “‘Enjoyed’ doesn’t quite describe how phenomenal the experience was for me, but don’t worry. That was only part of the reason I decided to accept your proposal. What you two are offering me is more than I could ever have in my world.”
“It is deep into the night within the realm, currently,” Locien said, “but I am certain His Majesty and one of the mages from our House would be able to come meet us for the final approval in the morning before the first court is held.”
“Will I be changed right then and there?” I asked nervously. Seren had confessed earlier that the procedure would be excruciatingly painful for a short moment, and I had been dreading it ever since.
“No,” Locien replied. “A transmutation as complex as this can only be preformed by one particular mage and only within the realm.”
I frowned in confusion. “But you said—”
“A minor alteration can be done that will at least allow you to completely cross into the elven realm,” Seren interjected. “It will, however, render you blind, and you will be unable to move around very much without the effort draining your strength until the full transmutation can be preformed.”
“Okay, I can handle that as long as one of you stays with me until I can see again,” I said, relaxing minutely.
“Of course,” Seren assured me quickly.
“I know it’s still dark in my world, but do you think I’ll have time to go to my apartment to pick up something, then talk to at least one of my friends to let them know that I’ll be leaving town?”
The brothers exchanged one of their weighty glances which immediately had me on high alert. It seemed every time they shared that kind of look, something bad had or could happen.
“We think it would be best if you do not return to the human realm again,” Seren said cautiously.
I stiffened. “Don’t tell me that you’re s
till afraid that I’m going to bail on you or something?”
“It’s not that,” Seren replied. “We have yet to identify the culprit responsible for your lost memories. At this point, we would not risk something worse possibly happening to you. We do not know how closely we are being watched as we come here. You could perhaps stumble through another doorway as soon as you leave this space.”
“No, you’re right,” I said with a frustrated sigh. “Even if it wasn’t so risky to leave on my own right now because of all the possible human predators wandering around the park in the dead of night, if I’m going to do this, then it’s probably better that I just disappear now. I’m really not sure if I could handle saying goodbye to my friends in person knowing that I’ll never see them again.
“Also, I fed my friend Jenna a story about a French lover who wanted me to move to his country. For a while at least, they’ll all think that’s where I ran off to. Hopefully, they won’t hear about it when my landlord eventually chunks my stuff out to the curb, and they’ll just chalk it all up to me simply losing touch and not that my new mysterious lover murdered me and dumped my body in the ocean.”
“I am truly sorry, Megan.”
I shook my head. “This is what I chose, so I’m okay with it. I just wish that I could have at least brought my old photo album with me into the elven realm,” I said wistfully.
“Photos are something that can easily be brought across the threshold of both realms,” Seren said. “I shall pick them up myself once your transmutation has been completed.”
“Would you even be able to find my apartment building if I gave you the address?” I asked skeptically.
“Normally, no, but in this case, I know exactly where you live.”
“How could you possibly know that?” I demanded.
“Because I followed you home the last time you left here,” he replied, sounding completely unconcerned.
“You were stalking me?” How could I have not known that there was a creepy shadow following my every move? “Were you actually in my car?”
“Of course. We may not fully manifest within the human realm, but we are still somewhat subject to its natural laws. If I had not gotten into your vehicle, then it would have been impossible to follow you on foot.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t even sense you there,” I said with a grimace.
He shrugged. “As I recall, you were very preoccupied with your thoughts.”
“Lucky for me you weren’t a serial killer waiting for me in my backseat,” I said dryly, “but thanks. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”
Seren stepped forward and cupped my face between his hands. “You have gifted Locien and me with perhaps the most precious thing in existence. Retrieving an important memento for you is the absolute least thing I could do for you.”
He leaned forward and kissed me tenderly on the forehead.
“Tomorrow, your life will start anew.”
A scary thought, but as I looked between my two elven lovers, I couldn’t have been more excited.
—
CLAIMED BY THE ELVEN BROTHERS: FATE
After transitioning smoothly into the elven realm and settling into a routine of various social engagements and a new-found hobby, it’s easy for Megan to forget that a pregnancy could soon throw her world into disarray. However, when months turn to years, she soon learns that the lack of a pregnancy can be equally as disruptive, especially when it’s so easy to forget that not everyone is happy with her arrangement with Seren and Locien and tinkering with her memories is the least they are willing to do to ensure its failure.
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Also by Cristina Rayne
Claimed by the Elven King
Urban and Epic Fantasy, writing as C.G. Garcia:
The Supreme Moment (A Fractured Multiverse Novel)
Old Souls (Book 1)
The Ties that Bind the Soul (Old Souls Book 2)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cristina Rayne lives in West Texas with her crazy cat and about a dozen bookcases full of fantasy worlds and steamy romances. She has a degree in Computer Science which totally qualifies her to write romances. As Fantasy is her first love, she feels if she can inject a little love into the fantastical, along with a few steamy scenes, then all the better.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claimed by the Elven Brothers: Decision (An Elven King Novella Book 1) Page 7
