by Raine Thomas
As though not knowing what else to do, everyone bowed again. “Congratulations, archigos Gabriel and kyria Amber.”
The flat voices chiming together had Gabriel and his siblings exchanging glances. Ultimately, they shrugged. They could hardly expect more enthusiasm from beings who didn’t understand emotion.
Turning back to the crowd, he said, “Thank you. And now, because they’re avowed to your leader and your fellow Gloresti, Saraqael’s daughters have expressed an interest in demonstrating their abilities to you. If you’ll all move to the outskirts of the gathering area, we’ll join you shortly.”
Skye and her sisters stepped into the room waiting for them and quickly changed into tanks, cargo pants and combat boots. Because their tanks were meant to conform to their figures to prevent someone from getting an effective handhold, Amber’s slightly rounded belly was more obvious than usual. The sword and scabbard she was about to buckle into place would only further accentuate it.
“Wait,” Skye said, looking at her sisters as they gathered their weapons. “Before you arm yourselves, we should dance.” When they looked at her with questioning expressions, she flushed. “You know—to limber up and, well, pump ourselves up.”
Amber and Olivia exchanged looks and shrugs. Amber put her sword down and Olivia did the same with her bow. Since the room they were in was large enough, they set themselves up to dance.
“What song?” Amber asked.
“How about ‘Stronger’ by Kanye West?” Skye suggested.
Amber nodded. Skye started the beat in her mind and then started moving. She let her talented sisters fill her head with their silent singing as she lost herself in the movements of the dance. They moved in perfect synchronization. An unstoppable team.
And it was exactly what they needed.
When they opened the door a few minutes later, fully armed, they faced their husbands with united resolve. Then they all walked out to the gathering area together, ready to prove themselves.
Skye couldn’t help but notice as they walked into the crowd that the Gloresti was a very large class. Even the few females she saw were all giants compared to her and her sisters. She felt dwarfed. That actually didn’t intimidate her. On the contrary, she thought that was to their advantage. More often than not, the smaller side of a match-up was underestimated.
When they stood in the center of the crowd, Gabriel said, “For those of you who don’t know, Saraqael’s daughters have shown particular aptitudes. Although they’ve been training in all disciplines, Amber is particularly strong in hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting. Olivia is unmatched in archery and is skilled with staff weapons. Skye’s primary weapon, her ability to command holy light, will not be of use here. But she is also skilled in hand-to-hand combat and the use of throwing weapons.”
He looked around the crowd. “Who would like to challenge them first?”
“I will if I get to touch one of them,” a male voice said loud enough that it carried. There was a tone to the comment that had Skye raising her eyebrows.
Gabriel’s eyes flashed dark blue as he honed in on the source of the comment. When the Gloresti’s eyes widened over having been identified, Gabriel flicked his wrist and sent him sprawling.
“Remove him,” he said coolly. And when second commander Balduin and lieutenant Edra moved forward to do so, he looked around at the crowd. “Respect. I demand it of all of you. Or you will answer to me.”
There was a great show of bowing. Skye realized this wasn’t going well. She exchanged looks with her sisters.
Amber sighed. Then she ran her gaze over the crowd. “Look,” she said in a loud voice, “We’re not unintelligent or ignorant, despite what rumors have been spread about us. We know that there are those of you who doubt our abilities. So, come on. We stand ready to prove you wrong.”
“Wearing a sword at your side does not make you ready to use it,” said a large, caramel-skinned male with a short buzz-cut and a scar above his left eye.
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” she said, nodding at him. “Let’s go a round then.”
The male frowned and looked from her to Gabriel. “I would not want to cause you harm.”
She laughed.
There were many exchanged looks over the reaction. Then she sobered her expression and removed her sword from her scabbard. After bowing toward the male, she launched into a ballet of movement that had even the most unemotional Gloresti widening their eyes in amazement. Her sword caught the sunlight as she flowed with incredible elegance from one fighting form into another. After another minute, she came to rest, pointing her sword toward the male.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. She stood and ran her sword over her palm, showing him the blood that resulted. Then her palm glowed gold and her skin was healed. It was the first time Skye had seen her heal herself without Gabriel’s aid, telling her that Amber’s powers were definitely growing.
“We can use wooden swords,” Amber added, “if you’d be more comfortable.”
He blinked several times, then nodded in agreement.
“Great,” she said, turning and moving back to the center of the area as she resheathed her sword. “Oh…and bring some friends for my sisters to play with, would you? This is going to be fun.”
As it happened, Skye didn’t think she’d had so much fun in a long time. She and her sisters kicked some serious Gloresti butt.
Amber defeated the outspoken male with her sword inside of a minute. He simply bowed with his right arm crossed over his chest and then turned to encourage the rest of his class to try.
She defeated one after another. By the sixth opponent, Gabriel declared that it was time to move on to another activity. A female stepped forward and asked to compete against Olivia in archery.
James simply smiled.
Once again, one after another opponent fell short of Olivia’s skill. She was able to hit any target squarely in the bulls-eye as long as it was in her sights. There wasn’t anyone who could compete.
When Gabriel again declared that it was time to switch disciplines, Skye knew it was her turn. She acknowledged the male who declared that he wanted to compete against her in throwing stars and darts. Then she promptly decimated him.
And the Gloresti after him, and the one after her, and the one after him and the one after him.
Ultimately, they were left with hand-to-hand combat. The problem was, no one wanted to oppose Amber because she was pregnant. Thus, they turned their interest to Skye.
But you’re probably already pregnant, too, Caleb silently argued with her.
Yes, she agreed easily. But I’ll be careful. Have faith in me.
He didn’t say another word.
Her opponent was at least a foot taller than her and probably twice as wide. She had to admit, he knew what he was doing. He got in a well-targeted strike and managed to split her lip when she foolishly lowered her guard. But she realized immediately what she had done and didn’t make the same mistake again. And unfortunately for him, she had trained for months under Gabriel, Ini-herit and Uriel, the three elders with more training in defense and offense than anyone on the Estilorian plane.
He went down within three minutes.
“Enough,” Gabriel declared, winking at Skye as she stood over her opponent. “Who here remains to be convinced of the abilities of Saraqael’s daughters?”
In response, every Gloresti in residence went down to one knee. Skye had never felt so vindicated in her entire life. After Amber healed her lip, she smiled brightly and touched her fist to Amber’s and then Olivia’s before turning to James and Caleb. James touched his fist to hers with a grin, but Caleb shocked her by pulling her close in front of everyone and giving her a brief but meaningful kiss right on the lips.
As the power of his emotions hit her, it was all she could do to keep from breaking out into a weeping mess. All because she had simply done what she knew she could.
Later that day, the traitor followed Caleb and Skye’s
progress as they left the safety of Gabriel’s dwelling. Although it had been conveyed to everyone that the ritual was delayed until the next day so that the sisters could rest, it was surprising to see Caleb and Skye on their own. After the sisters’ display earlier that day, it had probably made them feel more secure within the homeland.
The fools.
The couple expanded their wings and flew. With considerable care, their observer followed. After a short flight, they ended up at a waterfall. Caleb and Skye retracted their wings and walked beneath it. The traitor, quite familiar with this particular landmark, hurried in after them, remaining a full level above them on the stone face of the cliff supporting the natural phenomena.
“This is absolutely beautiful, Caleb,” Skye said from beneath the observer’s position as she looked around with wide eyes. Her every movement conveyed grace and unwitting sensuality. Then she turned and smiled. “Thank you so much for bringing me here.”
Caleb walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I used to visit this place often when I was younger,” he said, his voice barely audible over the waterfall’s rush of noise. “I found it a peaceful haven. And I always envisioned sharing it with someone, though I didn’t know who or why.”
She held his gaze and stroked his cheek with an expression that their observer didn’t understand. Then they kissed.
Their obvious delight and pleasure in each other caused stark rage to course through the observer, whose hands clenched into fists. Things should have been much different than this. Relegated to some kind of voyeur? Watching as Simon, James and Caleb rose to unimaginable positions of power before they had even reached a century of being while other, more qualified Gloresti were overlooked?
It was revolting.
“Shall we?” Caleb said then. He braced his hands apart.
Skye smiled up at him and positioned herself in line with his arms. “Any requests?”
After a brief pause, he said, “Bruno Mars, ‘Just the Way You Are.’”
Frowning, the observer tried to decipher the odd request. Only when Skye nodded and they started moving in a form of dance was it clear. She was evidently producing some kind of music using their silent connection. They moved with remarkable synchronicity, comfortable and confident in each other’s movements. Perfect partners.
As jealousy surged out of control, the observer decided then that it would be incredibly gratifying to destroy that partnership.
And it couldn’t be done soon enough.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The ritual at the Gloresti homeland took place in the central gathering area the following morning. They opted to open it up to public viewing since so many of the Gloresti had asked about it. It went successfully and without incident. And Caleb knew that the sisters had once again awed an entire class of Estilorians.
The sisters weren’t very tired after the ritual this time, but they all asked to eat. Caleb stilled and caught Skye’s gaze when she declared her hunger, since they had just eaten the day before. She simply shrugged and blushed.
It was a rather clear sign that she actually was pregnant. It made him a bit light-headed as he realized it.
Gabriel slapped him on the back and grinned when he sensed his reaction. “Welcome to the club,” he said.
“Dad,” James added with a grin of his own.
And that made him have to sit down.
They enjoyed a breakfast of fresh fruit, waffles and orange juice in a sunlit room located in the building just off the central gathering area. A steady flow of Gloresti stopped by to introduce themselves to the sisters. An unexpected number of the visitors also chatted with James and Caleb, many of them congratulating the brothers on their pairings and marriages.
Toward the end of the meal, Alastair and Tristan walked in. Caleb raised an eyebrow and caught James’ gaze.
“Good morning, archigos,” Tristan said to Gabriel with a respectful bow. Then he turned to the rest of them. “And good morning to you, kyria, adelfi and adelfos. I am Tristan, for those of you who do not know me.”
Alastair repeated the greetings as he introduced himself, even pairing the words with a smile. Caleb thought he looked uncomfortable for all of his politeness, though. “We greatly enjoyed the demonstrations you provided,” he said. He looked at his friend. “I particularly enjoyed watching Olivia thoroughly thrash Tristan at archery.”
Tristan gave Alastair a companionable shove. “At least I tried,” he argued. “You are more skilled than I am at nearly everything and were too afraid to go out there.”
Alastair shrugged and smiled again. “It was quite obvious they all have far more ability than any of us. Much more enjoyable to watch everyone else get their pride slapped.”
“In any case,” Tristan said with a rueful shake of his head, “we both wanted to say that we are very happy for you, adelfos James and adelfos Caleb, even if we did wish we could have been the ones to pair with Saraqael’s daughters.”
His smile made the words light and friendly in tone. James and Caleb nodded in acknowledgement.
“We have heard that there is to be a battle,” Alastair said then. “It is said that there have been multiple attempts on the lives of Saraqael’s daughters and that a challenge has been issued, and you are all therefore planning to find the Mercesti and face them. Is this true?”
“It is,” Gabriel said. He exchanged a brief look with James and Caleb. This was exactly like every other conversation they had engaged in that morning.
“Then we would like to join the Gloresti who will be participating in this battle,” Alastair said, his chin raised resolutely.
“Thank you. We welcome your abilities in our cause, Alastair and Tristan,” Gabriel responded, as he had done for every other Gloresti to make the request that morning. “I’m confident you’ll make me proud as your leader. Commanders Hitoshi and Balduin and lieutenant Edra will be putting together the Gloresti force who will participate in the battle. You’ll all be departing for the main Estilorian base later today.”
“Thank you, archigos,” Alastair said with another bow.
Tristan bowed, as well. He looked at the sisters. “We understand that this battle is about more than just your well-being. But we do believe you are all worth defending. I think we speak for everyone when we say that we regret if we ever made you believe otherwise.”
“Thank you, Tristan and Alastair,” Skye said with a smile. “We all appreciate that.”
As the two young Gloresti left, all of the siblings exchanged somber glances and thoughts. They all realized that regardless of what their plans initially were going to be in regards to this battle, there were going to be a great many lives on the line. This was something that made none of them at all comfortable.
They knew they would have to find a way to keep as many Estilorians from harm as possible.
There were very few Waresti at the homeland when they arrived just before noon. As was usual, most of them were away from the Estilorian base and either protecting paired Corgloresti and Gloresti or hunting for Mercesti on the mainland.
Uriel, Harold, Alexius and the Waresti lieutenant, Balera, all greeted them and spent some time showing them around the homeland. To Skye, it was almost like the inside of a volcano, but instead of hot lava, the center was a large blue lake. The water went from dark blue to light blue depending upon its depth, but the water was so clear that the bottom was visible. With brilliant sunlight funneling down from the high opening of the “volcano,” the water sparkled invitingly.
“Oh, wow,” Olivia said with obvious awe. “I would love to swim in that!”
“You may certainly do so, adelfi Olivia,” Alexius said. “The water is quite warm and inviting.”
Skye grinned as Olivia and Alexius continued walking as they conversed. James walked on Olivia’s other side, talking to Gabriel.
She looked at Caleb. Isn’t that sweet? Alexius has a crush on Olivia.
Crush?
Yes. A harmless romantic int
erest, she explained. I always knew Harold had one on Amber, but this one escaped my notice until now.
He frowned thoughtfully. Harmless, hmm? He paused. How can you tell they have these “crushes?”
She shrugged and continued looking around curiously. She loved the way an abundance of creeping green vines fell from the high ledges to decorate the inner rock face with foliage. It was a softening touch against the rough texture of the rock.
Intuition, I guess, she communicated at last. It’s kind of hard to explain. You can tell by their behavior…the way they look at Amber and Olivia when they think they’re not being watched, and the way they react to the things my sisters say. They all but fall over themselves to please them. It stands out even more to me because of the unemotional nature of their class.
He didn’t question her further, but she noticed him studying both Waresti commanders with an assessing eye as the tour continued. She felt his thoughts turn to Xavier the Wymzesti, considering the young male’s actions toward her within this new perspective. She held back a smile.
“These are our training facilities,” Harold said as they walked into a large cavern. “Archigos Gabriel mentioned an interest in using them today.” His gaze moved from Gabriel to Amber. “You are all, of course, welcome to do so.”
The sisters turned to look at Gabriel. He flashed a charming grin. “Hey, it’s been a while since you’ve done your routines. Y’all need to stay strong, especially with everything that lies ahead.”
Knowing he was right didn’t make them any more enthused. Still, they all went obligingly into the room that Harold indicated and connected with their Lekwuesti to get some workout clothes. Skye tugged on her turquoise training tank and matching leggings, forgoing the overskirt. Then she pulled on matching turquoise slippers, carrying some socks and combat boots back out into the workout area in case she needed them.
