Protector: A Young Adult / New Adult Fantasy Novel

by Joanne Wadsworth

  Zac released a rumbling growl. “There hasn’t been a mated bond in over forty years between the offspring of ours and our enemy, or at least not since the dome containment field came into play. This changes everything if she truly has a warrior for a father. You are Prince Everio’s heir and as your protectors, we can’t allow you to take such a terrible risk by associating yourself with her.”

  “I don’t care for your analysis, Zac.” He clasped his hand around mine and drew me to my feet as he stood. “Faith, we’ve already spoken of this. Regardless of your parentage, no one can take you from me, not even a warrior, no matter he’s your father.”

  “Did I say he was going to take me from you?” I’d never allow it either.

  “You intoned it.”

  “I’m sure I didn’t.” I snatched my hand back.

  “Hey.” Belle stepped in between us and slapped our hands back together. “As an empath, I don’t appreciate all this simmering tension. I soak in every emotion and right now I’m getting emotional whiplash bouncing off the two of you.”

  I tugged on my captured hand again. “He started it.”

  The bell peeled out.

  Davio turned to his protectors. “This warrior doesn’t pose a threat when I have every intention of removing him. As such, none of my existing orders will change. The warrior will die.” His eyebrows rose with meaning, and Zac and Viv gave him a quick nod.

  Silvie sniffed. “Faith, you need what the protectors can offer. You need all of them and I need you.” She swiped her nose. “I know your inquisitiveness will get the better of you. I have a bad feeling about this.”

  I wanted to reassure her, only class was starting. “Let’s pick this up another time.”

  She drew in a heavy breath and released it. “Yeah, another time.”

  Students and teachers wandered toward their classes. Life continued, circling and moving all around us. Yet compared to here, Dralion and Peacio were a world away, a world now infringing more and more on mine.

  Nothing felt quite right anymore.

  I eyed Davio. “I want to go somewhere alone. With you.”

  “Then let’s do that.” His agreement came without hesitation.

  I strengthened my mind-merge, soaking deeper into that spot I considered my own. It was a mystery, even after all that had played out, that I still felt so as one within his mind.

  “I’ve never played hooky. A prince rarely gets away with that,” he whispered in my ear.

  I smiled at the thought, but before I could respond, he spoke to the others and tossed his keys to Zac. “I’ll meet up with you later in the day. Take care and be on the lookout for the warrior. He could blend in among the other students.” Davio paused, raising his brows at me. “Although not if you gave us a suitable description. Now that your full memory has returned, tell me what he looks like.”

  Every instinct in me screamed not to give a single detail away. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. It’s not going to happen, not when he’s my father. I can’t give him up to you that easily. It doesn’t seem like a fair fight.” And deep inside my heart, defective father or not, my decision had to remain in place. I would never toss anyone into the lion’s den, no matter the reason why.

  Davio’s brown-gold gaze bored into mine. “Please don’t tell me you feel an allegiance to your father, not after he abandoned you at birth.”

  My gut churned. “No, it’s hard to explain, only to say my knee-jerk reaction is to protect him.”

  His thoughts released, distracting me through the merge as they swarmed me. It appeared he didn’t care for my so-called intuitive reaction, not when we spoke of a Dralion warrior.

  “Class is starting. Let’s leave now.” Without further warning, his arms banded tighter about me. A small, jerky movement and a belly-rolling displacement assailed me. Through the darkness we ’ported, then before I knew it, we’d arrived, my sandals sinking into crystalline white sand.

  The Pacific Ocean rolled in, blue waves topped with a foamy crest of white. I gasped. “Okay, you just can’t whip us about so fast. I’m not used to that.” My feet sunk deeper, until the grains snuck in underneath my toes and grinning, I lifted my feet and tipped the sandals off. “Except you’re off the hook since I love the beach so much.”

  “We’re at Papamoa Domain in case you’re wondering.” He grinned too.

  “I’m aware.” Papamoa Domain overlooked the vast ocean on New Zealand’s East Coast, this beach a mere ten minutes’ drive from my home. Behind us on the grassy land, patrons of a seaside restaurant sat within the outdoor patio area, and a queue of people waited in line at the fish and fries shop next door to it. A busy camping ground sat to the other side, the long rows of colorful tents and caravans, housing holidaymakers. This spot was always a hive of activity, although a little farther along the beach only a few people ambled along. “Let’s head to where it’s quieter.”

  “Agreed.”

  “So, I take it you’ve been here before?” It appeared my mate was full of surprises, and they just kept coming, one after the other.

  “I have. Come, let’s walk and talk.” He bent and retrieved my sandals and removed his own shoes, tucked them near the rising bank where the sand met the stringy grass and returned to me. Threading our hands together, his fingers firm around mine, he led me down the beach toward the quieter end as I’d requested.

  “Tell me whatever you can about, well, about everything.” I was eager to learn all I could about him, in particular his likes and dislikes, how he spent his days, what his favorite things to do were.

  “If you mean how did I teleport here, then quite simply put, it’s impossible for one to teleport without an almost identical image of the requested location. Teleporters store those matching images within our minds so we can travel without any mishap.”

  As interesting as that information was, it wasn’t quite what I meant. I pressed my thumb inside his palm. “The question was actually a private one. I want to know everything about you, although this beach is one of my favorite places. How did you know to come here?” Before us, endless white sand ran in a long line toward the majestic mountain known as Mauao several miles away.

  “For the past six months, I’ve been driven to come here. My father had the same inclination after he turned eighteen and searched for my mother. If one is fortunate enough to have a mate, as around half of our population do, then the male’s drive to find his female can become relentless.”

  Hand to my forehead, I shielded my eyes from the bright sunshine. “Exactly how did you know I was your mate, when you first arrived and all?” I’d certainly been enamored by him.

  Now he truly smiled, like I’d never seen before. “I knew I was getting close as I neared your classroom. Carlisio also chose to send me to where I’ve been compelled to come. Those two factors combined told me I was close to the one I’ve been searching for. Then when I first saw you across the classroom full of students, my heart simply stopped beating. My mate sat before me and every part of me zeroed in on you. I knew who you were at first sight. So to answer your question.” His lips broke into a delicious grin. “I knew with the most insane urge that the woman before me was my mate, the one who held the other half of my soul, just as you hold mine.”

  I lowered my hand and heart thumping, barely managed to walk without stumbling. “Oh boy, I think I might have to muzzle you.” If pressed, he sure could answer just the right way.

  Davio laughed, his eyes twinkling. “I haven’t finished yet. Remember after I first left you, I promised to stay away?”

  “Uh-huh.” I nodded.

  “Those of us who are fortunate enough to be gifted with a mate have always found our other half to be completely distracting.” He drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “We know at adulthood if we are matched because our desires for any other never mature. There can be no other for me, or for you, not unless we force our feelings to be swayed. That in itself is almost impossible.”

  “I’ve ce
rtainly never desired another man, other than you, and I guess if I’d been raised on Magio as you have, then I would have known I had a mate.”

  “You would have.” His fingers tightened around mine. “And I would have located you that much quicker had you lived on my home soil.”

  “So, tell me what happens to your unmated people? Do they let their hearts choose as we on Earth do?”

  “In a quick answer, yes.” His stride slowed and he came to a stop, drew around me in a tight circle and gripped my other hand until we stood facing each other. “Or, if our mate is not found, life moves on and we choose another based on friendship. It’s not the same though. The mated bond is one of the soul, and no other can truly satisfy our needs other than the one we’re destined for.” He turned me by the shoulders to face the sparkling, deep blue sea, then arms wrapped around me from behind, rested his chin on the top of my head. “You’re my destiny. I realized that fairly quickly on my return home. Even if you hadn’t been hurt by the warrior, I would have been driven to return to you before too long.”

  The sun continued to warm me, just as his binding hold and his precious words did. I fully relaxed against him, this moment beyond peaceful.

  “I can see why you love it here,” he said after a minute, softly rubbing his chin in my hair.

  “It’s a beautiful country, yet also one of the most isolated in the world.” Although it wasn’t as isolated as I’d first thought, not now I’d learnt so many could teleport here at their own free will. That strange thought sent a gray cloud settling over me. I turned into him. “You can come and go at will, which means you can leave me at any time and I’d never see you again.” I didn’t want him doing that.

  “Our bond grows stronger with each hour we are together.” He kissed my forehead. “That bond holds a powerful foundation for us, and one I have seen grow in depth and devotion with my own parents. Separation is difficult, and not something I will ever allow for any long length of time.”

  I smiled, relief washing through me.

  “I have my duties of course, but as you pointed out, I can come and go at will, so in that regard I will never be far away from you.”

  “Good.” My grin widened, and I simply stared into his beautiful eyes.

  I was barely conscious of anything surrounding us. His face filled my vision and set my heartbeat to racing. There was only him.

  Chapter 5

  Snuggling my cheek against his chest as we stood there gazing out over the Pacific Ocean, such peace rolled through me as he held me tight. Like two halves of the same whole, we were joined together within our bond as if one were indistinguishable from the other, although I still needed to understand exactly how our bond worked, and to learn everything about him. “What’s it like for you back home?”

  “You mean compared to here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hmm,” he murmured, taking so much time to answer I went to prod him again, only he released me and picked up a washed up stick from the ground. “Let me draw the two countries of Magio for you in the sand.”

  He moved away, closer to the damp area nearer the water line. I waited patiently as he drew a perfect circle with the craggy end then inside of that, mapped out a large, if somewhat bumpy shape positioned along the central Equator line—an area taking the shape of land.

  “Magio compares closely to Earth in size, with the two lands of Peacio and Dralion being one continent in the center. The only continent. Our joined land mass equals twenty-nine percent of the whole of Magio, the remainder seventy-one percent being The Great Orbiting Ocean. No physical breaks lie between us, only a central plateau of desert which separates the two countries as effectively as any divide of ocean could.”

  He drew a central dividing line right through the large land mass. “We call this desert divide No-Man’s Land.” He chuckled lightly. “It’s aptly named because, clearly no man could possibly live there.”

  “Okay.” I grinned back, enjoying his little lesson.

  He rubbed his chin and pointed to the left side of the continent. “This area belongs to Peacio and it’s rich in minerals and natural deposits, particularly in the highlands. In the lowlands, we have rivers, lakes, abundant pasture and flat, fertile land. Across the desert of No-Man’s Land, Dralion’s terrain is much more severe. Their land rises swiftly to snow-capped mountains, before plunging down into deep rainforests and jungles. They have a large central desert area, so it’s only on the farthest outreaches that their land is able to sustain actual life.”

  “So that’s why the people of Dralion desire to take what is yours?”

  “Yes.” He pointed to the central dividing line. “There’s a protective energy dome that begins here which ensures we can’t return their constant attacks, an enchanted shield, one created some forty years ago under the instruction of the ruling family of Dralion. King Donaldo Wincrest insisted on its creation after his father’s early passing, of which he and his son, Alexo, still rule strongly today.”

  “How exactly was Dralion’s protective dome created?” Thumb on my chin, I inclined my head to the side, not even able to imagine an energy field that big that no one could safely teleport or even walk through.

  “Forty years ago one of their finest warriors used his skill of enchantment, a man by the name of Gilles Moyer. This ability to enchant takes the form of spell-making, and once he’d spelled the dome into existence, it has forever since remained in place.”

  “Incredible.”

  “Agreed, and those with the enchanting skill are sought after, although unfortunately they’re few and far between. We’ve been unable to spell it away. It seems to be governed by an energy source which maintains it.” Crouched, he glanced at his scrawled map in the sand and tapped the land area to the right that made up Dralion. “At the time of Moyer’s enchantment, we also had spies in Wincrest’s country, although they’ve been lost to us these past forty years.”

  “That’s awful.” No one should be kept from their family.

  “Worse is the fact that they still have spies on our land.” He angled his head upward. “Yet we have no dome to keep them out, and we can’t breach their protective field to retrieve our own lost men.”

  “Have you ever caught any of their spies?”

  “When we unearth them on our land, they’re removed to a location similar to your prisons. We keep their warriors locked up within steel-lined cells.”

  “For how long?”

  “The rest of their lives.”

  His words rocked me. Locking someone up for what remained of their entire life seemed extreme, unless of course they’d harmed or killed someone. “Do they get the chance to defend themselves?”

  “No.” An unwavering answer.

  “Why is it you rule so archaically?”

  Jerking to his feet, he tossed his stick out into the waves. “My grandfather doesn’t rule archaically. The Loveria family rules with precision. I can guarantee you there is no nation on your Earth who’d allow their intruding enemies to go free. Neither do we. The safety of our people and of our land is paramount to our continued survival. If not for the Wincrests, their spies and ensuing espionage, we would not have to defend ourselves to such an extreme. They attack and kill, unmercifully and arrogantly.”

  “I’m sorry.” I sifted through his thoughts with my skill, but he threw up a fast block and halted me. Hands on my hips, I glared at him. “Why do you keep doing that? Are you hiding something from me I’m not to know about?”

  “You have disclosed that your father is one of Dralion’s warriors. Precautions must be taken.” His mouth pinched together, lips turning white and in a flash, he was in front of me, one hand shackling my wrist. “There are thousands of warriors, just as there are thousands of protectors. We protect our borders, our lands and our people.”

  “I understand.” I took in his fierce hold, how he gritted his teeth and stood so ramrod straight. Every inch of his hardened body seemed alert to something. “I’m sorry, but
do you think I’m going somewhere right now?”

  I tried to break free, only he slanted his brows and shook his head.

  “Faith, the Loveria family rules so tenaciously because forethought runs through our line. It can skip a generation, or even two as it has done with me and my father, but regardless it is still acutely a part of our structured DNA.”

  “That’s not what I asked.” I tugged again on my imprisoned hand. “You’re clearly withholding and I want the truth. I deserve the truth.”

  “If I left my mind fully open to yours and shared every thought, what might you do with that information if your father arrived and decided instead of hitting you over the head, to take you with him?”

  “I would remind him that he left me eighteen years ago and has no right to decide my future.” I yanked on my wrist again and groaned. “Come on, let me go.”

  “I won’t give you up.”

  “We really need to talk about your control issues.” He seemed to have quite a few.

  “I also can’t risk allowing your father near you again, not when I don’t have the ability to travel through their dome. If he took you. I’d never get you”—he stopped so suddenly, his pain clear to see as he grimaced—“back.”

  “You mean I’d be at his mercy since I have no ability to ’port as you do.”

  “Yes. You’d be gone. Forever. Do you understand?”

  “But I have increased speed, and I mean more than just a fast sprint.” I hadn’t admitted to anyone that I housed that skill yet, primarily because I sensed it led to teleporting, only I’d yet to ask Belle or him to confirm that.

  “When did you notice your increased speed?” A gleam of interest flickered in his eyes.

  “A couple of days ago.”

  “How fast?”

  “Superwoman fast.”

  He frowned “I’m unaware of that terminology.”

  “That means I struggled to stop at the speed I was going. Likely I was all but a blur to anyone who might have caught sight of me.”