She frowned, tut-tutting under her breath. “I can’t believe this. You’re drunk?” She edged in, kneeling and taking my chin in her hand. “I’ll just tap into your—oh—oh no. She’s so drunk she’s making me feel drunk.”
Then Belle slipped onto her bottom and belched.
I clutched my stomach, giggles rolling through me.
Silas rolled his eyes as he lifted Belle, her limbs flopping around as he propped her beside me. He glared at me. “Belle can channel reactions along with emotions so if she says you’re drunk, then you’re drunk. You gotta wee alcohol problem there, Blondie?”
I half-snickered half-giggled, my chest bumping up and down. “Silas is funnee.”
He snorted and set his hands on his head.
“Faith.” Davio arched a brow at me. “What did you drink?”
I blinked, lifting my finger and jabbing it at him. “Nothin’.”
“Excuse me, Your Highness.”
I jumped, albeit sloppily, having not seen Viv arrive. I blinked and brought a far too young-looking doctor into sight. He’d arrived with Viv.
Oh right, duh, they all looked young.
Davio stepped over to speak to him and the moment he let go of me, I fell sideways into Belle.
Grinning at her, I mumbled, “Soooo misss”—hiccup—“d’you.”
Belle squinted at me through half-closed eyes. “Shh, tirrred.” She fell flat on her face.
I laughed as I lost my head rest and slumped on top of her.
We were a pathetic pair.
“Miss?” The doctor hunkered down before me, lifted one of my eyelids and sent a bright beam of light flying.
I recoiled, shoved my eyes shut and sank my anxious mind even deeper into Davio’s. “Go away.” I tried to flap my hands at him, but they went nowhere. “You’re not allowed to hurt me. Davio will kill you if you do.”
The doctor checked my temperature, his hand moving over my forehead. “She’s most definitely drunk, Your Highness. Allow her to rest for an hour or two. Her fast-healing will deal with the excess of alcohol quicker than any drug I could ever prescribe might. Do you need me to stay?”
“Yes. I need you to take every precaution with her health.”
I snuggled into Belle’s back, my friend’s gentle snoring so comforting, although the sound partially muffled by the cushions in her face.
“Here, let me take her somewhere more comfortable.” Silas grumbled something loud.
I cranked one eye open as he picked Belle up and set her gently down on the opposite couch. With my anchor gone, I slithered into Belle’s spot headfirst and ate a mouthful of fluff as I did.
Davio turned me over, swept clinging strands of my hair from my face, his gaze so concerned. “Try and sleep, okay? Belle isn’t appreciating your current state of inebriation since she can’t fast-heal. You have to do it for her by healing first since she’s tapped into you. And why do you smell like you’ve swum in the ocean?” He pinched his nose.
“Birdees.”
He frowned. “You’re seeing birdees?” He rubbed his forehead. “I guess you will if you’re drunk.”
I didn’t bother to defend myself. No one believed me and quite frankly, I barely did either. I yawned and burped, the noise hammering the nail into the coffin of everyone’s current assessment of me. “Lie sidee. Mindy thingummy.”
“You mean your mind-merge?”
“Nooo loozy.”
He groaned, but bedded down beside me, wrapped one arm around me to hold me in place.
Like I was going anywhere.
Sighing, I burrowed, the world around me darkening before it disappeared.
* * * *
“Mmm.” I stretched and uncurled, and oh boy, my body felt like my own again.
“Go back to sleep. It’s only been five minutes.” Davio’s voice rumbled under my cheek.
“I feel so much better.” I elbowed up.
“So do I.” Belle straightened on the other couch, stood and blinked. “We’re better already?”
“I think we are.” I tried to wriggle up higher.
“Wait.” Pressing the back of his hand to my cheek, Davio frowned. “The doctor said an hour or two, but you feel cool and your words aren’t slurred anymore.”
“I was never drunk.” I rolled my shoulders, really wanting to move. “If it’s of any help, I may have imbibed on too much seawater, but that’s it. I promise.”
He scrubbed his stubbly jaw. “If you weren’t drunk, then what happened?”
“I need to move.” I squished up my mouth. “Please, let me up.”
I got a look in return that said a definite no.
I slumped back. “Okay, so my mind might have missed yours. And I got a touch tipsy when we reconnected. Now that my head is clear, that’s what I believe happened.”
Across the room, Silas doubled over in laughter and it was impossible to tune him out. I threw a scowl at him before catching sight of Silvie fidgeting from foot to foot near his side. Great. I needed to speak with Silvie, and clearly waiting any longer wasn’t an option.
Davio squeezed my arms. “Are you sure that’s all it was?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. It seems you can send me spinning out, in all sorts of different directions, even when only seconds back in your company.”
Silas scoffed. “There had to be alcohol involved. The blonde was definitely drunk.”
I narrowed my gaze on him. “I don’t like you much, and I should know since I watched you rambling on about me all weekend.”
“And it seems you’re nosy too.”
Davio scratched his head. “If you were watching, why didn’t you come?”
“Because you need to learn who the actual boss is.”
His lips lifted. “That would be me.”
The doctor cleared his throat, reminding us all of his presence. “Excuse me, Your Highness, but is she saying she watched others, as in with the coveted forethought skill?”
Davio turned sharply to Viv. “Take the doctor back, and have Stavros Sequeria wipe his memory of the past quarter hour to the point of when you collected him. I’ll not have him recall Faith or what she’s spoken of.”
“You have a protector with the skill to wipe memories?” Wow, that was a new one.
Viv disappeared with the doctor, and Davio ran his hand over the back of my head. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Ah, I’m thinking it could be a recurring problem, depending on how angry you are.”
“Right now, you’re back. I can’t be angry about that.” He touched his lips to mine. “Except in the future, you can’t run as you did. If we have an issue, we address it.”
He was right. “Yeah, we’ll see.”
He raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see?”
“I’ll start with Silvie. I need some practice on dealing with issues.” Because eventually I would have to enlighten Davio of my father’s decision, and I wasn’t looking forward to that. “Let me up.”
He did, and I faced Silvie. This wasn’t easy to do with her wearing her favorite pink and white striped pajamas, her red locks a messy tumble sticking everywhere. I crossed my arms.
“Begin,” I issued.
Tears swam in her eyes. “I—I’m not sure where to start. I can’t remember the early years, only from the time I was about six or seven.”
“Then start there.”
She wrung her hands together. “Mum made it pretty clear Peacio was a secret. She said Carlisio had sent us, that he saw enough in his forewarning to interpret that you would have a soul mated bond with someone close to him. He presumed Davio, but he wasn’t one-hundred percent certain.”
She paused, her voice strained. “I don’t know if Carlisio ever imagined us being here this long, but with your father keeping his distance, there was no way Carlisio could accurately identify if he was from Dralion or Peacio. And since Carlisio simply couldn’t risk Davio losing his future mate if you disappeared as your father had, we stayed and I remained close to
you, something that was never a hardship, not when we were the closest of friends.”
I inhaled, taking all her words in. “I considered you a sister, much more than a friend and you know it. I’ve been betrayed by you.”
Her lower lip trembled. “I know and you’ve every right to feel that way, but I couldn’t speak of it. Yet one day I knew you would be mated, and quite possibly to my own cousin. Please, you have to know that I’ll do anything to make this up to you. I never wanted the lies that have been there between us.”
I sighed and shook my head. This was so hard because in the beginning when we’d been so young as she’d said, she surely had been an innocent. Carlisio it appeared was the one at fault, and her explanation tugged at my heart. “I’ve always told you everything. Do you have other siblings? A father? Because now I know you have a brother, a cousin, and an aunt and uncle.”
She caught a hand to her chest, tears streaking down her cheeks. “Yes, I have a father. He has brothers and sisters. I have other cousins and family unrelated to Davio. I’m so sorry, but you have to forgive me for never telling you. In my heart, you are my sister, and I know I’ve hurt you. Trust me, I’ll do whatever it takes to repair the damage.” She crossed the small gap and took my hands. “I’ll make sure you meet them all. Please, you have to forgive me.”
I’d never in our entire eighteen years been able to handle seeing her in pain, and I couldn’t now. “I’ll never forget.”
She wiped her nose. “Can you forgive?”
Davio bumped me forward from behind. “You’ll hurt more if you don’t move past this.”
Releasing a new wave of tears, Silvie hugged me. I squirmed, hating not just her pain but also whenever she got this upset. It wasn’t like her. She was the stronger of the two of us, always the first to mock and banter.
I patted her back. “Okay, okay, you’re forgiven.”
“Thank you.”
“But you’ll still need to make things up to me.” Since I wanted her to calm down and relax, that meant she needed to cook. Cooking always relaxed her. “Chocolate chip cupcakes would be a good start in making things up.”
She sniffed and sucked in a deep breath. “Are you asking me to cook you some cupcakes?”
I gave her a nod. “That’s just the beginning of this whole forgiveness thing. I’ll be after rocky road tomorrow.”
“Okay, but we’ll talk more later. I need that.”
“We will when there’s time. Right now, I have one very determined father who wants his own forgiveness from my mother. Alexo intends to right the wrongs of these past eighteen years and admit to his lies and what he’s withheld. Which means way too much on my mind.”
“Are you saying Alexo wants Kate back?” She frowned.
“That’s pretty much it, but with her, comes me.”
Davio froze, then his gaze bored into mine. “Are you saying you intend to travel to Dralion?”
Around us, his protectors drew closer, including Viv who had returned.
My heartbeat raced. “Yes, and what am I supposed to do? I have an actual family, one I’ve never known. You try turning away from that.”
His hands pinched into my arms, his breath blowing out. “It’s that damn blood-bond.” Then he unblocked, his thoughts churning in a whirlwind toward me through the merged link.
I fell back a step at seeing his need. He wanted me to choose him over Alexo, to decide on embracing Peacio over Dralion. For him, there was no other choice.
“Look at me.” He was so focused. “I’m already falling in love with you. I can’t allow you to leave me, not even for a day, or three in the case which has just passed. If you were gone forever beyond Dralion’s dome, it would kill me.”
I held my breath. Why did he have to say that?
“I understand what you’re saying, but—” I lifted my arms and wrapped them around his neck, squeezed my hands together so there was no letting go. I cried, thoroughly wetting his shirt.
“Shush, don’t cry. We’ll work this out.” His tone rang softly in my ear.
“I can’t fix this.” If I couldn’t, he couldn’t. “I don’t know what to do. It’s all so hard.” I sucked in a stiff breath. “If you make me give up my family, I’ll hate you. You’re my enemy, and perhaps that’s the way you should stay. Maybe we shouldn’t tamper with history.”
His jaw twitched, his fists bunching. “Wincrest is brainwashing you.”
“No, he’s not.”
“Stay right here.” He turned on his heel, snarling at Silas. “I won’t be gone long. Don’t allow Faith to leave this room or your sight. I need to consider what should be done.”
He flashed away.
And there was nothing but silence.
Endless minutes ticked by.
“I can’t believe you said that.” Silvie came around in front of me. “He’s my cousin. I’ve spent as much time with him as I have with you, and he’s in pain. What you said—”
“I only spoke the truth.” How on earth were we to make this work? “Our relationship is impossible. Dralion and Peacio are at war. I can’t—” I shook my head. “You and Silas have to take him home, to his family and to his people. It’s where he should be, not here with me.”
Her mouth pinched into a tight line. “You haven’t seen mates who are bound to each other attempt to regain their lives after one has passed away or become lost to the other. If you left him for Dralion, it’d be like suffering a death. He’s been in a great deal of pain this past weekend, and I don’t want to see him suffer such a loss again.”
“Silas.” I looked at him. “You and Davio are close. Surely, you can see this won’t work between us. Will you take him away?”
“You would agree to remain out of his sight, beyond Dralion’s shield if I did? No moving back and forth and giving him hope where they’d be none.”
“I’ll do my best. My father deserves this time to have his wife and family back.”
“That was a trick question.” Silas crossed his arms and glared. “Like my sister, I’d never do as you ask. As much as I hate to say it, he wants you, and I’d never begrudge him the mated bond, even if it’s with you. If you left him to live within the protective boundary of the dome, he’d suffer greatly. That kind of pain I’d never allow.”
I ground my heel into the floor.
“Dad.”
“Yes, I’ve been watching.”
“How do I get out of here without one of the protectors following my teleporting airstream?”
“You have to mask it. You must use a water source to teleport through, meaning you leave your current location and use a pool of water, the sea, a river or a pond. Once you’re submerged in water, provided no one has taken hold of you, you teleport to the next safe location. No teleporter can follow you through the water’s natural airstream masking.”
“Got it.”
Silas gripped my arm. “Are you speaking telepathically to Alexo Wincrest?”
“Yes.” I slanted my head. “What of it?”
“Zac, call Davio and tell him Faith appears ready to do a runner. And you.” His hold on me tightened. “You will stay right where you are.”
“You can’t—”
Without warning, he took me straight to the floor. “When I say stay put, I mean stay put.” Shoving me onto my front, he thrust his knee into my back.
I bucked against him, locking and kicking my legs. “See, Silas,” I panted. “This is exactly why I don’t trust you. You’re mean and nasty.”
“No, what I am is loyal, and that would be to Davio.”
Belle knelt at my head. “Not so rough, Silas. You’re hurting her.”
I rolled my eyes at the carpet. “What’s actually hurting is his trunk-sized knee knifing me in the back.”
“Get over it,” Silas muttered. “My knee will soon be the least of your problems.”
I kicked out at him again, but nothing worked. I barely moved an inch.
The air stirred, lifting strands of my hai
r, and a deep growl echoed through the room. “I return and this is what I see?” Davio, definitely Davio, and a very mad Davio.
“Yes. It. Is.” Silas snarled in my ear. A second later, I lost my breath as my arms were wrenched behind my back and he jerked me upright onto my feet, his grip punishing from behind. “She is nothing but trouble.”
I glared at Davio. “It’s crazy for a Loveria and a Wincrest to be mated.”
Stepping forward, he tipped up my chin, his fingers stroking down my neck. “I still want you.”
I yanked on my arms, but Silas continued to hold me militarily firm. “My father deserves to have what he gave up eighteen years ago. He’s earned his family back, and I can’t keep that from him. The blood-bond is too strong. It trumps what we have.”
His hands moved to cup my face. “It can’t. We hold each other’s souls. What you’re feeling is the familial loyalty behind the blood-bond.”
I wanted to kick him. “You are a terrible listener. I can’t fall for you, and I can’t change what’s between us.” I tugged, still trying to free myself from the loaf holding me. “Jeez, you need to let me kill Silas before I can continue yelling at you. This being restrained is not working for me.”
Silas snarled in my ear. “Show some respect.”
I kicked back at him, managed to thump him somewhere good since he grunted hard. “I hope you mate with your enemy. In fact, I’ll pray for it, Silas Carver.”
“Like that would ever happen.” He laughed and released me, handed me to Davio and said, “She’s all yours. Congratulations and all that.”
I snorted, then bit back a smile, somehow seeing the funny side of this terrible situation. “This is so impossible.”
Davio took my hands. “No one takes you from me. Work with me on this. I can see it will be difficult to keep you tied to one location. I’ll have to allow you to come and go from Dralion, just as your father and his warriors do. Speak to your father now and discuss your need for free access.”
“I said—”
He pressed a finger to my lips, shaking his head. “Just do it. For this is an argument you’ll never win.”
I sighed. “I think we need counseling. You’re too uncompromising, a—” Again with the finger to the lips.
“For both our sakes, give me this.”
Protector: A Young Adult / New Adult Fantasy Novel Page 17
