by Lacey Thorn
Her thoughts ceased when a god appeared out of the gate. That was all she could liken him to, as nothing she’d ever seen could compare. He was tall and tanned, carrying the muscles of a warrior with ease. His smile was sincere and the flames of the torches reflected in the crystal blue of his eyes. But it was the way the torches seemed to make his blond hair glow a burnished gold that held her enraptured. She could feel her breath catch and released it when she felt her head getting light. It had to be loss of breath making her head light and not the man whom she couldn’t pull her gaze from.
“Please, come inside and wait while Rory is fetched,” he said, his voice deep, like a sensual stroke along her skin.
“We can await her here, Your Highness,” Thedan spoke, and both he and Theron bowed their heads in honour of the rank of the man before them.
So this was King Aslan. He was indeed a sight to behold. He didn’t seem to be cowed as many thought Wilhelm had made him. He seemed strong and brave and… And she was finding it hard to breathe again.
“There is no animosity here,” King Aslan stated. “You will find that you are welcome here, of that I promise.”
“We appreciate that, Your Highness,” Theron said. “But we would feel better if we conferred with Rory first.”
The king’s face briefly showed sorrow and she wondered what had caused that emotion, but it was there and gone so quickly that if she hadn’t been paying such close attention she would have doubted it had been there at all.
“What is it?” Rory came running into the clearing with two men hot on her heels. “What has happened? Where is Raine? She is not unprotected?”
Thedan snorted. “Yes, you remember how Theron and I are always so eager to cast our duties aside and let her fend for herself.”
Rory grinned and pulled her lifelong friend into a close hug. Raine watched as she pulled Theron into it as well. It was nice to see the three of them together. “I’m sorry, I know better.”
“Indeed,” Theron said.
“Who is Raine?” King Aslan asked.
“I am,” she said and stepped forward, drawing the hood from her head as she walked into the middle of the lighted path.
Aslan felt as if his heart would explode from his chest as he gazed upon her. The way the torch light made her skin glisten and the way her brown eyes appeared golden. The way the flames reflected in her long ebony tresses giving them the appearance of a golden glow. She pulled the eye and defied one to look anywhere but at her. Her royalty wrapped around her as if she wore it as a cloak. There could be no denying who she was. It showed in the way she stood, the way she looked, in the way she spoke.
Aslan felt lightheaded as his breath seemed to catch in his lungs. She was the most incredible woman he’d ever seen and he was already under her spell. He felt like a fool when he noticed the others giving him strange looks. He was a king, not a boy, and she was not the first beautiful woman he’d met.
“Welcome,” he greeted, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. He kept his face smooth, revealing nothing. But he’d swear he felt a spark on his lips as he touched her skin. And by the soft gasp she’d let escape, he knew she’d felt it too.
Chapter Three
Serenity kept her cloak over her, allowing the deep black to help her meld with the night. She might have been sheltered in the temple all these years, but she was wise enough to know she needed to keep to the edge of the roads, blending with the shadows there and away from any eyes that might be watching. Her journey would not be long, would probably take her only a day or two to make, but it was filled with danger. Of that, she was sure.
Her mother was right. She could discern how her power had changed and grown since leaving the sanctuary of the temple behind. It was a hum, a fire in her veins. She knew that she must guard that power and keep the reins tight as she could already sense the pull inside her. It would be so easy to let what she felt go to her head, to let it turn her into something—nay, someone—she wasn’t. But the power she experienced in her veins was heady indeed.
If only she were a shifter or one of the natives then she would be able to cross the distance quicker. Instead, she would have to cover the ground one step at a time. She’d never been this alone before. She’d longed to step outside the temple walls, to see and experience the things others probably took for granted. Now she was. Yet it wasn’t the way she’d wanted.
Lives were held in her hands. So many lives. Lives that would forever be changed by the truths she carried with her, truths she planned to bring to light. How would they take her news? What would they think? She had the orb and apparently it would show them all a truth, but it was still up to her to get the five of them in one place and willing to go through the ritual to open the orb.
She wondered what they would be like, these siblings she’d heard of her entire life. She knew that none of them knew of the bond they all shared. First there were Aslan and Aurora, the king and queen by blood. They were Ona’s children, separated at her death. Aurora had been taken and raised as a sister with Lynx, the shifter. And wasn’t that a divine bit of humour. Then there was Rory, birth daughter of the native people. And Serenity, sheltered daughter of goddess’ priestess. All of them so different, so unique and yet with a bond formed by blood and magic.
She had been too lost in thought for too long and was taken by surprise when a man’s voice shattered the night.
“Who travels this way?” he shouted and the light of a torch appeared. “Stop in the name of Wilhelm.”
Serenity glanced up and found the man who belonged to the voice. “I go in the name of the goddess from her temple to the castle of Queen Aurora and King Aslan. I bid you, let me pass.”
There was laughter and coarse snickering, the sound of many voices. She heard the voice whisper, “She’s the one Wilhelm wants.”
So his dark magic had shown him. Did he know it was her? Or even who exactly she was? Did he know who any of them were or was he ‘in the dark’? The thought made her snicker as well.
“Halt!” The voice broke into her thoughts once more. “We will give you escort.”
“You will escort me to the castle?” she dutifully asked.
“We will see you safely to where you need to go,” he assured her as he moved to cross the space between them.
So he wouldn’t outright lie to her, just mislead her to get her to comply with Wilhelm’s wishes.
She murmured quietly and felt the power of the spell being weaved in the air around her. “I thank you for your kind offer but I fear that I must decline,” she stated. “All I ask is that you let me pass.”
“Being from the temple you probably aren’t aware of all that can befall a woman travelling alone out here,” he spoke.
She watched as he stopped, confused when he realised he couldn’t step any closer, and the way he shook it off as if it was unimportant.
“There are animals out here, some of which might seek to mislead you by taking a human form. People who can sneak around seeming to disappear right before your eyes. All kinds of things that could bring harm to you. Why, Wilhelm would have our heads if we let you go on so unprotected. You being from the temple of the goddess.”
“And why is that?” Serenity queried. “Is he the one who caused this darkness to descend upon us?”
“Of course not, miss,” the man said quickly.
“So he extends this offer to all travellers, then?” she asked, already knowing he didn’t.
“Of course,” he answered.
“Still, I’ll have to pass.” She’d had enough of this game.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to insist,” he said.
Five men took station behind him.
“So it isn’t an offer, then?” she asked softly.
“We seek only to protect you,” he volunteered but there was a hard glint in his eyes now.
“From what?” she asked, waving her free hand in front of her and to the side where nothing else seemed to be. “I see no danger here
.”
“None the less,” he said and bowed his head.
“And if I still refuse?”
“You’ll leave me no choice but to let the men behind me take charge of you.” He shrugged and there was no missing the men behind him as they grinned at her.
She let her hood fall back, hoping that they would be distracted by her appearance. She heard their indrawn breaths and knew they saw only what she wanted. A young woman with a comely face, a young woman who travelled alone. “I’m afraid that I must insist that you let me pass.” She moved her other arm out from under her robe and let the Staff she carried in her left hand be seen.
They would only see a white Staff with some gold on it. They would not feel the power it held. Even if they did, they would not understand that it was hers and only hers to wield.
“And how does she think to stop us?” one of the men asked with a snicker.
“If she can’t, then perhaps we can,” another voice called out, so much closer than theirs.
She was startled to see two men step out of the darkness, materialising right beside her, one on either side. How had they got through her spell? Her mother’s words echoed in her head.
When you are in need they will just appear as if from the air around you. They will be your guides, your guards, your heart and your soul.
“I am Serenity,” she spoke clearly to the men beside her. “I welcome your aid and thank you for granting it to me.”
The one to her right caught her attention and she almost felt mesmerised by the inky black in his eyes.
“I doubt this is anything you can’t handle on your own,” he said. “But perhaps it would be best not to reveal the hand you hold so early.”
He must know something of her power. He was right anyway. Wilhelm would be watching his men, and if she displayed the power she held now it would take her advantage away.
“Your logic makes sense,” she answered. “I will stay within my protective space.”
“We shan’t be long,” the one on her other side said, and there was laughter in his brown eyes just before both men disappeared again.
“Where’d they go?” one of the men asked, and she could see that they were all nervous now.
“I fear they don’t believe your assurance that you’ll see me safely to the castle,” Serenity said. “It seems that the goddess has sent them to ensure my safety.”
The men had spread out around the one holding the torch. There was a yell, quickly silenced, and one of them lay unconscious on the ground. Weapons cleared sheaths as the remaining four attempted to prepare for an attack that they could not see.
“Stop hiding, you dirty murdering natives,” one of them sneered.
“Yeah, come out and fight like real men,” another taunted.
The one with the laughing eyes reappeared but she could see no laughter on his face now.
He made a motion with his fingers, inviting the men towards him. “Come and get me then.”
Two of them charged towards him and he was magnificent to watch. He moved out of the way of one and grabbed the man by the shoulder, turning with him and using the man’s own momentum to send him crashing into the other one. The two went down in a tangle of arms and legs and clanging weapons. She couldn’t hold her giggle in. He turned to her, tilted his head and his eyes twinkled.
Another man rushed at him, his sword waving wildly in the air before him while the first two struggled to untangle. With a flick of his right wrist, a short sword appeared in his palm. There was the clang of steel against steel as the weapons met and clashed together. The man with the laughing eyes seemed to be toying with the man matching every swing, but never doing more than just simple defence. The other two joined in and soon he was keeping the three of them at bay. Where was the black-eyed man?
As soon as she had the thought he appeared in front of the one who held the torch. It was laughable the way his girlish scream pierced the air when the native appeared in front of him. Serenity had to giggle. He wasn’t so confident now.
“Tell Wilhelm that the lady is protected,” the native said. “She has no need of Wilhelm’s protection. We come from the castle to see her safely there. Go now, before I change my mind and make you pay for what you sought to do,” the dark-eyed protector said, his tone deadly.
She shifted her gaze back to the other native who was now fighting all four of the remaining men as the first was still unmoving on the ground. He held another short sword in his left hand and easily kept the men at bay.
“Now,” the other one spoke again, bringing her gaze back to him.
“Wilhelm will not be happy with your interference,” the man said, but she noticed he said it as he moved away. “Let’s go,” he hollered to the men still fighting. “Quickly!”
The four men backed away and Laughing Eyes let them. She wasn’t surprised when none of them stopped to check the one lying on the ground. They just left him as they hurried to leave. When the men had disappeared into the perpetual darkness, the black-eyed man picked the torch up and together her protectors headed back towards her. Once more they passed quickly through her protective spell. She took the time to look at them, now that the immediate threat had been so easily resolved.
They were both about the same height, not quite six feet as far as she could tell, but fairly close. Still, they were taller than her five foot four inch frame. They both had the dark, earthy brown skin tone of a native. The one with the laughing brown eyes had shoulder-length black hair that appeared thick and glossy, and she felt a pull to wrap her fingers in it. The other, the one with the mesmerising, inky-black eyes, kept his hair close to his scalp. It appeared to be the same deep black as his eyes.
They stopped on either side of her again.
“I was foretold of your coming,” the dark-eyed one said.
“I was told of yours as well,” she whispered. “What are your names?”
“I am Theron,” Dark Eyes said.
“Thedan,” the other said, bringing her gaze to him.
“I…” Her nerves made her tongue uncooperative. She’d never been this nervous in her life. But then it wasn’t every day that one met the men she was to mate and spend the rest of her life with.
“There is no need for fear with us,” Thedan said and reached a hand out to touch her hair. He seemed fascinated by her golden curls. “We would give our lives for you.”
“I will die for you,” Theron said softly, and her eyes met his.
“I hope it never comes to that,” she said.
He moved his fingers to caress her cheek, and a bolt of what felt like fire seared through her. From the way their eyes flared she would guess it had gone through them as well.
“You are my mates,” she said.
The fire had been brought on by the mutual touch of both men. It left no doubt in her mind that these were the ones her mother had told her to watch for.
“We are,” Theron confirmed.
They moved closer.
“We would know you,” Theron said.
“Woo you,” Thedan tacked on.
“But circumstance doesn’t allow for it,” Theron added.
“I know,” she whispered. Her mother’s words filled her head once more, a reminder of what had to happen.
You must consummate the triad as soon as possible to complete the bond. You must do it before you face Wilhelm.
“You are the one with visions?” she asked Theron.
“A gift from the goddess,” he said with a nod.
“We are sitting ducks here in the torchlight,” Thedan said. “Perhaps we should put it out and move on.”
“Yes,” Theron agreed. He bent to a place where the dirt was more plentiful and used it to extinguish the torch.
“We,” she started and had to take a breath before continuing, “it is important that we consummate the triad as soon as we can.” She could feel the flush on her cheeks.
“And we will,” Thedan said before letting his hand slip from her hai
r and pulling her hood back over her curls, being sure that none of them showed. “But first we must distance ourselves from this area.”
“I’m sure Wilhelm’s men have fled but it is never wise to take anything for granted,” Theron added, nodding towards the man on the ground.
“Agreed,” she said, smiling. “Did you kill him?” she asked Thedan.
“No.” His eyes shone with what appeared to be disgust as he looked back at the man. “But he will be out for a while yet. Wilhelm chooses weak-willed men. Men easy to control. The further away from him they are, the weaker they are.”
“His magic cannot stretch so far then?” Serenity questioned, hope in her voice.
“I would think more that it is stretched too thin at the moment,” Theron said. “What with keeping the world smothered in darkness.”
“It’s past time we left here,” Thedan reminded them. “We can talk on the way.”
“Give us a chance to learn more about each other,” Theron said taking her hand in his.
“Thank you,” she whispered, understanding that even though they must know the urgency needed, they were willing to give her a little time to really adjust to what had to happen. It was one thing to be told that you would meet your mates and must consummate a powerful triad immediately, another thing altogether to jump right in and do it.
Theron tugged her off the road and into the trees. “We’ll make better time if we cut across through here.”
“There’s a spot where it will be more secure for us to stop and rest for a while before we head on to the castle,” Thedan said.
“How long will it take us?” she asked.
Theron looked at her. “You know that things will change for all of us once the triad is formed. So, after, we will move much quicker.”
