The Royal Shifters Complete Series Boxed Set

by Alice Wilde

  Seventeen

  Li

  “I think I should start off with something I’ve kept secret from you,” I say, looking down at my hands in shame.

  “You’ve been keeping something from us?” Roan asks after a long, awkward pause.

  “Yes, and I’m ashamed to admit it, but I was hoping that perhaps by not saying anything, I’d be able to keep certain things from coming about.”

  “What things?” Ero asks coldly.

  “Before we left the palace, Luo asked to meet with me—”

  “You’ve kept something hidden that long?” Roan asks in astonishment.

  “—And what he revealed to me was… I don’t know, startling to say the least.”

  “Why didn’t you mention this before?” Annalise asks softly, her face tight with worry.

  “He showed me a prophecy, Little Bird…and the prophecy revolves around you.”

  “So, come on, let’s hear it,” Ero urges.

  I sigh deeply, my gut twisting inside me. “I have to be up front with you. I don’t know what will happen if I tell you about it.”

  “It’s a prophecy,” Roan says, “what could possibly change if you talk about it?”

  “That’s just it. The words were…they were like fresh ink, even the slightest deviance from our course might change what’s to come.”

  “I don’t understand,” Annalise says. “How could a prophecy change?”

  “Perhaps prophecy isn’t the right term for what I saw. It was like, seeing a glimpse of the future, or at least…what might be the future.”

  “You were the one hurrying things along just a few minutes ago,” Ero groans. “Can you just hurry up and get to the important bits?”

  “Little Bird…Annalise,” I start, ignoring Ero’s remark and reaching out to take her hands in mine, “I’ve already seen part of the prophecy come true.”

  “Which part?”

  “A dragon’s breath, a wrong righted, burned and blackened, a flame awakened,” I answer, closing my eyes as I do my best to recite it from memory. “I admit, I had absolutely no idea what that meant until today, but now it has given me cause to wonder about the rest of the prophecy. If that much is true, I can’t help but wonder if we’ve already set our fate in stone.”

  “Well, we won’t know until you tell us.”

  “I know,” I say, “that’s why I’m asking. Annalise, do you want to know what I read in the emperor’s book?”

  Annalise watches me, her eyes brimming with uncertainty and then she looks over at Roan and Ero. “Yes, I think it’s only fair that we go into whatever lies ahead with as much knowledge as possible. Good or otherwise.”

  I swallow hard, sitting back and gritting my teeth together as I try to prepare myself to tell them what I know. I clear my throat and begin to recite the prophecy to the best of my ability.

  Hearts broken, a life taken with magic once again restored,

  A dragon’s breath, a wrong righted, burned and blackened, a flame awakened.

  Yin and Yang, the bird and beast reunited once more,

  A darkness rising, a heart tested, the future balanced on the edge.

  Blood for blood, a silver lining, death and birth as one.

  A mother’s cry, a kingdom fallen, the latter to be… nevermore.

  No one says anything for a few minutes as they let the words sink in.

  “What the hell does that mean?” Roan huffs, finally breaking the silence. “That was the most dismal sounding prophecy I’ve ever heard.”

  “I wish I knew,” I say, pressing my fingers into my temples.

  “It doesn’t sound very promising, that’s for sure,” Ero grumbles.

  “Blood for blood, a silver lining, death and birth as one. A mother’s cry, a kingdom fallen, the latter to be… nevermore,” Roan mumbles to himself. “Wait. Li, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “What are you thinking?”

  Roan glances over at Annalise and then back at me. “I don’t want to get anyone worked up over this, but this does sound awfully like a bad ending to me.”

  “I thought so, too.”

  “A mother’s cry,” Annalise whispers, horrified. “Death and birth as one? Li, do you have any idea what this is implying?”

  “I hope not…but it does seem to indicate either the death of a ch—”

  “Stop! Don’t say it! I wish I’d never asked to hear the prophecy,” she says, her voice strangled. “This…this can’t be true. We have to stop this from happening.”

  “We can only try.”

  “At least it got one part right,” Ero growls. “Blood for blood. It’s damn right about that. Whatever happens, we’re not going to go down without a fight. You have my word, princess.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t go back,” Annalise says quietly.

  “What?” all three of us ask in shock.

  “You can’t mean that,” I say.

  “What’s the point if we already know we’re meant to lose?”

  “We don’t know that.”

  “You already said part of the prophecy has come true,” she stresses. “We’ve already set it in motion, how can you possibly think we’re going to change fate now?”

  “The future is…uncertain,” I answer, “I’ll give you that much, but prophecies…they’re hard to interpret.”

  “Seems pretty straightforward to me,” Ero mumbles, and I shoot a hard look at him.

  “Annalise, if we don’t go back, all will still be lost.”

  “How?”

  “We’d be giving up, letting Damien win. As much as it pains me to say this, I don’t think we have a better option. Yes, we may not get the ending we hope for, but we have to try. If not, who’s to say we’ll survive long enough for our lives to matter anyway.”

  “Does it matter?” Annalise asks, her voice breaking. “If facing Damien only means death and destruction, why not spend our time in this world with one another?”

  “And let go of the possibility that the prophecy is wrong? Any chance that we have more than a short time left on this earth together? To give up on the people who need you?”

  Annalise hangs her head as tears stream down her face. A pang of guilt sours my stomach, but I can’t let her give up on our quest, not when we’ve come so far. I pull Annalise onto my lap and press her head against my chest, allowing her to work through her emotions as I gently caress her hair with one hand. Ero and Roan look pained, but the four of us continue to sit in silence until Annalise finally sniffles and sits up.

  “You’re right. If there’s even the glimmer of a chance to save my people and for a better future…any future, then we have to take it…whatever the cost may be. That being said, I suggest we approach things far more cautiously than I originally intended.”

  “Oh?”

  “I think we should fly to within a few days walking distance of the castle,” Annalise says. “I know this may seem foolhardy when we consider what happened with Ero and his men, but I can’t think of a more reasonable way to approach with a dragon without instantly alerting everyone to our presence.”

  “Hmm, it’s an option,” I say.

  “In this way, we may be able to gather more information about Damien and what’s been going on while we’ve been gone. We can talk to villagers and perhaps even scout ahead.”

  “You don’t think Damien will know we’ve returned?”

  “Why should he care? He has what he wanted, doesn’t he?”

  “This is Damien we’re talking about,” Ero growls. “I highly doubt he feels like he’s gotten everything he’s wanted from you.”

  “Perhaps not,” Annalise says, “but I can’t think of a better option outside of storming the castle with dragon fire.”

  “I still like that idea the best,” Ero says, but he shuts up as soon as the words leave his mouth.

  “Where is Avalon anyway?” Annalise asks, and we all look around the empty camp. “Shouldn’t he be back by now? I can’t imagine it being very d
ifficult for a dragon to find something to eat.”

  “I doubt you’re wrong, but I’d also be crazy to presume I know what a dragon will and will not do,” I say. “Which brings up another issue. How do you plan to keep him a secret? Even if we don’t fly close to the castle, someone is sure to notice him and it won’t be long before he’ll be the talk of the town, let alone the kingdom.”

  “Yes, this is true,” Annalise says, “but I may have a solution. We’ll have to wait until he returns to know for sure, but I think he’s capable of appearing invisible.”

  “I think it’s a trick of the light,” I say.

  “Which is why we’ll have to wait until he returns to find out for sure.”

  “Find out what?” a deep, smoky voice rumbles in our minds.

  We all turn to look around us at the sound, but there’s nothing to be seen.

  “Avalon?” I ask hesitantly.

  “Yes?”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m standing right in front of you.”

  “I guess that answers our question,” Annalise says with a little laugh.

  “How long have you been back?” I ask as the giant dragon shakes himself and suddenly appears in the clearing with us.

  “Long enough to know you’re worried I’m going to destroy the world.”

  Annalise bites her lip, her face flushing a deep crimson, and I can’t help the little spark of electricity that shoots through me at the sight.

  “I must apologize—”

  “Nonsense,” Avalon interjects, cutting Annalise off. “I’d be more disturbed if you weren’t worried about dragons. But, to ease everyone’s minds, I will not be burning down any more villages… unless provoked.”

  “Thank you,” Annalise says, her face still red.

  “Now, I’ve found a decent cave to sleep in. I’ll be back for you in the morning.”

  Before we have a chance to answer, Avalon crouches and leaps up into the air, disappearing almost as quickly as he’d appeared.

  “I suppose we should get some rest,” Annalise says.

  “I doubt any of us will find it easy to sleep tonight,” Roan says.

  “No, but tomorrow marks the beginning of the end,” Ero exhales, rising to his feet. “We might as well make the most of what time we have left.”

  “If you two don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Annalise for a moment.”

  “Oh?” Roan asks, his curiosity piqued.

  “I meant, speak to her alone.”

  “I thought we weren’t going to keep any more secrets.”

  “We aren’t, but Annalise may not be comfortable talking about it yet.”

  Annalise gives me a questioning look as Roan glances over at her and then Ero uneasily. “Alright, fine. We’ll be here if you need us.”

  “Might as well actually gather some kindling this time around,” Ero jokes as they walk away.

  “What is it?” Annalise asks, her eyes searching my face.

  “I wanted to talk to you about your pregnancy,” I answer.

  “What about it?”

  “Do you mind if I take a look?”

  “A look at what?”

  “Your belly.”

  “Okay,” she says, starting to grab at the long shirt covering her and then realizing that’s all she’s wearing. Her face reddens once again.

  “We can move somewhere more private if you want.”

  “I… No. Here is as good a place as any.”

  “Here, lie down over here,” I say finding as soft a patch of grass as possible and patting it. Annalise does as I ask. She starts to pull up the shirt but I stop her. “Not yet.”

  I place my hands on her belly, carefully kneading it and feeling for any abnormalities. At first, nothing seems out of the ordinary until something hits me.

  “What’s wrong?” Annalise asks anxiously, reading my worried expression.

  “Well, I mean…technically nothing is wrong, but… Annalise, you’re much further along than you should be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Give me a minute,” I say, grabbing the bottom of the shirt and pulling it up until it rests just under her breasts.

  “Hey, what are you doing to her?” Roan asks, looking over just as I expose a majority of Annalise’s skin to the world. I don’t answer him, my focus entirely devoted to her pregnant belly.

  Roan and Ero can’t help themselves and walk over to see what’s going on, I should have guessed it would be impossible to keep them away.

  “Li?” Annalise asks her voice growing steadily more panicked.

  “I was right,” I mumble, running my hand over the soft skin of her protruding belly. “This doesn’t make sense.”

  “What doesn’t make sense?” Ero asks, as soon as he’s standing next to me. “Wait, what happened to your stomach?”

  “She’s pregnant.”

  “Yeah, I know she’s pregnant,” Ero snorts, “but she’s not that pregnant.”

  “Li, what are they talking about?”

  “I don’t know how to explain this,” I answer, “but…you’re a good two or three months further along than you should be by this point.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “It’s not…Well, I guess it is, but I don’t know how. I’ve never heard of anything like this before,” I say. “Here, stand up.”

  I help Annalise to her feet, and grab a handful of the back of her oversized shirt to pull it tight against her belly, revealing the shape.

  “Lass,” Ero breathes, “when did that happen?”

  Annalise looks down at her obviously pregnant body and shakes her head incredulously. “I don’t know…it wasn’t like this back on the mountain!”

  “No, it was not,” Ero agrees.

  Annalise continues to stare down at herself and then she suddenly bursts into tears.

  “What’s wrong, lass?”

  “Are you in pain?” I ask, placing a worried hand on her stomach.

  “No,” she whimpers, “I’m just…I look like a whale!”

  We all stare at her with blank expressions and then one by one, we can’t help but start chuckling.

  “Is that what you think?” Ero asks, rubbing his forehead.

  “You’re the farthest thing from a whale,” Roan says.

  “Little Bird,” I say, trying to hold myself together, “you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on…and these changes happening to your body only make you that much more beautiful to me.”

  “Li’s right,” Roan agrees. “I doubt I’ve ever been more attracted to you than I am right now.”

  “How can you say that?” Annalise scoffs.

  “Because you’re my woman,” Roan says, “and every moment I get to spend with you only becomes more precious with time.”

  “Enough with all these mushy words and tears,” Ero says shoving Roan and myself aside. “If you want her to know just how damn sexy she is, show her.”

  “Gentle!” I shout as Ero scoops Annalise up in his arms and carries her away.

  “I have no intention of being gentle,” Ero calls back over his shoulder. “Join us or forever hold your tongues.”

  It only takes a split second for both Roan and I to make up our minds.

  Eighteen

  Annalise

  “Why have you brought me here?” I ask, looking around at the rather nondescript clearing Ero has carried me to. Roan and Li join us a second later.

  “Oh, I just thought, since we’re being open and honest about everything, what better place to enjoy some time together than the spot Roan tried to get me to grope him.”

  “What?”

  “Hey,” Roan cuts in, “that isn’t how I’d describe what happened.”

  “How would you describe it then?” Ero asks.

  I glance back and forth between the two of them completely at a loss for words.

  “I,” Roan clears his throat nervously, “I just…I was only trying to help fix things between us.�
��

  “I don’t think I understand.”

  “Neither do I,” Li says.

  “Ero was worried getting turned on by a man’s touch—”

  “No,” I interrupt, “not that part. I understand that part. What I don’t understand is how you were willing to let Ero turn you on.”

  Roan mumbles something none of us can hear.

  “What was that?” Ero asks, calling him out.

  “I said,” Roan answers in a much too loud voice, “that I’d do anything to make Annalise happy.”

  I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face at this. “Really?”

  “Lass…why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Mmm, I’m just imagining you and Ero—”

  “Then we’re going to have to give you something else to think about,” Ero says in a low growl, setting me down and then giving me a sharp slap across my butt.

  I squeal in surprise and spin around to glare at him, my skin tingling even through the shirt, but at the same time I’m suddenly very aware of a wetness between my legs.

  Ero grins at me cockily.

  “What was that for?”

  “To teach you a lesson for thinking naughty thoughts about us,” Ero says.

  “I can think whatever I want.”

  “Oh, can you now?” Ero challenges. “Roan, what do you think about that?”

  “I’d say the lass is asking to be punished.”

  “Exactly my thoughts,” Ero says stepping closer. “Li?”

  Li is standing slightly off to the side, watching nervously. “What?”

  “What do you think we should do to her?”

  “I don’t know…whatever makes her happy?”

  Roan and Ero both groan and roll their eyes.

  “Li, can’t you play along for once?”

  “Play along?”

  “This one’s all yours, Ero,” Roan says.

  Ero sighs deeply and then turns toward Li. “We’re going to teach Annalise a lesson. Do you want to join us, or not?”

  “I don’t want to hurt her.”

  “We’re not going to hurt her,” Ero says, and then pauses and glances over at me, “unless she asks for it.”