by Julia Mills
“I’m sorry you can’t join us. Can I have one of the guys give you a ride?”
“No, dear, I have my own way.” Della stood and hugged Kyra, placing a kiss on the top of her head, before turning towards Royce. “Take care of my niece. She is everything to me.”
He nodded, “And to me. I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise.”
Della stood still, staring into his eyes for a few heartbeats longer than normal. When it was obvious she’d seen what she was looking for, she smiled, nodded, and said goodbye. Royce stood, watching Kyra try to look everywhere but at him, and he had no clue what to do. He wanted her to tell him what was going on, wanted to be able to help her with whatever was bothering her, but knew that if he pushed her she would completely shut him out, and that was something he could not let happen. Thinking that talking was better than just standing like a stump he asked, “You hungry?”
Royce watched as Kyra visibly relaxed and he immediately felt better. When she answered, her voice sounded a little less strained than it had when she had spoken a few minutes earlier. “Yeah, actually I am. I hadn’t realized how hungry until you just mentioned it.”
“Great, whatcha hungry for?”
“A burger and fries sounds awesome.” She stopped, her eyes got wide, and she stammered, “I mean is that…ummm…do you want…or do you like…oh hell! Do burgers and fries sound good to you?”
Unable to keep a straight face, he chuckled his answer, “Absolutely one of my favorite foods.” He had seen that Kyra was nervous, but then was overjoyed when she regained her spunk and attitude. They were as much a part of whom and what Kyra was as her violent eyes and Earth magic, and that was the woman he was growing to love more every minute of every day. “There is a diner not far from here that makes homemade ice cream and the best milkshakes I’ve ever had. Burgers are pretty great too,” he said and was delighted when her eyes lit up.
Kyra jumped up and ran for the stairs, hollering over her shoulder, “Let me change my jeans and grab my boots and I’ll be ready to go.”
A couple of hours with Kyra, watching her expression when she was thinking or happy, or trying to come up with a snappy comeback, would go down in history as one of the best times of Royce’s life. She made fun of him when he curled up his nose as she dipped her fries in mayonnaise, and called him a chicken when he said there was no way he was putting a mayo soaked fry in his mouth. But the look that would go into the special place he had already built in his mind, the one where he kept every beautiful image of Kyra that he never wanted to forget, was the look she had when she had taken a drink of her fresh peach milkshake. Her eyes had gotten almost as big as saucers and twinkled like they had stars in them, while the straw had slipped from her lips as they vibrated ever so slightly when she hummed, “mmmmmmm.” It was a look of pure bliss, and one he wanted to see over and over…. preferably when she was naked.
The drive back to Sam’s home was filled with silly stories of her childhood and her Auntie Della. A couple of times Royce almost asked about Kyra’s mother, but knew from his glimpse of their relationship and her obvious avoidance of the subject, that for the time being, it was better left alone. As they turned down the gravel road leading back to Sam’s old house, she said, “Enough about me, what about your childhood? I mean besides what I already know.”
She gasped and he knew it was because she had inadvertently alluded to his loss. He reached across the seat and grabbed her hand, “Hey, look at me.”
He waited as she slowly turned his way. If he hadn’t been driving he would have pulled her into his lap so that she could feel the beat of his heart and truth of his words, but as it was, he used the connection of their hands and the growing strength of their bond to let her know that everything he was saying was the absolute truth. “It’s okay. That’s all in the past and I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Unfortunately, we have company.”
He nodded out the windshield and watched as her gaze followed his. She groaned at the sight of all the Guardsmen, not a hundred feet in front of them, loading up in preparation to head home, causing him to grin. He jumped out of the car and ran around to help her out just before Aaron yelled, “I smell burgers and fries from Millie’s and I bet you didn’t even bring me a doggie bag.”
“Isn’t that a dragon bag?” she giggled under her breath, and Royce could tell that it was intended for his ears only. As all the Guardsmen laughed, he made a mental note to remind her how sensitive dragon shifter hearing really was, but guessed by the surprised look on her face that she had just figured it out.
“Good one, little witch, good one,” Aaron yelled across the distance, and Royce felt Kyra relax. Just the fact that she cared whether her silly comment had bothered another showed him exactly what a great heart his mate had, and that one of his best friends had eased her discomfort strengthened his belief that everything between them was going to be okay.
“Thanks, Bro. I owe ya one,” Royce sent through their unique link.
“No worries. She’s definitely a keeper,” Aaron sent back, and Royce could hear the sincerity in his brethren’s words.
“That she is,” Royce answered.
He placed his hand on the small of Kyra’s back and guided her to the house, loving the electrical current that flowed between them even through her clothing. It was something he had been told about by the older clansmen, and had even heard from his brethren that had found their mates, but he’d never imagined how wonderful it would feel. He knew that she felt it too by her harsh intake of breath and quickening of her heartbeat. As soon as they were inside, his control snapped. He lifted Kyra onto the kitchen counter, pushed his lips to hers, and kissed her with the fire and passion of a dragon shifter being ridden hard by the mating call. His hands slid under her blouse, the feel of her skin driving his desire higher and higher the longer he touched her. Just as he was about to pick her up and speed upstairs, the sound of a throat clearing pulled him from his mate.
“I guess I really am gonna have to start calling ahead,” Aaron chuckled.
Royce leaned his head to Kyra’s and sighed. Then he turned to face his friend while she sat behind him. “I really wish you would.”
“Sorry, but the crew is about ready and I wanted to make sure you guys were all packed up.”
“Thanks, man. We’ll be out in just a few minutes.” Royce said as he turned and helped Kyra down.
Once her feet hit the floor, she scooted around him and was hurrying up the stairs, shouting that she wouldn’t be but a few minutes. Both men shook their heads and chuckled.
With only three SUVs to accommodate twelve huge Dragon Guardsmen and one tiny witch, the ride back to the lair was crowded but fun. Aaron, Aidan, and Rory rode in the same vehicle as Royce and Kyra, ensuring that they laughed the entire time. Royce watched as Kyra laughed until tears rolled down her face at the stories his ‘supposed’ friends and family told about his mishaps throughout the years. He knew he should have been upset, but just couldn’t be as he watched how much fun his mate was having.
Their arrival home was met with a big party at Rayne and Kyndel’s. His brethren all found their mates and children happy to see them in a way he only now understood that he had Kyra in his life. Every available surface was covered with food and drink and many from the clan stopped by to share in the celebration, wishing them all luck in their continued efforts to capture the one that had betrayed their entire race. Kyra was never far from his side, something he took as a very good sign, even though he saw the same worried look in her eyes when she thought he wasn’t looking that he had witnessed earlier.
After watching Kyra fight to keep her eyes open for about thirty minutes, he grabbed her hand and together they made the rounds, thanking everyone and saying good night. The walk to Kyra’s was nice, but with every step they took Royce could feel his mate’s tension growing. Finally, when they reached her front door and she practically ran in, he asked the question that had been driving him crazy since that mor
ning, “What’s wrong Kyra? What has you so worried?”
“Nothing,” she answered too quickly, as she busied herself with unpacking her supplies onto the table.
Not willing to let the subject drop, Royce walked over to her and stilled her hands with his. When she finally looked up, he could see frustration and worry, just as he had expected, but also pain, and that was not something he could just ignore. He laid his hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes, trying to show her how much he cared and that he would do anything to help her before he spoke. “What is it Kyra? What have you been keeping from me all day?”
She shook her head but it was without conviction, so he stood, touching her face and waiting for her to tell him. When she spoke her voice shook, “My mother is missing.”
Royce sat down in the nearest chair and pulled Kyra onto his lap. She laid her head on his chest as he rubbed little circles on her back and hummed the same tune his mother had when he and his brothers needed comfort. He waited until her breathing returned to normal before he asked his next question.
“What can I do to help?”
“That’s just it, there’s nothing anyone can do to help,” her voice cracked and she burrowed farther into his embrace.
“There is always something that can be done. Just tell me what you know and we’ll figure out how to get her back.”
Kyra jumped off his lap and started to pace. One her third trip past him, Royce spoke, “Talk to me, Kyra. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I don’t know what’s going on. I have no idea what happened. Mom showed up, yelled and left…just like always. Auntie Della shows up, helps save my ass only to tell me that my mother never made it home after our fight and…”
She stopped dead in her tracks and stared out the picture window into the night. Royce used all his considerable strength, but it wasn’t enough. He could see the tension in her body, feel it flowing through their bond and had to go to her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he leaned down and asked, “And what, Kyra?”
Her shoulders slumped and she looked at the floor. He heard her swallow several times before she finally spoke in a voice that sounded far away and lost, “And that as the only heir to the Grand Priestess and of a ruling age, I have to go back and run things until my mother is found or the Council decides who is to rule in her place.”
It was definitely NOT what he was expecting her to say and for a split second thought he might have misheard but then he replayed her words again and knew he had definitely heard everything Kyra had said correctly. Trying to keep his dragon from making an appearance and his brain from exploding, he said the only thing he could think of, “If you have to go, I’ll go too. Who knows, I might be able to help.”
Kyra shook her head and moved out of his grasp. When she spoke, the sadness in her voice nearly broke his heart, “You can’t. Until the decision is made by the Council as to who will be the next Grand Priestess, no one that has not been initiated into our coven can enter…no one.”
“There has to be something we can do. You are my mate and I am yours, they cannot keep us apart,” he said through gritted teeth, trying to keep his temper in check but failing miserably.
Her sadness was like a dagger to his heart and her next words drove it deep, “You really mean that? You really believe we are mates?”
The shock of her words made him stutter and he saw uncertainty flash in her eyes. That uncertainty renewed his resolve to make her see that he more than believed they were mates, he knew with all that he was that she was to be his. When he spoke he was sure to pour his whole heart and soul into his words, “Knowing that you are my mate, that you were created just for me, is my reason for living, the one thing in all the world that tells me the future is full of hope and promise. It is what I am staking forever on. I have no doubt we will live long happy lives filled with more love than any couple has ever known.”
She threw herself into his arms, hugging his neck and sobbing so hard that within minutes, the collar of his shirt was wet. As he felt her begin to calm, he once again sat down and pulled her into his lap. She looked up, not quite meeting his eyes, and he could see she was embarrassed for her outburst. Needing to comfort her, he quickly spoke, “Never be embarrassed about anything you feel or think or say or…just anything with me. We are in this together. Always remember that…always together.”
They spent the next several hours discussing everything from where her mother could be to how long she thought it would be before she could come back to him, or that he might be allowed into her coven. He saw how upset she was by all that was happening and how she hated that it was out of her control. Royce wished there was something he could do to make things easier for his mate, but could come up with absolutely nothing.
He handled the whole thing pretty well until she told him she would be leaving first thing in the morning. He almost lost control. For a moment, it was hard for him to breathe, as if all the air had been sucked from the room. He felt as if he had just gotten her and now had to let her go. Had he been younger and more prone to tantrums he would have yelled and screamed about how life wasn’t fair. Instead, he repeated that old saying about absence making the heart grow fonder and assured them both that there was no way in the world he was giving Kyra up. It may have taken him a while to realize she was all he could ever want, but now that he had, there was nothing that could take her from him, not even a missing mother and a Council of witches.
In the wee hours of the morning, they made their way to bed. They held one another, kissing and touching, drinking each other in. It was never rushed, just a slow exploration of what they truly were to one another. Royce used his hands to memorize every inch of Kyra’s body, tucking it away in his heart to pull out and relive when missing her got to be unbearable, like he knew it would. He reveled in the feel of her hands on his skin and when they made love they were one…mind, body, and soul. The missing pieces each had been searching for their entire lives, were found that night in each other.
Morning came, no matter how hard they tried to hold it off, but as they looked into one another’s eyes, there was no sadness…only hope. Royce walked Kyra to the car her Aunt Della had sent for her and kissed her one last time, laying his heart at her feet, letting her have all of him, showing her that he was a better man for just having her in his life, assuring her that very soon they would be together again. He repeated the words that would forever be engraved on his heart…always together. When she smiled he knew she felt the depth of his commitment, but more than that, she believed it, she believed him.
The car pulled away and Royce stood staring down the road it had traveled long after the taillights had disappeared. Unsure what to do with himself and wanting to be as close to Kyra as possible, he walked back into her house. He inhaled her scent, touched her charms that lay on the table, and finally ended up back in her bedroom. Sitting on the end of the bed, he let himself fall back and his eyes slide shut. Not even the constant messages from his brothers disturbed him as he begged, “Just bring her back to me. I can hold out as long as it takes as long as I know she’ll come back.” He had no clue who he was asking, if it was the Universe, the Goddess, or Fate, but when he felt a whisper of a breeze, like a kiss on his forehead, he knew everything would work out. He smiled as he thought, Thanks Mom.
~~~~~~~
It had been ten days since she had gotten to the coven that she had grown up in, the coven her mother had governed, the coven she had never wanted to return to. Kyra knew it was her duty and that she was doing the right thing, but that did not make being away from Royce any easier. Every moment of every day, whether she was asleep or awake, she was thinking of him. She missed him more with each passing day and looked forward to their daily phone calls.
He told her everything that was happening at the lair and with everyone she had grown to love over her time spent there. Sometimes, he would be with some of them when he called and she would get to talk to them too. Her favorite was Sydney. The child
was just a doll and always said exactly what was on her mind, something Kyra could definitely relate to. The conversation she’d had with the almost six-year old just the night before had been running through her mind all day. “Hey Syd. How ya doing?”
“I’m okay.”
“Just okay? You sound kinda down,” Kyra asked, genuinely worried that the ever bubbly child seemed sad.
“Yeah…well…it’s just…can you keep a secret Kyra?” Sydney asked.
Curiosity peaked, Kyra answered, “Sure can. Remember I told you witches are the best secret keepers.”
Sydney giggled and Kyra knew she was starting to feel better already. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but I gotta go in the other room.” Kyra heard Sydney tell Royce she’d be right back and then waited.
Just a minute later Sydney said, “Okay. I’m back. Now you have to pinkie swear even though we can’t touch pinkies, that you won’t be a blabber.”
Kyra wanted to laugh, but knew from experience that Sydney was being serious and would be pissed if she laughed, so all she said was, “I pinkie swear.”
She imagined Sydney’s sweet little face considering her swear while listening to the silence and then finally the little girl spoke, “Okay, I know you won’t blab ‘cause you’re my best friend.”
Kyra’s heart swelled. Sydney was one of a kind and the best little girl she knew. It made her happy that the child trusted her. “Thanks Syd, I’m honored to be your best friend.”
“Cool!” she exclaimed and then grew very serious, “Kyra, are you ever coming home?”
Kyra could barely speak past the lump that immediately formed at the child’s question. Clearing her throat she answered, “Of course I’m coming back, Sweetheart. Why would you ask that? Is that your secret? You think I’m not coming back?”
