by Olivia Ash
She didn’t linger long in the park as she knew the guards would’ve been alerted by now to the noise and light. Sheathing the new sword in her scabbard, and carrying her other in her hand, she slunk back into the shadows and made her way back to her new home, with her new family.
ANDREAS
He watched from up above the tree tops as Sophia jumped back over the park fence, carrying her sword, and disappeared into the surrounding shadows just as three city guards came running from the other direction. They stopped near the fence, and whirled around, with their swords out, looking for the intruder. An intruder they would never find. Andreas smiled to himself as he floated away, making his way back to the Wickham estate.
Once Sophia had left the estate after telling them she was going back to see the oracles alone and had insisted that she be able to go alone, Andreas had instantly shifted into his wraith form to follow her. Edric had stepped in his way and he thought the commander was going to command him to stay, but instead he had told Andreas to keep out of sight. That Sophia wouldn’t be too happy if she knew they had gone against her wishes, however foolish Edric thought those wishes were.
He’d followed her through the city, always careful to stay high and hidden in the darkness. But he suspected after a few blocks into the market square, she knew he’d been following her. At one point, she had stopped, frowned and eyed the sky curiously. Then he saw a small twitch at her mouth, and she continued on.
When she reached the sacred park, Andreas remained outside. He didn’t want to intrude on something so personal and hallowed. He knew she had to face the oracles alone, just as they all had to do. During his eighteenth year ritual, two oracles had woken and told him that he would do something meaningful and significant. He’d always thought that had been serving in the wraith guard, to serve and protect the people of Nighthelm, but now he knew it was to serve and protect Sophia. She was more special than, he suspected, she even knew.
He flew over the tops of shops and taverns, hurrying to get back before she did. When he came around the corner and over another clumping of three-story buildings, he nearly ran right into Sophia, who was standing on the roof, as if waiting for him. Quickly, he sunk back into the night.
“I know you’re there, Andreas.” She shook her head. “I should’ve suspected you would follow me.”
He debated on whether or not to keep up the charade, but then he floated down to the rooftop and shifted back into his human form.
“Busted,” she said, quirking up her eyebrow.
He gave her a little bow. “You can’t blame a man for protecting what’s his.”
“I’m surprised Edric didn’t stop you,” she said.
“Whose idea do you think this was?” He smiled.
She rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her lips.
“You must know we would never allow anything bad to happen to you again,” he said.
She lifted a hand to his cheek. “I know.”
Andreas leaned down and covered her lips with his. It was a slow, gentle kiss that spoke of love and caring. He wished he could deepen it, make love to her right here on the rooftop, but he knew it wasn’t the right time or place.
“Did it go well?” he asked as he looked her over from head to toe.
“Yes.” She handed him the sword she carried, then unsheathed the one in her scabbard, and held it up for him to see. It was a huge sword, over half the size of Sophia herself. He’d seen pictures of it in the books he’d read about the royal family.
“The King’s Sword,” he said, his voice low in reverence.
She nodded. “I can’t believe the oracles gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“I’m supposed to help restore the heirs to the throne.” She swung the sword. Moonlight glinted off it like fairy flashes. She stopped, and brought the blade up. “Do you think Ezekiel can read these symbols?”
“I’m sure he can. He’s read enough books,” he said.
Sophia sheathed the sword, and he handed her other one back to her.
“You should get back before Edric marches through the streets to retrieve you.”
“He wouldn’t dare,” she said.
Andreas gave her a look. “On top of that, he and Zeke are conspiring to design a magical tracking device, so they’ll always know where you are.”
She laughed. “Okay, I’m going.” She walked across the roof to the edge to climb down, then looked back at him. “Race you home.”
Home. He liked the sound of that. He wasn’t sure that the four of them could comfortably live together, but he sure wanted to try.
“You’re on.” Making a dramatic spin, Andreas shifted back into his wraith and pushed off into the air.
Chapter Forty
Ezekiel
Ezekiel was outside the estate on the west side, casting a protection shield when Sophia finally returned home and went inside the house. Andreas, in wraith form, arrived a few minutes later, landed on the front yard and shifted back to human. He had a smile on his face as he looked up at the house, and Ezekiel assumed that the wraith had been caught in the act, which didn’t surprise Ezekiel. Sophia wasn’t stupid. She would’ve known that at least one of them would have followed her. She was too important to allow anything else to happen to her.
After she had left to see the oracles, and Andreas followed, he and Edric discussed the best ways to keep Sophia safe, and the rest of them for that matter, now that they were all fugitives. Hopefully, they had enough time to put measures in place before the whole city was after them. It would take a few days before the city guard missed their commander, the wraith squad from missing their best warrior, and the castle sorcerers and professors from missing their most knowledgeable pupil. That was unless Winston decided to do a preemptive strike on them and fabricate a bunch of lies in order to make them out to be traitors and murderers.
He’d shown Edric around the estate, pointing out all the security he had, and the places they could increase it.
“I can make protection wards over the house and the lot, so that if anyone but us and Howard, of course, breeches it, an alarm will sound. No will be able to get close without us knowing it.”
“Is there other ways out of here besides the front and back doors?” Edric asked.
“Oh, yes,” he said, as he unlocked a door under the staircase.
He gestured for Edric to go inside. He did, and Ezekiel followed. They went down another set of stairs into the dark cellar. Ezekiel casted a ball of light in his hand and they moved through the cellar to another door. He opened it and showed Edric that it was a tunnel that went under the house and led to another, small, stone cottage in a copse of trees near the castle.
“My father did a lot of work for the king. This was how he got to the castle unseen. And how the king came to him.”
Edric gave him a look. “You knew the king?”
“No. My father would never let me near the royal family. He said it was too dangerous.” Ezekiel rubbed at his chin. “Turned out he was right, and got killed for it.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Zeke.” Edric put a hand on Ezekiel’s shoulder. “I want you to know that.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m glad Sophia chose you,” Edric said as he dropped his hand.
“She chose us all.” Ezekiel gave him a funny look. “Besides that, I never thought you liked me much.”
“I didn’t.” Edric grinned. “But you’ve grown on me.”
Once they were back up on the main floor of the estate, Ezekiel showed Edric the room he wanted Sophia to stay in. It had been his parents’ room, and was the biggest, most lavishly decorated room in the house. After all she had been through, Ezekiel wanted her to feel safe and comforted. Honestly, he wanted to spoil her with luxurious gifts, but he knew Edric and Andreas would think he was trying to win her favor. It would’ve been the truth.
He lit the fire in the hearth, so the room would be warm when she returned. As he stoked it, he looke
d at Edric. “You should stay with her tonight.”
Edric frowned. “I’m pretty sure she’ll pick who she wants to warm her bed.”
“I know, but I’ll be busy placing protections on the house, and Andreas will be patrolling the neighborhood until morning. She needs to feel safe tonight. You’re the one who can do that for her.”
After a few moments, Edric nodded, and Ezekiel left him in the room to return to his workshop. He needed to prepare to set up the wards. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be with Sophia, he did, desperately but he knew she would need the strongest of them tonight to hold her, to support her.
She would need all them in the days to come.
SOPHIA
After a few hours of sleep, Sophia woke, blinking sleepily up at the high painted ceiling of the elegant bedroom Ezekiel had appointed to be her private sanctum. The heavy brocade gold drapes were pulled around the large bed to keep the light out, but she knew it was still full dark. She could feel it in her bones.
She yawned, rolled over and snuggled back into the crook of Edric’s arm, inhaling his woodsy scent. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked, as he pulled her even closer to his bare chest.
“Very.” She stretched out her legs, all the way to her toes. “This bed is extraordinary.” The mattress they were on was down filled. She’d never slept on anything but a straw stuffed, lumpy sack. This was like laying on fluffy white clouds.
Edric chuckled. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Zeke gave you the luxury suite. I know my room isn’t this nice.”
“As it should be,” she teased.
He pressed a finger to her chin and tilted her head up to his, so he could kiss her. “Yes, as it should be.”
After a thorough, toe-curling kiss, Edric rolled her over onto her back, and peppered more kisses to her face and down her neck. He slid his hands over her body. He caressed her breasts, then down to her belly, where one hand slid in between her legs. They’d already made love once, and she was a little sore, but she couldn’t deny that his touch sent a rush of pleasure over her entire body again. She couldn’t get enough of him.
She opened for him, and he stroked a hand over her most sensitive flesh. As he slipped fingers into her, she bowed her back, panting. He was gentle as he massaged her sex, not going too fast or too slow, just enough to send pleasing jolts through her body.
He licked and sucked on her nipples while he rubbed her pussy. It didn’t take too much before she was gasping and panting, her muscles clenching hard. After one, final, firm stroke of his fingers, she bucked hard and came. It was as if the world was a kaleidoscope of color and sound behind her eyes.
When she could function again, she opened her eyes to see Edric smiling down at her. He kissed her again, then collapsed onto his side with a contented sigh.
“I could lie in this bed forever,” he said. “Making love to you.”
She nodded. “Me too.”
Sophia stretched and sat up. Her muscles were going to be sore for the next few days from the battle, and from sex, but she’d face that fact later. Right now, she just wanted to be able to relax and recharge. They still had a long fight ahead of them. They would all need to be at their best for what was to come.
Edric tied to pull her back down. “You should sleep longer.”
“I know, and I will, but not right now.”
“Are you worried they’ll find us?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I trust Ezekiel’s cloaking spells.”
“Yeah, the sorcerer does know his magic.”
She rolled to the edge of the bed and stood. She grabbed the elegant silk robe from the peg on the wall that Ezekiel had gifted to her and slipped it on. The feel of it on her skin was magical, and she couldn’t help the smile on her face as she crossed the room to look out the big bedroom window. She spotted Ezekiel outside at the east corner of the grounds casting new wards over the entire estate.
Ezekiel’s mansion, now their temporary home, had over ten bedrooms, and he’d appointed each of them one, or tried to. Both Edric and Andreas had other ideas. Edric’s room was the corner room on the lower floor that had windows facing both north and west. He’d insisted on it, despite the fact that it had been one of the servant’s rooms and wasn’t as well furnished. Andreas had taken the room on the opposite side of the estate, so he could watch the areas that Edric couldn’t. Ezekiel’s room was on the main floor at the bottom of the curved staircase. It was more of a workshop really then a bedroom, with three walls of bookshelves that had made Sophia nearly weep as they reminded her so much of Grindel. She’d wanted to touch all of them at once.
She watched as he constructed some kind of spell that would not only protect them from outsiders, but would help contain any outbursts of magic she might have. She told him she felt more in control than she ever had in her life but he explained it was for just in case. He wanted to protect her, and she loved him for it. She couldn’t wait to be able to practice and hone her magic with him.
Edric joined her at the window just as Andreas floated past in his wraith form. He’d been patrolling the estate from above and from the shadows, watching for Winston and the Nameless Master. Eventually, they would have to face them. Sophia wanted her revenge for Grindel. Although the headmistress had wielded the knife that had gutted her teacher, both Winston and the Nameless Master were responsible.
After wrapping an arm around her, Edric pulled her close and kissed the top of her head again. She leaned into him, comforted, secure and full of joy. She never thought she could feel like this in her entire life. Happy. Loved. Vengeance would have to wait.
For now, though, for now she would revel in her happiness. She had a victory to celebrate, grateful to have found her men, her home, and to have begun the long journey to not only healing her soul, but mastering the well of magic she had inside. She would need it to fulfill her purpose: to return the lost heirs to the throne and heal not only just herself but the kingdom she had always dreamt of belonging to.
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About the Author
OLIVIA ASH
Olivia Ash spends her time dreaming up the perfect men to challenge, love, and protect her strong heroines (who actually don’t need protecting at all). Her stories are meant to take you on a journey into the world of the characters and make you want to stay there.
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