The longer Alex caresses her mark, the more flushed Cecily gets, and I spot her hard nipples through her dress. She shifts her weight and crosses her legs. “Whelp, sounds like extraction is a no-go. What’s our plan going to be then? Wait for him to stage some kind of attack of his own? There has to be something we can do,” Derrick reiterates.
Cecily’s father chimes in, “We’ve discussed many options, including ideas for how to draw him out. There’s just too many variables right now to be able to plot out a specific plan of action. We know the moment Silas remembers everything from his past, and most specifically Cecily, he’ll become volatile and unpredictable. While it’s not the most desirable answer, the best thing we could do right now is just wait and see what he does. We’ve already done the best thing we could by planting our spies to make sure we know every decision he makes.” Marcus and William both nod their head in agreement.
“Well, since the Silas issue is a wait-and-see situation, maybe we should move the discussion to what consequences have come to light from Cecily’s absence?” the former Queen suggests. She sees there’s no point in continuing the conversation when the best decision was already made, and chose a new topic more worth our current time.
The expression on Cecily’s face says she’s keeping a mental note of every word being said, but her lip between her teeth also suggests she’s distracted. She already grilled us on what we noticed as possible fallout from her being gone, but truth be told, with our memories wiped this whole time, we didn’t observe as much as her parents would have.
Honestly, I’m shocked she would be ok with a wait-and-see situation regarding Silas. Although, she’s a reasonable person and the facts were laid out for her to see it’s the best decision. Just as I’m about to check the bond to see if she’s really as calm as she looks, she finally speaks up, “I have a short list of things I’ve put together just from what the guys have said and overhearing some shifters’ conversations while being here. I would love to hear what you’ve observed though.” She leans forward in her chair in anticipation of what her mom will say.
“There have been many side effects and it’s hard to tell what will be reversed by memories coming back and what would be more permanent. I believe the shifters stuck in their animal forms is more of a permanent issue without our help to connect them with their magic again. Although, it seems like they’re all naturally migrating to the castle so we can help them on a case-by-case basis.” Rebecca leans back in her chair, crosses her legs, and folds her hands in her lap.
“Changes initially came to light when some of our people started detecting a disturbance in their magic. It seemed like their magic began to split into two roles. One group had all of the characteristics of a shifter, the other had the magical side of things. The communities where this happened quickly became segregated with a wave of unnatural anger simmering between each side. Families began to split apart, and eventually, the magical individuals ended up leaving to form communities of their own.” As her mother explains, Cecily loses the flush on her cheeks and slowly leans forward to give more and more attention to what she’s saying.
Her mom takes another sip of her tea as Joseph places a hand on her leg. “Those who left were the first to begin losing their memories of our history. Over time, they lost so much they were left with only the most basic of magical skills. You could almost say they were left to use magic solely on instincts or guidance from the magic itself. The more intricate things they remember how to do comes from grimoires passed on through the generations. Somehow, even though they kept their magic, they lost the healing portion. This ended up with them having a more human-like lifespan.”
Joseph picks up where his wife left off. “These individuals are what the humans started to call witches, and where all of the modern-day ideology is based. It took a lot longer for their shifter counterparts to lose memories of our history. As far as we can tell, there isn’t any rhyme or reason as to which way an individual’s magic decided to take.”
Rebecca nods her head to everything her husband is sharing, and when he pauses, she takes over where he left off. It’s like they’ve been together for so long they’ve fallen into a pattern of taking turns when sharing a story. One day, I hope we’re all so close with Cecily that we can seamlessly switch back and forth when sharing information like her parents do. “Eventually everyone forgot we were all one people. The witches know about shifters and vice versa, and there’s still some animosity between the two groups of people, but after some time, they were able to come back together to interact peacefully.
“The next side effect we noticed was a decline in birthrates in the shifters. With a more human-like existence, the witches didn’t seem to be as affected. The shifters, on the other hand, experienced a severe decline. At first, it was just in the ability to conceive the child, but now, it’s advanced to the point where it’s almost impossible for a mother to carry the child to full term. It’s almost become a miracle every time a child is born.” Rebecca is close to tears, and Cecily covers her mouth with a hand; concern etched in her features.
“Some time after the birth rates took a nosedive, the appearance of mate marks fizzled out as well. It seems logical at least that the two would go hand in hand. One half of a mate pairing not being born, or one is a witch and the other a shifter. There are so many variables playing into the fact of why marks stopped showing up, but it could also affect the birth rates with fewer couples coming together.” Joseph’s tone has become more somber and with his pause, we all take a moment to consider all the implications.
With a deep steadying breath, Rebecca picks it up, “The next biggest consequence came along with shifters becoming stuck in their animal form, and the adverse where some lost the ability to switch to their animal form. All of these side effects could be caused by a depletion of magic reserves with an inability to restore the magic seeing as the anchor was adrift. This is all a theory though, there’s no way for us to know for sure. The only people who weren’t affected by any of the larger side effects are those who remembered all along who Cecily is. When magic stores became low, they were able to recall the fairy pools to restore it, etc.”
Cecily pinches her bottom lip between two fingers, and Alex wraps an arm around her shoulders offering comfort. She leans into his hold and gives a small smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. I wish I knew what to say at this moment to remove some of her stress. Or better yet, an answer to solve it all for my Sunshine. She lights up my world and makes everything seem bright once more. I just wish I could do the same thing for her.
She seems to come to a conclusion and lets out a sigh. “It’s good to know what we’re up against. Hopefully, a good portion will be fixed once everyone gets their memories back. Anything that isn’t solved at that point we can figure out when the time comes. There’s no sense in coming up with theories and what-ifs when there’s no way to test them or even know if they’re needed. It’s only going to cause us more stress than we need right now.” She slumps back in her seat.
“Well said, dear. You can’t solve problems without knowing all the factors. Once again we have an issue we can’t act upon and are left with a wait and see. I would like to suggest we set up some time for training every day. As bonded mates, you can work together to perform magic with more strength. If things come down to a battlefield, you don’t want to be caught off guard on how your magic will react. Plus, Cecily, you talked about this Queen’s Thistle being attached to you. We should work on you finding a way to control it.” Rebecca pats her daughter’s leg.
This time, the smile Cecily offers up is genuine. “That sounds like a great plan, mom.”
Joseph rubs his hands together and says, “So how’s all the decorating and unpacking going? From what I’ve seen so far, the castle is really coming together and is looking like a home once again.”
Cecily’s mom jumps into describing everything that got done yesterday. While she’s busy answering the question, Alex resumes drawing his circles on Cecily’s mark. With the conversation back on a non-stressful topic, she relaxes into his hold and gives him a heated gaze. Her flush is back and her legs uncross and cross again in the other direction. She bites her lip and we’re both startled when we hear, “Cecily, hello. Are you listening?” Her father’s amused chuckle comes out when his words startle her.
My mate clears her voice and says, “Yeah, I am. Sorry. What were you asking?”
Her mom joins in on the laughing. “It seems we’ve lost them to the moon bond. Our sweet girl has finally completed all of her bonds and is swept away with her mates. I’ve looked forward to seeing her so in love for such a long time. You know it didn’t occur to me until now just how fitting her name is.”
My brothers and I all exchange puzzled glances and Cecily’s eyes go wide with understanding. “What do you mean?” I ask to get clarification.
Her mother immediately explains what she means. “When I was carrying Cecily, I took a lot of time for self-reflection and meditation. It was during one of these sessions when the Fates told me what her name would be. When I researched the meaning of it, I was confused. I thought for sure they’d given me a name describing what kind of ruler she would be, or a personality trait. But it turns out one definition of her name means sixth. Seeing as how she has five mates, it turns out Cecily truly is the sixth. I love how the Fates prove to us they knew all along what was going to happen. We should all take this to heart that everything will turn out to be right in the end with this whole mess involving Silas.”
Cecily folds her arms across her chest and mumbles, “It would be nice if they could share some of their knowledge every once in a while instead of requiring blind faith.”
Her mother gets that maternal gleam in her eye and gives her a placating pat. “Sometimes the journey is more important than knowing the destination. Sure, you could have been spared some pain if you knew what was going to happen, but what kind of person would you be if you didn’t have the experiences you’ve had since then?”
The intense soul connection I’ve shared with Cecily for as long as I can remember flairs up. I almost believe the connection we share is just as powerful as the mate bond. At this moment, our connection is sending me some of the soul-crushing void opening up within Cecily. She’s come a long way with healing from what she’s been through, but that doesn’t mean it all just disappears for good. One minute you can be fine with talking about past hurts and explaining what you’ve been through, and the next a wrong phrasing tears open the healing wound.
My Sunshine is doing her best to hold things together, not wanting to allow her parents to see her fall apart. Her control is slipping, though. I quickly slide my chair back, the legs sliding against the floor with a screech. Not wasting a second, I walk around the table to stand behind Cecily. “You mentioned a moon bond? Is that similar to humans with their honeymoon phase?” I ask Rebecca.
She gives a knowing smile and says, “Yes, that’s pretty much it. New mates find it hard to not focus all their attention on each other.”
“Ah, perfect! So I’m sure you’ll forgive me for this,” I spout, before scooping Cecily into my arms and running from the room. She lets out a startled squeak, not having expected it. Her arms flail then instinctively wrap around my neck as her head burrows in. She smiles against my skin before placing a soft kiss on my pulse point.
Her voice is choked up when she says, “Thank you, handsome. You always know what I need.” The relieved sigh she expels tickles my neck and I hold her closer.
