AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I find it humorous, because you aren’t far from the truth. We are gifts to you. Gifts from the priestess.”
“Hold up, hold up, hold up!” I put my hands out in front of me, trying to stop his words from wrecking reality as I knew it. “That makes no sense whatsoever. Why would she do something like that? She didn’t even know me! Not to mention, that was a long time ago! What if she got the wrong girl? And why were you guys okay with it?”
“Calm down, My Queen. We were not forced; this was an honor for us. Priestess Tsufnu had many abilities which no other Vazi possessed. She had visions and could travel through dreams. The glimpses she had into the future went far beyond her life span, and she discovered her people would nearly die out. A few would survive, but most did not make it through the changing times. That knowledge broke her heart. Tsufnu wanted her daughter, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren to experience the same joy of magic that she did.” Rez took a breath, giving me a moment to absorb the mini history lesson.
“Priestess Tsufnu began praying for a vision, hoping to see someone of her bloodline who could help revive magic. For many years, she walked through times and dreamscapes, finding no one. Until the day she found you. It was finding you that changed everything for her. Tsufnu had grown bitter and depressed, knowing her people would be forgotten and that the magic of the earth would slowly begin to die out. After, when she discovered you, her smile returned, and she seemed decades younger.”
Rez smiled, his gaze far away. “The priestess had lived a long life, and you became her reason to continue living. You were her long-lost grandchild, who carried her blood and her magic within you. She wanted you to grow into that power, but she realized it would be difficult, if not impossible, since there would be no one to guide you or to teach you the ways of the Vazi.”
Maybe it was my confrontation with my parents that had me overly sensitive when it came to family, but my heart ached over his story of a woman I’d never met, who’d obviously loved me. I used the hem of my shirt to dab at my eyes.
Zon moved to sit at the foot of my chair, pulling my feet into his lap. “What are you doing?” I asked, voice wobbling.
“Comforting you,” was Zon’s clipped response as he began to massage my feet.
Zon was a man of contradictions. His exterior appeared rough, the type of man who’d die for his woman, but was sensitive enough to pick up on her need for touch and comfort.
Rez remained silent for several minutes, watching Zon with a strange expression. Finally, with a soft smile on his lips, Rez continued, “Mostly, she wanted you to know how much she loved you.”
“Then why send me gifts? Why couldn’t Tsufnu have used her magic to pop in for a visit?” I wished I could meet her myself, and have her here to explain all this to me.
“Sadly, it does not work that way. The priestess couldn’t work a spell of that magnitude on herself, but she could perform the spells on others. So that is what she did.”
“But how did you two get involved in Tsufnu’s plan? Did you know what she intended to do?” I found myself unable to sit still, the emotions driving me to fidget. I needed to do something. Without realizing it, my fingers made their way into Zon’s long hair. His dark hair was still slightly tangled, and I gently worked the knots from the long strands.
Rez answered, his eyes twinkling, “Yes, we both knew what we were agreeing to. Tsufnu and I had been friends for many years, and she knew I’d been unable to find my mate. One night, she included me in one of her dream travels. It was something that took a massive amount of energy and magic, but she wanted me to see you. She was so proud to show me her beautiful grandchild who would walk the earth someday.”
My mouth dropped open. “You’d seen me before yesterday?”
“Yes. The moment I saw you, I knew you were my mate. It was only vague glimpses into your life, but I memorized every detail. The whole situation made no sense, and it should have been an impossibility. Fate matched mates so that they could live full lives together. Yet, we never would have met had it not been for the priestess’ meddling. Tsufnu was delighted at the discovery and went into full matchmaker mode.”
Rez chuckled at the memory. “She babbled on and on about the perfection of her plan. She used her magic to bind my soul to my bones. The spell worked so that when your magic was activated, I would be awakened and my body restored.”
“And you!” I squinted at Zon, who watched the interaction between Rez and me with quiet amusement. “You just went along with this crazy plan? Was I your mate too?” My hand trembled as I continued stroking his hair.
Zon caught my hand, bringing it to his lips. “No, you were not my fated mate. But listening to Rez speak of you, and I wanted to see this girl who captured his heart. I asked the priestess to take me on a dream walk. The moment I saw you, I knew I wanted you.”
“What about your fated mate? What if you missed out on a life with her?” I asked.
“I enjoy risk.” Zon shrugged, running his knuckles down the arch of my foot. “I stopped looking once I made my decision. I knew what I wanted.”
“Zon was not your fated mate in the same way as I was. He chose to be bonded to you through magic, not the call of his beast. It is still a powerful bond, but slightly different,” Rez added.
We sat in silence, my brain struggling to come to terms with the concept that these two men had committed themselves to me so long ago, and gave up so much just for a chance that we would find happiness together.
“What if you had been separated? I mean, there was a good possibility they could have only found one of you during the archaeological digs? Did they need to find your full skeletons for the magic to be able to activate?” I had zero idea how many of their bones had been in the museum’s storeroom.
Just thinking about it had my anxiety spiking. “That was a huge freaking risk to take! All on the off chance I would somehow run across you both and accidentally activate you!”
“We didn’t need our entire skeleton to be intact. That wasn’t how Tsufnu’s spell worked. If they only found a sliver of my bone, it would have been enough.” Rez tried to act as though it hadn’t been a huge risk, but I could read between the lines.
They’d taken a huge gamble for a chance at a life with me. And while it seemed crazy, I found myself longing to build a life with them. Which brought me to another question that had been weighing on my mind.
“Why do I feel like I’ve known you both all my life? Why does my body crave your touch? I know it might be hard to believe, but I’ve never invited a man who I’d just met over for sex, let alone two of them! I don’t understand my body’s reaction to you.” I’d started out strong, but my words were almost a whisper when I finished.
“The priestess embedded an ability into the magic inside her, and her children. This ability was passed from generation to generation. It allowed them to find their perfect mates. But as Tsufnu’s bloodline became diluted, the ability was lost. Your power is still latent, but even so, when the spell was activated, it triggered the magic, and it recognized us as your mates.”
“So she basically wrote a code in her DNA and then wrote a virus inside the code that would activate when certain keys were clicked.” It reminded me of my high school computer classes… on steroids.
“I don’t understand what any of that means. But, yes, that ability was written into the magic of your bloodline many thousands of years ago. Now, it has been activated, and that’s why you are able to recognize us as mates. Your magic also recognizes the magic of Tsufnu, your grandmother. In truth, she would be your many, many ‘greats’ grandmother, but that many ‘greats’ becomes confusing. While you still struggle with the idea of us being gifts, your magic does not. This is why your reactions to us differ from your reactions with other men.”
Collapsing back in the recliner, my mind bounced wildly between the past and the future. I whistled. “So basically, I have two mail-order husbands, er, mates?”
Both men chuckled. Rez’s smile lit up his face. “Yes. The delivery just took a while.”
