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The minute the wall of fire drops, the Orcs come charging forward. I take several steps forward and fling my arms in a wave toward them. The mass of black and shadows rip up through the ground. Thankfully, it’s dusk and I’m able to utilize the growing darkness to my advantage. Pestilence spreads across the land. Everything my shadows touch dies and turns to ash, falling to nothing. Just as the wall of shadows hit them, the first of the Orcs fall. Several others call retreat. But before they can get away, the shadows encapsulate them, reducing them to ash and memory. Once I feel my onslaught is complete and no longer needed, I contain my shadows and lower the veil. This allows Flint and his kingdom to see exactly what I’m capable of.
I smile back up at him since he and his sons and my mates are up on the ramparts watching. I bow my head gently to them and head back. I’m tired. Not only have I run and fought twice now, I’ve definitely spent more energy than what I’m used to doing. The gates open wide, and Sebastian runs out. It’s the last thing I remember seeing.
I’m not sure how long I slept for, but what I know is when I awaken, the bed is probably one of the softest beds I’ve ever slept in. All things considered, I didn’t really have a room of my own after I turned thirteen. I stayed in the graveyard most times as my wolf, trying to avoid the uncomfortable feeling in my parents’ castle. But this bed is soft, and it’s like I would picture sleeping on a cloud. I can smell my mates close by and the crisp, clean scent of the linen. As I open my eyes slowly, I see Kaedyn’s wolf lying beside me. I roll back slightly and see Hollis’s wolf, and right up against my legs is Sebastian’s. My mates slept with me as their wolves to provide the extra warmth that I needed, the easiest way they knew how. I am really lucky when it comes to the mates that I’ve gotten. Each one seems to be more thoughtful than the next. Further cementing my decision to not settle for a compatible mate.
My wolf is on edge. She knows that at least one male in the castle is ours. She can smell him, and she wants to go find him. Unfortunately, every time I pick my head up too fast; I become lightheaded and dizzy again. I’m more than likely malnourished from the amount I’ve used my gifts on the route here. If only I had been able to trust King Mateo and his intentions. Shaking my head, I roll over and my thread my fingers through Hollis’s fur. “Do me a favor. Can you go get me something cold and sweet to drink?”
He leans over and licks my face before moving himself off the bed. The minute he moves from behind me, Sebastian moves and takes his place. I’m surrounded by white and light gray fur and warmth. I’m completely comfortable. I slowly doze back off to sleep, waiting for Hollis to return. My dreams are full of visions of the war that I’m predicting ahead of me. Fire, water, earth, air, all of it in a battle against this unseen force. I know somebody’s pulling the strings when it comes to dealing with the Fae. The question is who is it, and why are they doing it? I’m having my suspicions that I know one of the kings is up to it. If my father was still breathing, I would definitely blame it on him. But at this moment, I only have two actual suspects. The first owns the house I’m currently visiting and the other I just left. But why would they kill the one person who can give their child the ruling seat in the Shadow Court?
Then again, their son can go after my mother since she’s still alive. That male can take her by force, thus taking the crown by force. The whole thought of it just makes me shiver. Hollis’s hand envelopes my shoulder and gently shakes me awake. He helps me to sit up and offers me the juice he brought me. I sip at it slowly and feel it as it goes down my parched throat. I don’t know what type of juice this is. But for the moment, it seems to be my favorite. Whatever it is, it’s bringing me the nourishment that I need at this moment. Hollis looks concerned and I’m not shocked. I fell to the ground in front of their eyes, completely depleted after wiping out the Orcs.
Poor Sebastian got to see my power in its most horrible form. Many lives were extinguished just by the wave of my hand. I sigh softly and then run my fingers through my mates’ fur after handing back the empty glass to Hollis. “What time is it?”
Hollis looks at the clock behind him and smiles. “It’s late, but I have a cart outside the door full of food for us. If you feel up to eating.” I ponder it for a few moments, and it would be best if I eat something now.
“Come on, boys, let’s try to eat something before bed.” Sebastian and Kaedyn almost instantly shift back to their human forms, not caring about their state of undress.
Kaedyn and Sebastian help me to the table in the corner of our suite. Hollis goes back to the door and brings in the service cart with all the food on it. He dishes out everything, filling my plate up with a little of everything. Thankfully, he knows my taste and gives me most of the raw, delectable meat. Some of it is slightly cooked, just enough for flavor. The rest is still bleeding, as if fresh off the animal. There are some cooked steaks also a bunch of sides. But I don’t bother with them right away. I dig into my portion, just enjoying the sheer full-bodied flavor. It’s elk and antelope on our plates and each thing is more delicious than the next. There are little balls of cheese that Hollis drops on my plate, telling me I need the dairy.
Rolling my eyes, I pop these little bursts of flavor into my mouth. I realized the center of the cheese balls is a different type of cheese. White creamy cheese on the outside and something similar to cheddar on the inside. The alternating flavors between sweet and sharp is definitely a wonderful combination. Stuffed jalapeños are also on the tray, and he offers me several of them. The poppers are perfect. I’m not a big fan of too many vegetables, but this definitely does the trick for the moment. There’s the batter dipped french fries. Oh, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. I clear my plate, then wait to see what’s for dessert. He brings out red velvet cake with a cheesecake center. I think I’ve died and gone to Heaven.
They made two of my favorite things into one. I cut into the first piece of my cake, taking a big bite of it and moan with pleasure. The decadent flavors bursting on my tongue are probably the best I have ever tasted. The guys almost dropped their forks watching me as I eat. I guess I shouldn’t be so jovial when it comes to enjoying my meals. I smile shyly before returning to my dessert. Each morsel is more delectable than the one before. Every single bite bursting with flavor.
A soft yawn escapes my lips just as I put my fork down. I have a happy, full tummy and going to sleep seems like a great idea right now. Sebastian scoops me up in his arms and walks me across the room, where he passes me off to Kaedyn. Between Kaedyn and Hollis, they strip me down to just my underwear and slide me into the bed. This king-size bed is big enough for the four of us. And it seems like that Kaedyn and Sebastian don’t mind sleeping together. I wonder if something is going on that hasn’t happened before me. I smile softly at the two of them as Hollis rolls the tray out of the room. He returns and strips down to his boxers and climbs in behind me. His large strong-arms band around me, pulling me flush to his chest. Sebastian reaches out to rest an arm on my hip. I say goodnight to my loves and drift off to a dreamless sleep.
Chapter38
Belladonna
Morning comes far too earlyfor my liking after yesterday’s events. Unfortunately for me. I’m hundreds of miles away from home, and this time without my luggage. For some unforeseen reason, they attacked us on the road. And now most of the things I would bring with me are gone. Possibly lost. But I will never know until Flint’s men return from their journey to see exactly what may or may not still be missing. Striding to the bathroom, I go about my morning constitutional like I always do. Brush my teeth, take my shower, try to get my hair to not be as unruly as it tends to be. I cheat using the shadows to dry my hair because I can. Emerging from the bathroom, I stride over to the closet even though I know nothing I would normally wear would be in there. I’m curious to see what they left for me.
Within the closet, I find several gowns as well as different shirts and slacks. All in arrangement of different sizes, shapes and colors. For every outfit, there’s at least three size choices, the same with every dress. I know Flint was trying to figure out exactly what size I would be and to be as gentlemanly as possible. He gave me, I guess, a small, medium and large choice. Sadly for him though, the size that he picked as the largest is actually my actual size. I’m not a six, definitely not a seven and certain cuts. The eight that I normally wear sometimes becomes a ten. There’s no shame in my game and I’m not upset that I’m not a petite little like the girls my brother had dated before. I’m not a six like Ari is, and I’ll never be that size. My hips and my shoulders are too wide set to fit into petite clothing. I’d rather be built for power than to be built fragile and breakable.
As much as I love my friend, I worry about her slight frame. She seems so fragile. I hate the idea of being fragile. I pick the one gown that’s mostly made of lace and gossamer. It’s pitch black with what looks like dark blue gossamer underneath. It gives a bit of a color variation, but not much. It’s still black, like my hair, and just as foreboding as my power can be. I smile to myself as I think about the looks that my cream-colored skin against this dark fabric and the darkness of my hair will invoke. From what my father taught me, Flint has three sons. There was a fourth, but he passed on early in his youth. Hayden is his eldest. Egon is his middle child and for the life of me, I can’t remember the youngest son’s name.
The one that piques my interest is the middle child. He has a power called cremate. Much like my pestilence, his victims turn to ash. The thought of the two of us having similar powers is exciting and sets my blood to boil. Not romantically, at least not yet. But for now, it’s more of a curiosity. It’s intriguing to meet somebody whose powers rival my own in their destructive magnitude. My other mates are strong in their own gifts, but not as destructive as I can be. It’s interesting how and why we get paired with who we do. Speaking of my mates, I watch them as they slowly rouse from sleep. Noting that I am fully dressed, they run around, dodging in and out of the closet together. Picking out outfits to wear to breakfast. I’m not sure how today is going to go. But the one thing that I know is it will be interesting regardless of what happens. Once the three of them finally get their acts together, we head down the hallway. Flint himself meets us halfway to the banister.
“Follow me. I’ll take everybody to the kitchen myself.”
Tilting my head to the side, “The kitchen? Why there?” He folds his hand in front of himself and then bows his head lightly.
“I don’t know what you prefer to eat. I would like for you to see what we offer here and pick out what you desire for breakfast. I wouldn’t want something put on the plate that wouldn’t please you.” His sudden change of heart and desire to make me happy is concerning. Concerning in the sense that I know that he’s trying to score points because if I walk away from the Fire Kingdom without a mate of royal blood, it’ll really look bad for him and the Water Kingdom that I turned them down.
I’m hoping that Flint doesn’t pull the same nonsense that Mateo did. I hope the scent that was in the box is actually one of his son’s and not some commoner’s scent. Part of me feels bad for choosing Flint’s Kingdom last after all the nonsense that Mateo had put me through. And then on the ride here, almost getting ourselves killed. More than likely because Mateo got jealous and sold our traveling plans to the highest bidder.
I growl softly to myself, and Flint raises an eyebrow at me, rolling my eyes. I take the time and explain to him what’s rolling through my mind at this point. I can see the fire blazing in his eyes, as some flames itself flickers through his auburn hair. His own growl escapes his lips as he flexes his hand, opening and closing them rhythmically, I’m guessing as he tries to work through his own anger over the situation. He draws in a calming breath and then stops and forces himself to smile.
“My team has arrived and grabbed the bags that were in the car. Nothing was touched in the trunk, but unfortunately, your driver and security detail were all found slaughtered with arrows clearly fired by the Fae. Their chests and skulls impaled one guy had an arrow through both eye sockets buried to the back of his skull.” Flint gives a gory detailed recollection of the scene, and I’m merely nodding along, listening intently. Not much can faze me at this point after all the bloodshed and everything else that’s happened in the last month and a half, almost two months.
I pause in shock. In my head, it only feels like it’s been a month to two months. But I realize today’s date is only four days away from my birthday, and the start of summer. I look back at my other mates in shock and shake my head slightly. “We’ve been at this far longer than I thought.”
Hollis moves forward and grips both my hands lightly. “What do you mean?”
I can’t help but laugh and then look over at Kaedyn, then Sebastian.
“Well, to be honest.” As I grip Sebastian’s freehand. “My birthday is in four days. We’ve been on the road journeying, getting to know each other for just short of five months. I honestly didn’t believe it would take this long to get through and do everything. Wonder if my mother is still holding the annual celebration for mine and my brother’s birthday?”
I ponder this for several moments and then wonder if my mother is okay. She was in a dreadful state the last time I saw her. But then again, parts of me feel betrayed by her. Why didn’t she protect me? Why didn’t she fight for me to be in a safer place than I was? Part of me is angry with her. But the other part of me can only hope that she’s okay and that all the damage that my father is done hasn’t ruined her for life.
