by Macy Blake
They grew closer, and Kavalan held out his hand to Sawyer. He stepped forward, and Eduard knew the moment he noticed their eyes. He didn’t falter, though, and Eduard’s pride in him crept up another notch. Sawyer plastered on a smile that no one who didn’t know him well would realize was fake. He placed his hand in Kavalan’s and turned his attention to the banshee queen.
“Queen Atarah, may I present the Chosen One, my fated mate. His human name is Sawyer.”
“Greetings, Chosen One.”
Sawyer bowed his head regally, in a move Eduard had seen Kavalan do countless times.
The queen nearly flinched. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Eduard to catch it. Kavalan had as well. He beamed in a smile as fake as Sawyer’s. “Queen Atarah wishes to apologize to you, my love.”
Sawyer didn’t even blink, but he tilted his head to the side. Waiting. Forcing her to make the first move. It was a dangerous game, but Eduard had a feeling it was working.
“Chosen One,” she choked out, “I’m told that my sisters have attacked you. We are forbidden from attacking humans, as you are well aware I’m sure.”
What Eduard was well aware of was that she hadn’t apologized. Sawyer straightened and turned to Kavalan with another of those expressions which weren’t his own.
“My prince,” Sawyer said sweetly, “I thought the queen wished to apologize. Did I misunderstand? Her sisters attacked my home and nearly killed my mage and my beloved pet. You led me to believe this was a grave offense.”
Andvari made a little choked sound, so low that it caught no one’s attention but Eduard’s. He shot a warning glare Andvari’s way before returning his attention to the battle of wills taking place in front of him.
Kavalan lifted Sawyer’s hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to his fingertips. “I thought that was the queen’s desire as well. Now I must also apologize to you, my love, for allowing this insult. Will you forgive me?”
Sawyer beamed and leaned into Kavalan’s side. “Of course. I just… I thought you said the fae supported me? That your mother was pleased we were mated. Do the others not share her opinion?”
“Chosen One,” Queen Atarah interrupted. She bowed low and placed her hand over her heart. “My most sincere apologies for the actions of my sisters. I will find out what happened and they will know my displeasure. I merely intended to restate the facts as they were given to me before issuing my apology. I did not intend any offense.”
Sawyer glanced her way again, and then looked back at Kavalan for guidance. It was the smartest move. They were in very unfamiliar territory. Kavalan now had a choice to make.
“It is true, my love. I’m sure the queen only wanted to make sure she listed all the offenses she intended to apologize for before actually apologizing. You understand, don’t you?”
Sawyer smiled her way once more. “That makes sense. I’m human and not quite familiar with all the ways of the fae. My mate is educating me so that I do not offend.”
The queen darted a glance to Kavalan and then back to Sawyer. “Our ways are different from humans. I do hope you forgive me for my… offense.” She nearly choked on the words, but she said them.
“Of course. But you will make sure to find out what provoked your banshees into attacking me, won’t you? I was so surprised when Kavalan told me that it was fae causing such grievous injury. He promised me that we were under the queen herself’s protection.”
“I will go personally to the human realm and retrieve my sisters,” Queen Atarah said. “And then I will visit Queen Orfhlaith to issue an apology directly to her and my prince.”
“That would be well advised,” Kavalan said softly. “I will be sure to attend my mother and explain the situation. She is very upset that we had to break protocol due to a banshee’s attack, and she will be even more so after learning of your unplanned, but much needed, visit to the human realm.”
The queen bowed once more, then turned and walked away without another word. Within seconds, she and her sisters had taken to the air, translucent white wings unfolding from their backs and carrying them away.
Sawyer released Kavalan’s hand and turned back toward the water. Ward and Henry were mere specks, but Eduard waved and he began moving back their way. Draco and Pearl moved closer as well, with Pearl taking up a position at Sawyer’s side. He placed his hand gently on her head before turning his full attention back to them.
“What next?”
“Next,” Kavalan said, “I get you settled here while I go visit my mother. It is imperative that I speak to her quickly and before the banshees return. You did very well. I am impressed.”
“Thank you. I’ll do anything to protect my mates, Kavalan.”
Kavalan didn’t seem to know what to do with Sawyer in his current state. He sent a look Eduard’s way, before turning and moving further down the sand.
“Eduard?”
“Yes, love?”
“Find a way to get me an update. It looks like we’re going to be here for a while.”
Sawyer
Sawyer stared out at the lake where Saeward remained floating with Henry on his chest. He had no clue how long they’d been out there, but Henry hadn’t stirred. His mates had given him some space, and he was grateful. Loch was the only one who hovered close, obviously still under orders from Kavalan.
“How long?” Sawyer asked.
Loch stepped up beside him. “The lake doesn’t come with a rule book. Sometimes she heals quickly, and sometimes it takes longer. We wait.”
There was a lot of movement and commotion behind them, but Sawyer couldn’t bring himself to care. He needed for Henry to open his eyes. He waded out into the water, going in as deep as his waist, and Ward floated closer. He touched both of his mates gently. “How is he?”
“He rests,” Ward said softly. “He is better, but still healing.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. This is… special. The water welcomes me. I don’t think it has seen one of my kind before.”
“Loch said she’s a she. If that matters.”
Ward smiled at him and nuzzled Henry’s hair for a moment. “I don’t think she minds either way. Go eat with the others. I think she’ll tell me when it’s time to get out.”
Sawyer chewed his lip for a moment and finally glanced behind them. A covering had appeared. He’d call it a tent, but it was made from flowers and leaves and… Sawyer turned back to Ward. “This place.”
“I know. Go be with the others. We are fine.”
With a sigh, Sawyer waded back to shore and stood dripping on the sand. There were a lot of tiny fairy creatures floating around, and again he wished he had Henry to tell him what they were. Every one of them seemed to have a job to do, and they’d managed to get an area set up on the sand with seating areas and a small fire. Sawyer found Kavalan standing beside the covering watching their progress so he went to join him.
“How is he?” Kavalan asked gently.
“Ward said he’s better, but still healing.”
“The clodagh will give him what he needs.”
“My prince, everything is as you requested.”
Sawyer’s attention turned to the small creature standing beside him. He thought it was the same one he’d seen earlier, but couldn’t be sure.
“Thank you, Puteri. I would like to introduce you to my mate.” Kavalan turned to Sawyer with a smile. “This is Puteri, my…” Kavalan paused, his head tipped to the side in thought. “I do not know the human equivalent. She has been my guardian and caregiver since I was a child.”
“Hello, Puteri. It’s lovely to meet you.”
The creature simply stared at him.
“She’s a bit shy, but she won’t be rude,” Kavalan said. The words seemed more for Puteri than an explanation for Sawyer.
Puteri scowled before turning her attention to Kavalan. “My prince, he is… human.”
“Yes, Puteri. I explained this to you.”
She sniffed.
&
nbsp; Kavalan knelt down in front of her. “Please show my mate the regard he deserves.”
She let out a long and dramatic sigh. “I can never deny you anything, my prince.”
“Yes, you can. Remember that time I wanted to bring the satyrs—”
Puteri gasped and covered Kavalan’s mouth with her hand. “We do not speak of those monsters and their…” she paused dramatically and glanced at Sawyer before turning back to Kavalan, “…members.” The word was spoken in a whisper that wasn’t quiet at all.
Kavalan laughed and stood once more. It was the first time Sawyer had ever seen him relaxed and not so… regal. He seemed to glow from within and much more comfortable on his home territory, even with the danger they faced.
“Puteri will stay with you while I go to my mother. She can get you anything you need; you simply have to ask.”
Sawyer had a feeling she couldn’t get him the things he really needed. “Thank you, Puteri.”
“The sprites are preparing a feast for you all. We have one last matter to attend to before I must go.”
Kavalan held out his hand and Sawyer took it. He led him down the shore away from the others. “Puteri has been with me since I was born, chosen for me by my mother to stand by my side for my lifetime. She… we both thought the Chosen One would be… something else. I hope you are not offended by her… reluctance.”
The fae world had definite hang-ups where offense was concerned. “I wasn’t offended. She isn’t the first and won’t be the last to be shocked to find out I’m human.”
“Thank you for your understanding. I wanted to tell you a little about the clodagh before I go. It is a sacred place to my people, one of our most sacred.”
“Thank you for bringing us here.”
Kavalan smiled, and they began walking once more, hand in hand, along the shore. “When I was a child, Puteri brought me here daily. She says it is because she wanted me to be very powerful. But I think she wanted me away from the intrigues of the court. Here I could run and play with the imps.”
“The imps?”
“The children of the lake. You’ll see them soon enough, I’m sure. My guards have warned them to behave but… well, they’re mischievous. They’ll mean you no harm, though. The imps are special. When a fae decides they no longer want to remain in their current form, they can come to the lake and ask to be reborn. All of our memories are taken, and we become an imp until the clodagh decides we are ready to return to an adult form and start life anew. She doesn’t bless all with this gift, however, and those she does bless are very special among us.”
“That’s… really cool. So they’re like reincarnated fae?”
Kavalan paused for a moment and seemed to be searching for the meaning of the word. “Yes. I believe this is as close to a human word there is. But our memories do not come with us. They are sealed away, and we are gifted with a total rebirth. Have I told you that fae do not die?”
“What?”
“Well, we do not die naturally. We can be killed. Hence my need for guards. It would please some of the other clans to reduce my mother’s power. She is powerful on her own, but having a guardian as a son… well, it helped her immensely. I tell you this only to reassure you, and to tell you that the children of the lake are especially powerful. None more so than the captain of my guard. Loch, attend.”
Sawyer shouldn’t have been surprised when Loch emerged from the shadows of the trees, always a steady presence by the prince’s side. “Wait…Loch is… an imp?”
Kavalan smiled. “No. He was an imp. Now he is sylph, and the most powerful of his kind. Loch, show him.”
Loch froze and turned to Kavalan. “My prince?”
“Show him.”
“Kavalan? What’s going on?” Sawyer asked.
The moment had grown incredibly tense, but Loch began sliding free the fastenings on the tunic he wore. He never took his gaze from Kavalan as he did it, and when the shirt slipped free of his shoulders and fell to the sand, he looked completely normal. Pale skin with a slightly blue hue, muscled chest and arms from his constant sword practice. Nothing seemed unusual at all and Sawyer couldn’t figure out why Kavalan had asked him to remove it. Sawyer frowned, but Kavalan squeezed his hand.
“Do I need to say it again?”
“No, my prince.”
Loch turned, slowly and obviously reluctant, and Sawyer couldn’t hold back his gasp of horror. Loch’s back was a muddled mass of scars stretching down his right shoulder to his waist. They covered half of his back, and Sawyer couldn’t imagine what could have done so much damage to the fae, especially one who had access to the healing lake.
“When I was a child and Puteri brought me here, one day she heard whimpers of pain. An imp had ventured too far from the shore and had been brutally attacked. Puteri brought him to the waters and nursed him back to health. He hasn’t left my side since that day. He is the strongest of the fae, Sawyer. Even as a child, his magic protected him. He has grown stronger since then, sharpened his skills.”
It had taken Sawyer a moment to digest what Kavalan was trying to tell him, but he suddenly realized that he hadn’t had Loch take off his shirt to embarrass him or shock Sawyer. Kavalan was proud of Loch and seemed to be honored to have him as his guard. The marks that seemed so horrifying were marks of valor. Of survival.
Sawyer had no idea what to say.
“I have to leave you here at the clodagh, my mate, but I will not leave you unprotected. Loch will not leave your side while I am gone. You will be safe here in my realm.”
“My prince—”
“You will keep my mate safe, Loch. Whatever it takes. Do I need to repeat my order?”
“No, my prince. I will keep your mate safe.”
“I’ll return as soon as I’m able. Listen to Loch and stay by the waters. Do not venture away from the shore. As you can see, the woods are a dangerous place.” He gestured once more to Loch and Sawyer couldn’t get the image of his scars out of his mind.
“I promise,” Sawyer said.
Kavalan made a gesture and a few of his guards flew closer. With one final squeeze of his hand, Kavalan’s wings appeared and he began to lift from the ground. “I’ll be back.”
Sawyer managed to hold back his laugh until Kavalan had turned and begun flying away. He turned back toward the water and tried to muffle his snickers with his hand.
“You laugh at my prince?” Loch’s frown was kinda terrifying, but Sawyer had so much pent up tension that he couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“He just… there’s this movie…I’ll be back.” Sawyer dropped to his knees, suddenly overtaken with the image of Arnold Schwarzenegger with fairy wings, and he just couldn’t.
“Humans are so very strange.”
Loch’s confused frown wasn’t helping. Sawyer doubled over and laughed until it suddenly switched, and he tried to choke back a sob. His lungs tightened, and he found himself struggling to breathe. Loch knelt beside him and gripped the back of his neck. He didn’t speak, but his hand there helped Sawyer remember that he was safe. He was safe. They would all be safe. All they had to do was stay at the clodagh. He could do that. Easy enough. And then Kavalan would be back, and everything would be fine. Everyone at home would be okay, and Viv would fuss at him and make him some soup, and Cecil would make him drink a thousand smoothies, and Justine would fuss over him, and Mikey would be there with his mates, and Nick would come and wouldn’t be mad or scared or upset, and they’d find the other guardians, and whoever was after him…
Loch shook his neck, shocking him out of his stupor. “Get control of yourself. Your mates approach.”
He didn’t think they’d be overly surprised that he’d lost it, but he fought to regain control anyway. Loch helped him stand then stood staring at him, keeping Sawyer’s back to the others until he was sure he was in control once more. “I get it now,” Sawyer said softly.
Loch scowled down at him. “What?”
“Why he values you so much. It’
s ‘cause you’re strong, sure. But you’ve got his back, even when it comes to something like this.”
“You doubted that?”
Sawyer didn’t have time to explain because his mates were there.
“Saeward is bringing Henry in,” Draco said. “I know you want to be there.”
He did. Ward had Henry cradled in his arms, and they were emerging from the lake while Pearl pranced along the edge of the water, waiting to get close enough to touch them. Sawyer understood the feeling all too well. He turned to Loch before moving, though. “What does he need now?”
“He rests. The lake will call him back when it is time.”
“The brownie wants us to come eat, anyway,” Andvari said. “She is very cranky.”
“Oh, that’s what she is,” Sawyer said. “Puteri is a brownie. Right?”
Loch nodded. “What else could she be?”
He was pretty much looking at Sawyer like he was an idiot. Again.
Sawyer couldn’t help but grin. “Let’s go check on Henry and get some food. I didn’t get breakfast this morning and I’m starving.”
“I could eat,” Draco said and his stomach suddenly growled so loudly it made them all stop and stare. “What? I’m a growing boy.”
Sawyer snickered again and leaned into Draco’s side. Draco wrapped an arm over his shoulders, and they began to walk together back toward the covering. He really needed to think of another word for it, because it was truly beautiful. If the trees weren’t purple and pink, and he wasn’t surrounded by elves, sprites, brownies, and apparently a sylph— and he didn’t even know what that was so he really needed Henry to wake up so he could tell him— he’d think they were in some tropical paradise somewhere. There’d be the remains of an old volcano in the distance, and as a result the sand would be spectacular. Not that Sawyer had ever actually seen volcano sand. But he watched TV and volcano beaches looked amazing. Maybe that’s what he should call this place. Their own personal Maui.