Unlike with Draga, I hear Kendric just fine from his spot in the back, and also see from the rearview mirror that Arius and Daruk are barely holding in their laughter. In spite of his yelling, Draga turns in her seat to stare at him with a perfectly groomed eyebrow lifted.
“First off, even if I was talking about us getting our brows waxed, it wouldn’t concern you or your chauvinist opinion. We get them done for us. Your opinion is moot. But, since you insist on interjecting like you’re actually a part of our conversation, then you should know a brazilian wax isn’t for your eyebrows. It’s for a much, much lower place, one that only those Lorelei chooses to see, will. So you shouldn’t worry about whether you’ll like it or not, because only a lucky man will get to see it.”
The guys go dead silent after Draga says this, and I can practically feel their energy humming, growing, as they realize what it is Draga means. Face flushing, I turn to look out the window, catching sight of how tense Arius and Daruk now look from the front seat, but unwilling to turn to see Kendric’s reaction.
Moving forward, I can feel Kendric lean between mine and Draga’s seat, raising the hair along my arms as he speaks in a low, deadly voice. The words so quiet that I almost miss them.
“Nobody, should be seeing the princess like that, unless it’s her mate. If anyone tries, they’ll have to deal with me,” he says, and I feel his warm breath blow across the skin of my neck.
“And who says you’ll get a say? It’s her body, she can show it and share it with whoever she wants. Future queen or not, if she wants to let her freak flag fly, then I say go for it! Sow those wild oats and have some fun. She’s young, and should taste the fruit before taking it home. I’m just saying, she’s beautiful, and with a body like that, she’s going to have suitors lining up at her door. Mate, or not.”
I hold my breath as no one says a word, and finally turn to look at Draga, but instead come face to face with a livid Kendric. Jaw clenched, and eyes hot, I swear I can see actual flames in them, but if he is bothered by my staring, he doesn’t say anything. No, he just continues to gaze at me with such a strong look, that I start to squirm beneath his stare.
“For as crass as you are, sister, you’re right too. What Lorelei chooses to do, or not to do, is ultimately her decision. But, you’re wrong as well. As future queen, it will matter who she spends her time with, as there will usually be some political agenda involved. Encouraging her to break protocol or tradition isn’t the best advice you could give her. Don’t forget, the Aviary Kingdom has different customs than our own. They only mate with one person, and for life. Not like how we were raised, where the number is not important, only pleasure and happiness. You can’t just assume the princess would be interested, or even comfortable with the same things.”
Curiosity piqued enough to get past my mortification, I break away from Kendric’s gaze and turn back toward the front of the van, the trees rushing past us in a blur.
“Where are you both from? I know a little bit about both Arius and Kendric, but nothing of the two of you,” I say, and I watch as the twins share a weighted look, before Draga gives a tight smile and turns to watch out the window.
Voice strong and loud, it’s Daruk who answers my question. “We’re from the Frost Kingdom.”
Kendric’s scoff interrupts Daruk, so I turn back to him with my eyes narrowed, hoping my annoyance shows on my face. Taking my hint, he slowly moves back and returns to his seat with his arms crossed.
“As I was saying, we are from the Frost Kingdom, and are the second and third oldest. We have an older brother, Drakson. I have no doubt you’ll meet him soon,” Daruk finishes, and I let that sink in.
Are they royalty too? They don’t act like it, but then again, I’m not even sure what ‘acting’ like it means.
“Don’t fool yourself, Daruk. She’ll meet Drakson. The pompous ass is probably there already, waiting for her to arrive. You know that he plans—”
“Anyway, after we arrive, you’ll get the opportunity to meet a lot of new people. I’m not saying this to scare you, but I want you to be prepared. Your return has been something that’s been anticipated for many years, and you’ll find that you’ve become almost an urban legend of sorts. The beautiful princess that was swept away, taken by a monster, but fought to survive. The people, your people, tell of your story even to this day, and grieve their lost princess.”
It’s a physical effort not to shrink away from the weight of responsibility, and the idea that, though I remember little of my home, a whole kingdom awaits my return. Waits for me to one day rule them.
I’m not sure if it’s my silence or the look on my face that gives away how I’m feeling, but Arius clears his throat, gaining all of our attention. “Don’t worry, Lorelei. You’ve got us here to help. You won’t be facing it alone, and once you are back with your family, you’ll have plenty of people there to teach you. No one expects you to just show up and take over things. Not while your aunt is still able to rule. You’ve got time.”
His words help to calm my panic slightly, but I can’t shake the feeling of dread I feel at returning. Not that I’m not looking forward to being reunited with my parents, but of being a disappointment. Despite what they say, I know that I’m likely not what they are expecting. And how could I be after being raised in a circus? Still, all I can think is, what happens when they figure that out?
“We’re here,” Arius says, pulling me away from where I’ve zoned out watching the trees blur by, and a frown tugs at my lips as I look around.
Daruk has parked the van in the parking lot of an abandoned feed store, and with the way it’s tilting to the side, I’m hesitant to go anywhere near it.
When everyone files out of the van, I linger behind, doubt and confusion keeping me glued to my seat. We’re supposed to be going to a castle, and instead, they want me to go inside a place that clearly needs a condemned sign.
“What’s wrong, Princess? Scared of a few spiders?” Kendric asks, sticking his head in my open door as the others make their way to the store, but I don’t answer him, nerves stealing my voice.
When he realizes that I’m not in the joking mood, sweat beading across my forehead and heart racing, he surprises me by climbing back into the van and kneeling before me. The action leaving his head level with mine.
“I know that it looks bad, but it’s a lot better inside. It’s purposefully made to turn the curious away. And there is a ward on the place that makes you feel wary. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
Searching his face, I don’t find any deception, and knowing that it’s not me being a coward, but just magic causing me to feel afraid, I nod that I’m okay.
Smirking, Kendric slides back out of the van and waits while I climb out after him, closing the door behind me.
There isn’t much around, but if this is the entrance to a secret passage, it feels weird to leave the van out where anyone can see it.
“Um, shouldn’t we hide the van? Or is there magic for that too?” I ask seriously, but Kendric laughs at the question, the gentleness he showed in the van gone.
“No, Princess, the van isn’t going to magically disappear. A guard will be along shortly to take it away. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Shrugging, I decide it’s not my problem and move to catch up with the others. I end up walking between Draga and Kendric as we move through the dark building, only stopping when we’ve reached a small hatch that Arius opens up inside the floor.
I swallow hard as I watch Daruk go down first, his head disappearing from view, and Draga follows him without question. Then it’s just the three of us left, them staring at me expectantly. Peering down into the dark stairwell, I sigh and meet Arius’ gaze.
“I’m going, but these wards are seriously hard to ignore. I feel like I may take off running any second,” I admit, and Arius furrows his brow.
“Wards?”
“Yea, they take some getting used to. So get to moving, Princess. We don’t have all da
y.”
Arius doesn’t say anything about Kendric’s interruption, but he does send him a strange look I can’t decipher. Ignoring whatever it is that is going on between the two of them, I move forward, toes coming to rest at the edge of the opening.
Steeling myself, I take one last deep breath and grasp the hand Arius offers, only releasing it when I have to as I walk down the stairs blindly. I take each step slowly until a light at the bottom catches my eyes, and I begin to move faster toward it.
Daruk and Draga are there when I arrive at the bottom, a closed door sealing out the light I see coming from a crack beneath the door, and my nerves ease a bit when Daruk rests his hand on my arm.
No one talks, but once the others join us, Daruk turns the handle and lets the door swing outward, the light from the other side bathing us in its glow, and it takes several seconds of blinking to make out my surroundings before following Daruk inside.
Secret passage is one word to call the long tunnel we enter. Ostentatious is another. Though lacking any real furniture, the pieces I see are all gold, detailed, and such a waste for a tunnel that is barely ever seen or used. Even the lights are encased in golden sconces with small birds engraved on them, and beautiful filigree stretching across the wall like vines before spouting from it like limbs from a tree, the lights sitting atop them.
It’s beautiful, but it’s also overwhelming, especially against the red, damask painted walls.
Seeing my pursed lips and wrinkled nose, Kendric surprises me by leaning in close. “It’s horrendous, isn’t it? You always hated it as a child, too. Told your parents that one day, when you were ruler, you’d strip it of the gold, paint the walls pink and orange to match your hair, and have couches put in to sit and rest. You hated the long walk.”
Laughing at the image, I can’t help but smile at him. I prefer him like this over the overbearing brute he normally is.
“What did I say I’d do with the gold after it was removed? Surely, I didn’t plan on wasting it,” I say, eagerly waiting for his answer and longing to know more about the girl I once was.
Face turning serious, he looks away, hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually, no. You didn’t plan to waste it at all. You always said that after you removed it all, you’d sell the gold and use the money to build a sanctuary for all. Animals and shifters alike. You didn’t like how some of your people looked down on those of us that shifted into full animals, and you wanted to have a safe place for everyone to just be themselves.”
Kendric doesn’t say anything else as he falls back to walk in the rear, but I swear I saw his cheeks darken slightly while he was talking. It makes me wonder if I wanted the sanctuary for everyone to fit in, or was it just a certain hawk shifter I wanted to keep safe? Since he doesn’t appear like he’s open for any more questions, I abandon that thought for now, and again focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
We walk for a while longer, the trek passing by too slow, yet too fast, and my stomach tightens when a large metal door comes into view. Unlike everything else, this is not decorated to look like a monarch passes it every day. It’s big and has symbols engraved directly into it.
So focused on the intricate designs, I almost miss Daruk lifting his hand and placing it against some type of scanner. It gives a repetition of three beeps, and then the light flashes green as I hear gears begin to turn, the sound low, but sending vibrations up through the soles of the thin sandals Draga gave me to wear.
Stepping in front of the door once the noise stops, Arius spins to look at me. I don’t understand his expression but start to grow uncomfortable the longer he stares.
“Listen, before we go up there, you should know that, we’re all here for you. It may have been our job to find you, but it’s one that we volunteered for. Please don’t let anything you hear or see cause you to second guess our intentions. And be careful of who you open up to. You may be the princess, but not everyone feels as if you should become queen after your time away.”
Mouth gaping at his warning, and at him waiting until now to tell me it, I can’t help but feel a little upset about his poor timing. I didn’t expect everyone to just welcome me back with open arms, but they could have mentioned this sooner.
“I’ve been with you for days and you’re just now telling me this? Why? Why wait so long?” I demand, fear making my words harsher than I intend, but I don’t try to take them back.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even said anything at all, but I just wanted you to know that no matter what, you can trust the people in this hallway. Just… remember that,” he adds, and as I look at the others, they all wear similar expressions, like they are willing me to believe it.
Too upset to question him further, I step around him and to the now gaping door. Leaving them to either follow or go away. I can’t let them see my face, and the uncertainty that Arius’ words have brought me. They are too close to my own thoughts, so having him say them out loud, has only validated them in my mind.
Too late to turn around now. Especially when I step into a brightly lit room with chaise lounges and bookshelves filling the space.
I’m awash with shock, and immediately self-conscious in my too big clothes when I fall under the gaze of a woman with a jeweled onyx and ruby crown on her head, floor length black dress and black wings to match my own. And my eyes stray to the couple that stands quietly behind her with glazed eyes. The man with orange hair, and the woman with pink. Both matching the shades of my own curls, causing tears to spill down my face.
“Welcome home, Lorelei. We’ve missed you so,” the queen, my aunt says, and before I can even respond, I’m wrapped in the warm embrace of my parents, the hug feeling more like the iron bars of responsibility tightening around me than a homecoming after a decade away.
Chapter Seventeen
“You’ll find that, though not used, your chambers have received weekly cleanings to ensure they were ready for you when you returned. You’ll need a new wardrobe, but that is where you will be sleeping. I’ll set you up with the royal tailor to have a few things whipped up for you in no time,” the queen says, walking forward at a brusque pace, and I have to strain to hear what she says.
With her walking ahead of the rest of us, listing the details of my accommodations, she doesn’t see Draga’s dejected face at hearing her mention the tailor, but I do, and I don’t like it.
Since arriving in the library, we’d been walking as she told me what I would be doing, where I would be sleeping, and now, what I would be wearing. I’d only been back half an hour, and already my life is being taken from my hands. And because I want to keep my parents happy, I’ve just gone along with it, but not on this. Draga has been kind since I met her, even changing me out of bloodstained clothes while I slept, and I had already told her I’d go shopping with her.
Taking a few steps forward to catch up, I clear my throat to gain her attention. “Queen Merryweather, I appreciate that you’ve kept my room ready for me. I can’t wait to see it, but you don’t need to worry about sending the tailor. Draga has already agreed to take me shopping for clothing, and I’m really looking forward to it. Thank you though,” I say, using her title and not calling her aunt, but wanting her to understand that though I’m grateful, that I have a brain of my own too.
Halting in her tracks for the first time since we left the library, the queen spins around and gives Draga a considering look. Almost like she’s trying to take her measure, and a look at Draga’s face reveals that she’s either on the verge of begging for forgiveness for offering to take me shopping, or smiling at my still wanting to go with her.
“Is that so? Well, that’s very kind of the Wendigo Princess, isn’t it? I’m sure her parents and Drakson will be quite pleased to know that the two of you have already become fast friends. As, I’m sure they’ve already told you, Drakson has been eagerly awaiting your return.”
Not understanding why everyone keeps mentioning this ‘Drakson’ guy, but surprised as hell ab
out Draga being a princess, meaning that Daruk is a prince, I try not to let my ignorance show. The gleam in the queen’s eyes, however, tells me that I haven’t been successful. Resigned that it’s obvious, I don’t try to hide my confusion further.
“Yes, Draga has been very kind, but why is this Drakson so eager to see me? Were we once friends, too? I don’t remember him.”
“No, dear niece, you’ve never met. But, you did know of him,” she replies, her face like stone, but there’s a twinkle in her eye that I don’t understand, and I realize that everyone around us has gone still as well, all wearing various expressions.
Draga looks sheepish. My parents look like they could cry again at any moment, but it’s the guys’ faces I find hard to look away from. Regret and anger mix there, and it makes my pulse speed up.
“Okay… is there a reason that I know, or knew of him, but never met? Is that normal here?”
“Of course it’s normal. For a princess at least. It wouldn’t have been proper for you to meet your betrothed at such a young age. You would have done that at sixteen, but circumstances didn’t allow it. Young Drakson has been very patient these past few years waiting for you to return, and now that you’re back, I’m sure he’ll want to move forward with plans of your wedding as soon as possible. And what a beautiful wedding it will be. One to unite our kingdoms.”
She doesn't wait to see how I’ll react to that bomb, and just spins to walk away, my parents following like the loyal subjects they are, but I can’t move. I can barely breathe past this new information, and when the others step up, and try to reach out to me, I pull away like I’ve been burned.
“Don’t you dare try to make this okay. You all knew and purposefully kept it from me. What? Am I only important because of who I can be sold off too? Is that why no one came for me until I was of age? That way, I was kept out of the way until I could serve my purpose? You know what? It doesn't matter. Your job is done and I have no wish to ever speak with any of you again. Except for you, Draga. I honestly think you would have told me if it hadn’t been for them. But, I can’t talk about it anymore right now. I have a queen to catch up with. Please stay away.”
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