The Rýkr Duet

by M. E. Clayton

  “Nothing we don’t already know, Severus,” I said, impatiently pushing him to get on with it already.

  He shot me a look, reminding me of his place in my life. “This morning, I informed him that the second Ms. Lively had spent the night and…he’s…”

  Griffin leaned forward on the table. “What is it?”

  “He’s already moving forward with the weddings,” he replied, pissing both of us off if Griffin’s expression was any indication.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Griff practically roared, and Griffin pissed off wasn’t good for anyone. My brother was the calm one, but that didn’t mean his temper wasn’t ugly when it did show itself.

  “He’s aware that you’ve given the girls the freedom and space they need to finish school, but he’s expecting immediate weddings afterwards, and he’s expecting the girls to join you back in Rýkr.”

  “Oh, is he now?” I scoffed, angry at our situation all fucking over again.

  Severus ignored my insolence. “If you show up with the girls and their parents in some confrontational bid to get answers, there’s a possibility of this situation getting more out of hand.”

  “You mean that Astra might mention the weddings and pissed the girls off more,” I said, reading between the lines. “Because if Astra mentions weddings, I have no doubt things will get uglier.”

  Severus let out a deep sigh. “I know you boys are upset, but you’re painting your father out to be a monster when he really isn’t,” he said. “A little misguided, perhaps, but definitely not a monster.” Before I could argue that, he added, “And what of your mother? Surely, you boys aren’t dismissive of your mother.”

  “I don’t hold the same resentment against her as I do Astra,” Griffin answered. “But she still should have fought harder to do the right thing.”

  “She could have told us,” I added.

  “And go against your father?” he harrumphed. “I should think not.” He looked between me and my brother. “You know that is not the way of our people.”

  Women were viewed as equals to men in Rýkr. Sexism was not a thing amongst our people. That being said, respect was another thing altogether. Wives were raised to respect their husbands and trust in them to lead their family on the right path. It sounded archaic, and modern society would probably have a field day with our way of life, but that’s how it was done where we came from.

  “Fuck it,” I tossed out. “Let him mention the weddings. I don’t care.” Griffin looked over at me. “They deserve answers, and they deserve to be able to tell Astra to go get fucked, if that’s what they need to do in order to be at peace.”

  “I agree,” Griffin remarked, making his stance on this clear.

  Severus shook his head. “Astra is not going to take your or their defiance lightly.”

  “Like I give a fuck,” I snorted.

  “No shit,” Griffin agreed.

  Knowing there was nothing more he could say to us to change our minds, he said, “Very well. However, you know I must inform your father of your upcoming visit, right?”

  I nodded. “We know.”

  He eyed me. “Easton, considering that you are firstborn-”

  “Don’t, Severus,” I said, interrupting him. “Astra should have thought about what we mean to the people of Rýkr before he fucked us over.”

  “You’re the crown prince, Eas-”

  “Something my bond supersedes, correct?” I challenged. “Neve matters more than anything else, and Astra better understand that before he makes the mistake of thinking he’s still in charge here.”

  Griffin smirked. “Amen.”

  Severus just let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes in prayer.

  Chapter 18

  Neve~

  Just when you thought things couldn’t get weirder or any more uncomfortable, you always seem to get proven wrong.

  Right now, I was in my living room with my family, Easton, Griffin, and Severus, and I was pretty sure my parents were tired of meeting people with super abilities. With every new citizen of Rýkr to darken our doorstep, there was a real chance of my parents packing us all up and moving us across the country.

  It wasn’t that Severus was rude or anything like that, quite the contrary. I just wasn’t sure if his adult presence was making this all feel too real for my parents. Dealing with respectful young adults was quite different than dealing with a grown man with the ability to control the weather. A fact he had happily shared with my parents when they’d been introduced.

  “So, let me get this straight,” Dad began, scanning all our faces. “We’re all taking a trip up north this Saturday to visit Rýkr, so that my girls can cuss your parents out?”

  Avalon let out a choked laugh while Severus just let out a deep sigh. Easton and Griffin remained stoic, though Griffin’s lips did twitch. I just grinned. Dad wasn’t necessarily wrong on the purpose of our trip, though he could have worded it more eloquently.

  “We’re not going to cuss him out, Dad,” I said. “We just want answers. Easton and Griffin have told us everything they know, but there’s still so much more to understand.” I looked between him and Mom. “I’m guessing you guys have questions that you’d like answered, too. If not, at the very least, I’d think you’d want to be there to hear the answers to the questions we do have.”

  “Of course, we have questions,” Mom joined in. “It’s just…it feels a little like going to war unarmed.”

  My sister didn’t get passionate about much, but that one sentence must have hit a nerve because she said, “I will murder them the old fashion way if anything happens to you, Mom.” She looked over at Dad. “I don’t care what powers they have.”

  “Aval-”

  She whirled around on her soulmate. “Don’t, Griffin,” she snapped. “Nothing happens to my parents. Nothing.”

  “Avalon-”

  “Promise me,” she demanded. “My parents are untouchable or…or…” Avalon took a deep breath, and in a voice as serious as I’ve ever heard, said, “I will spend the rest of my life suffering the misery of being separated from you for my parents.”

  “Avalon, honey-” Dad started to say, but she continued speaking right over him.

  “If anything happens to them, I will walk away from it all. From you.”

  Undeterred by their audience, Griffin leaned into her face, and he looked enraged. “Over my dead body will I ever let you walk away from me,” he hissed. “And you and I are going to have a little discussion later over how you could possibly believe that I’d ever let anything happen to your parents.”

  My sisters face immediately softened. “Griffin-”

  “You’re mine, Avalon,” he kept hissing. “You are mine, and that’s the end of it.”

  Severus cleared his throat as Mom jumped in to ease the growing tension. “Avalon, honey, it’s okay. I didn’t mean for my comment to sound so dramatic or dire.”

  “Look, nothing is going to happen to your parents,” Easton finally joined in. “Whether you realize it or not, nothing is more sacred in Rýkr than the bond we share with our partner. My parents might be assholes, but they know the possible destruction that threatening your parents might cause. They have no choice but to play nice where you girls are concerned because you’re the unknown in this equation.”

  “Astra and Calliope are not stupid leaders,” Severus remarked, commanding our attentions. “They are also not ignorant of the situation they have created. They understand they’re in a precarious position, at best.”

  “Meaning?” Mom asked.

  “They are not going to do anything to alienate the girls,” he clarified. “Now that the bonds of our people have been reinforced as a power beyond what we’re able to control, Astra needs the unions to exist and be fruitful.”

  “We’re his future,” Easton added. “Like all monarchies, if we fail to provide heirs, Astra loses his kingdom to his brother, our Uncle Arkin.”

  I saw my sister lean into Griffin. “Sorry,” she mum
bled quietly, but I still heard her.

  He wrapped his arm around her, and he looked like he was never going to let her go. “I know, baby,” he mumbled back.

  “The King and Queen know that you’re arriving on Saturday,” Severus informed them. “This isn’t an ambush, nor is it an unwelcomed visit.” His eyes slid over towards Easton before returning back to my parents. “And they are used to animosity and resentment.”

  “Don’t make them out to sound like victims, Severus,” Easton said. “They’re not.”

  “And I’m not trying to paint them as such,” Severus assured him. “All I’m saying is that they are not expecting warm welcomes and hugs.”

  “What are they expecting?” I asked.

  Severus looked over at me. “They’re expecting some very upset people to visit them.”

  “Well, good, because that’s what they’re going to get,” Avalon remarked dryly.

  “We’ll support whatever our children want to do,” Dad told Severus. “However, no matter what happens this weekend, the girls will finish high school, then go to college if that is their wish.”

  I could feel my brows scrunch up. “I thought you guys wanted us to go to college.”

  “We do,” Mom said, picking up from where Dad left off. “But…” She glanced a quick look at Dad. “Well, we’ve been talking about…all this, and this isn’t happening to us, honey. While we’ve been affected, we haven’t been affected as deeply by this as you girls have been. Griffin has explained that marriage would have been the expectation had you been raised together, and…well, Dad and I want you to do what feels right for you. No matter how unpleasant, the course of your life has changed, Neve. You’re no longer the same girl you were before the boys showed up in your lives.” Mom looked over at Avalon. “I can see you marrying Griffin and wanting to start your family now,” she told her. “When I see you both together, I can’t imagine you going to college anymore. I see you with Griffin, honey.”

  “But you don’t see that for me?” I asked, not sure if I felt jealous over how she had such confidence in Avalon and Griffin’s love for one another.

  Mom’s face softened. “You’ve always been so independent, Neve,” she said. “No matter how this weekend ends up, I just can’t see you acclimating to what this is as easily as your sister. Avalon no longer questions what she has with Griffin, though she might still have questions. Can you say you’re ready to follow Easton wherever he might lead you? Because I know Avalon is ready to follow Griffin.”

  I couldn’t answer her question without giving it some real thought, and my silence hit the room with a resounding thud. It was only a few seconds later that Easton stood up, and we all watched in silence as he stormed out of the living room, the sound of the front door slamming behind him.

  “I’m sorry, honey,” Mom said softly. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot or upset Easton.”

  I shook my head. “It’s okay, Mom.” I stood up to go after him. “I know you didn’t.”

  Leaving the discussion, I went after Easton, and when I closed the front door behind me, I found him pacing in the driveway, and a person really shouldn’t be so beautiful.

  The second that I was close enough, Easton stopped his pacing, then he reached out and hauled me into his arms painfully. The squeeze he had on me was making it hard to breathe, but I didn’t pull away. I gave him this because he obviously needed it.

  When he finally loosened his hold on me, he let out a deep breath, then looked down at me. “She’s wrong,” he said.

  “Easton-”

  “She’s wrong,” he repeated. “She’s wrong about us.” When I didn’t agree fast enough, he stepped away from me and started pacing again.

  “Easton, I know-”

  He stopped pacing and he was back in my face. “Look, I’m not fucking stupid,” he spat, angry and I had no idea why he sounded so mad. Upset, sure. But angry? “I know you’re not in love with me. I know it’s too soon for you. I know this is nothing but a fucking mess.” His left arm shot out with his finger pointed towards the house. “But that doesn’t mean that what they have matters more than what we have. Just because Avalon and Griffin might already be sharing professions of love does not mean we’re not forever.”

  “Easton, my mom didn’t mean anything-”

  “You’re mine, Neve,” he said, interrupting me. “I don’t give a fuck if you end up never loving me. I love you and that’s enough for me.”

  I watched stunned as he left me standing in the driveway as he stormed back into the house.

  Chapter 19

  Easton~

  I knew I was being a dick, but the idea that Neve might still not be onboard with my plans of forever was fucking with me.

  Big time.

  When I’d gone back into the house, everything had become extremely tense in that living room. And the less I had participated in the remaining conversation, the worse it had become. So bad, in fact, that Severus had taken me home after only another twenty minutes into the conversation. My respect for the man who raised me had been the only thing that had me following him out of the Lively residence without a fight.

  Three days later, I was still treating Neve like my mood was all her fault, and she was still ignoring my brooding tantrum. You would think telling her that I loved her would have made an impact, but it hadn’t. She’s been going to classes and cheerleading practice and hanging out with her friends as if nothing were amiss.

  Which sucked for me.

  “Jesus, Easton,” Griff muttered as he walked up behind me. I slammed my locker shut and turned around to face my brother. “Stop being a dick and beg for forgiveness already.” His hand gestured up and down. “You’re starting to look like shit.”

  He wasn’t wrong.

  The uneasiness between me and Neve was causing me to lose sleep and really just not give a fuck about anything else. That was one of the problematic drawbacks to being bonded with someone; arguments weren’t just arguments.

  They were fucking torture.

  I cocked my head. “What I don’t understand is how in the fuck she’s fine,” I snapped. “She doesn’t seem put out at all.”

  “Could be because she’s got nothing to feel guilty about,” Griff retorted. “Guilt is what has you feeling and looking like shit. Not anger.”

  “Where’s Avalon?” It was our lunch hour, and I couldn’t think of any reason why Avalon wouldn’t be with Griffin.

  “She’s with Gale and Bonnie,” he answered as if he wasn’t freaking out about it. “I’m going to meet them in a bit. I just wanted to check on you first.” Before I could respond to his need to check on me, I heard a laugh that I couldn’t mistake, even if I wanted to.

  We both turned and I saw Neve walking down the hallway with another cheerleader and three athletes, football players probably.

  “Easton-”

  Ignoring my brother’s attempt to talk me down, I stormed my way down the hallway, grabbed my girl by her arm, then dragged her cursing ass into the first empty classroom I saw.

  “What are you-”

  Unable to help myself, I turned my back on Mr. Mallory and went to work. “I need to speak with Neve, Mr. Mallory,” I said.

  “Oh, of course,” he replied enthusiastically. “Take your time. I’ll just go on to lunch.”

  I could feel Neve trembling in anger as Mr. Mallory gathered his stuff and left us to our privacy. God bless the man, he even locked the door.

  “Are you insane?” she shrieked as soon as the door shut behind Mr. Mallory. “You can’t be using your gifts out in the open like that. What the hell is the matter with you?”

  “You’re what’s the matter with me!” I roared in her pretty face. “You’re driving me fucking crazy!”

  Her brows shot up. “What in the hell did I do?” She didn’t let me answer. “Nothing. That’s what I’ve done. Nothing, Easton.”

  “Exactly,” I spat. “I tell you I love you and I got nothing in return.”

&nb
sp; Neve crossed her arms over her chest. “What happened to not being stupid and understanding that this was all too soon for me?”

  “I will strangle you, woman,” I threatened, not ready to be rational. “I will strangle the fuck out of you.”

  “Wow, from love to murder just like that,” she drawled out sarcastically.

  I ran my hands through my hair. “Goddamn it!” I turned away from her, so I could breathe.

  “Easton-”

  I whirled around her. “Don’t,” I barked. “Don’t talk to me like I’m overreacting.”

  “But you are,” she pointed out. “Now quit dicking around and tell me what this is really about?”

  It sucked to have to toss my still-beating heart out at her feet, but she was right. She hadn’t done anything wrong. I just wasn’t used to being in this position. I’ve been denying my bond with Neve for so long that the reality of having her still had me feeling a certain way.

  “It’s about tomorrow,” I told her honestly.

  Her face softened. “What about tomorrow?”

  “How do you think it feels to know that you’re going to approach the one man who ruined your life tomorrow on behalf of a girl who won’t commit to you?”

  Her eyes blinked in shock. “How could you think I’m not committed to you after Monday night?”

  “Because even your own mother doesn’t think you are committed to me,” I shot back.

  Neve’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “She wasn’t there in your bedroom with us on Monday,” she fired back. “Do you honestly believe I’m not committed to you after everything we experienced together that night?”

  I straightened to my full height and crossed my arms. “So, if I return to Rýkr after you graduate, then you’re coming back with me?” She balked at that, and I guess I had my answer.

  “That’s not a fair question, Easton.”

  “Are you committed to me or not?” I finally asked.