Braxtyn’s smile grew wider. “I’m not,” he said. Then he leaned down and whispered, “But I fooled you.” Just before walking away.
I stared after him. So many oddities in one day were making me dizzy. My mother was alive. Akir was charming and Braxtyn had a sense of humor.
I smiled to myself and turned to walk away, feeling a bit lighter in my steps. Yes, we weren’t exactly friends but we’d come to some type of an understanding. It had been there since he’d lied to Akir, had told his brother that he’d been the one to kill Cole. A secret that would haunt us both, no doubt. But he’d done it for a reason. And it would be something we’d both share.
Until the very end.
Epilogue
Five months later…
“Pull back,” River whispered. “Slowly.”
“You’re distracting me,” I grumbled.
“Pull. Back.”
I rolled my eyes, took a deep breath and drew the string. The target was the furthest I’ve ever tried. The bull’s eye was nothing but a tiny dot yards away. But I had complete faith that I could hit it. Ignoring River’s incessant instruction, I let the arrow fly. It soared straight through the air. We waited a heartbeat and then two until we heard the thwack as it embedded into the target.
River squinted his eyes and then whistled low, turning to me. “Bull’s eye.” he said with admiration.
I snorted. “You doubted I’d hit it?”
“I knew you’d hit it. But it still surprises me that you can do anything in your condition.”
“Ha!” I reached for another arrow and shot it towards our target without really looking at it. I knew it would hit it. It did everytime. And I was just getting better each practice.
“What the hell are you doing, Keanna?”
My mother’s voice had me jerking to the direction it had come from and quickly hiding my bow behind my back. Too late. She’d seen it. She stormed over to me, Kael trailing quietly behind her. He, too, was frowning at me. Damn.
As soon as she came before me, she snatched the bow and quiver of arrows from behind me and tossed them to River. My guard was chuckling but made no move to get between me and my mother. This was a situation he would not get involved in. The traitor.
“You’ll ruin your dress!” My mother exclaimed. “Besides, you can’t train in your condition!”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not crippled, mom. And I’m not running around either. Stop hovering.”
Kael offered up a stern look. “Princess, you need to take things a bit easier.”
I threw my hands up with exasperation. They were both entirely too insufferable. “I’m fine! Besides, I can do what I want. It is my wedding day, after all.”
My mother glared and I knew another lecture was coming along. There were always lectures. Her being a hybrid and changing back had changed nothing, so it seemed. Not that I complained too much. “First of all, a princess does not raise her voice. And second, it may be your wedding day but that does not give you leave to dirty the dress Maudey made you. Thirdly, you are pregnant. So please stop making me worry.”
I put a hand against the swell of my stomach and felt a small stirring there. The dress I wore had been designed specifically to show off the life I had growing inside me. It was white, though only the gods knew why my mother insist I wear it in that color when there was obviously nothing pure about me anymore. It was lined with gold trimming, a band around my neck holding the cloth in place as it pooled down to my ankles. It was backless. That, at least, I’d insisted. I wanted to show off the three pink, fleshy scars that rained from my shoulder down to my hip. Proof of what I’d endured.
I pulled my mom to me and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Mom, please don’t forget that I am royalty,” I pulled away and smirked in a way I knew would drive her insane, “and I can do whatever I want.”
River choked on his own laugh and tried to reel it back in, too late. My mother turned to glare at him.
Kael moved beside me and placed a hand over my stomach. He smiled and I returned it.
I remembered so clearly the day I’d found out I was pregnant. Kael had been the first to know, of course. Being a healer made it so much easier for him. And he had to surprise me by telling me he’d suspected it all along. Apparently I’d been pregnant since we went into that hybrid den and hadn’t even realized it. Then again, it shouldn’t have been surprising.
I’d told Akir that same day, albeit nervously. We’d arrived at my home weeks after our ordeal. He’d left Braxtyn in charge a brief while as he escorted us all back safely. I’d told him before we said goodbye, before he’d had to go back to his kingdom and make preparations for our wedding.
He’d froze and I was terrified for a split second. Terrified of his reaction. But he’d place his hand against my stomach, smaller then, and smiled before gifting me with a bruising kiss that said more than words ever could. “I love you, lass,” he whispered. “Do not forget.”
And he’d left.
We hadn’t seen each other since. I missed him. But my mother had kept me entirely too busy with planning for both the baby and the wedding that I hadn’t had time to ponder on it. And when I wasn’t planning, I was studying. I was going to be queen, after all, and that required a whole different set of skills I hadn’t yet covered. In between, I was usually at check-up’s with Kael or sneaking in whatever training I could with my beloved guard.
My guard had recovered tremendously. He no longer needed a cane to walk and when he did walk, he seemed like his old self. He no longer limped or had trouble carrying weapons or even fighting. Kael had helped him through with physical therapy for a few months until River had deemed himself ready to resume his old duties as my protector.
Pretty soon, I wouldn’t need him to protect me at all. I’d already told him and he’d taken it well after I explained to him that my child would need a bodyguard once she was born…
We’d all taken up new responsibilities after everything that had happened. Kael was now the clan’s highest ranking physician. When I moved to the Ruined City to take my place as queen, he’d go with me and would be the physician for the city. And Lex…
“They’re here!”
Speak of the devil. I turned to see Lex running towards our little group. He approached and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at the net thrown over his shoulder.
When we got back to my village, I had half expected Lex to say his goodbye’s and to travel the world, to settle his wandering soul. He’d surprised me by staying.
“I’ve seen all there is to see,” he’d smiled at me. “And now it’s time to live something new.”
And just like that, I’d had them all at my side.
“Please tell me you didn’t get caught in another trap.” I demanded, placing my hands on my hips.
Lex rolled his eyes. He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. “I don’t get caught in traps anymore, you’ll recall.” I did recall but sometimes old habits died hard. Still, he’d surprised us all. I’d officially named him a huntsman, not caring that it wasn’t really an official title. Lex seemed content enough to have it. “Anyway, they’re here.”
My heart pounded. Akir was here. It was time.
I felt sudden nervousness. My palms became sweaty and I had to wipe them on the sides of my dress. I took a deep breath and looked from face to face. “Do I look fine?”
My mother smiled but the men froze. “Fine?” River asked somewhat incredulously.
Lex smiled wide and comforting. “You’re beautiful, red.”
Kael nodded. “Extremely so, princess.”
I flushed.
Then my brothers showed up. I still couldn’t tell any of them apart. They raised their eyebrows at me. “Your guests are waiting at the gate,” one of them said. “Are we going to leave them out there?”
“Of course not!” My mother snapped into motion. “You all go greet them. Keanna, come with me.” She grabbed my hand and tugged me away.
&nbs
p; ***
“What’s this about?” I asked as she sat me down at her vanity table.
My reflection stared back at me. Maude had worked a miracle on my hair. She was almost as talented with a brush and makeup as Helga had been. My curls had been swept up with hundreds of pins to pile on top of my head. She’d threaded the strands through with glittering pearls and a few curls hung loose around my temples and down the back of my neck.
I watched through the reflection as my mother went to retrieve a box from her bed, opened it and pulled out a necklace and brought it back over to me.
“This was a wedding present,” she said as she reached over to put it around my neck, securing the clasp. The necklace was familiar. A connection of Celtic knots that settled at my breastbone. It had been the proof that she’d been taken. Except the clasp had been broken and Akir’s men had taken it away from me when I first arrived at the Ruined City months ago. I hadn’t seen it since.
“He gave it back,” I touched the pendant.
“Of course he did. But now I’m giving it to you.” She pressed a kiss to my temple. “And I wanted to talk to you before...before you go off to get married…”
I turned so I was facing her. “You don’t have to explain what goes where or what to expect in the bedchamber. As you can see, I’m already well versed.” I gestured at my swollen stomach.
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I was going to say.” She sniffled and swiped her hand over her eyes. “Blast it, now I’m crying.” She sat up straighter, regal as she always was and with a jolt, I’d realized where I’d gotten it from. I’d always thought I took after my father in most ways. Reckless, loud, even in looks we were similar. But it was in that moment that I realized for the first time, I was as queenly as my mother. “I never apologized to you, Keanna.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I never apologized for that last conversation we had, months ago. You were begging for me to listen, begging that I hear you and all I did was brush you aside as if your feelings didn’t matter.” She took my hand. “I want you to know that they do matter. so very much. No one would have been able to do what you’ve done. You secured an alliance with the Ruined City and not just because of the marriage but because you helped them as much as they helped us. The people there admire you. Do you know what they call you?”
I groaned. “I’m not sure I want to know…”
She playfully swatted my arm. “They call you The Huntress. Of course, they call you a lot of things. The Hybrid Queen, as well. The point is, they see you as a ruler. And I wanted to let you know that I’m proud of you.”
I felt the tears well my own eyes but I held them back. Maudey had done my makeup and I didn’t want to ruin it with waterworks. “That means a lot, mom,” I confessed.
She smiled widely, composing herself. “Now,” she clapped her hands together. “Are you ready to get married?”
***
A pathway of white and pink flowers led up to the altar. An altar that stood beneath a canopy of swinging greenery and lit candles that appeared to be floating as if by magic. Akir stood there, at the end of the walkway with his brother by his side.
I imagined this day many times. Imagined the day I would see him again and my heart nearly stopped beating at the sight. He looked even more handsome, if that were at all possible. It was like seeing him again for the first time, seeing him in all his danger. He wore no black leather or jeans. Instead, he was decked out in our clan’s traditional colors of red, green and brown.
My gaze barely flicked to Braxtyn, staying on my fiancée. And when he turned and saw me, the blue of his eyes heated. We locked gazes, words and heat and desire passing between us, unspoken. And then his gaze went further down, to take in the swell of my stomach and something in him seemed to physically soften.
I wondered if his spies had taken pictures in the months we’d been apart. If he’d already seen the growing of my belly, of our child inside me. Or was this the first time? It certainly seemed that way, the way his eyes glossed over.
I took a deep breath and took a step forward. My feet were bare, the petals soft against them as I made my steady way down the long walkway. Our entire village was here to witness my marriage, to finally see the people of the Ruined City for themselves.
Akir had brought people of his own. They seemed so out of place here, with their tight jeans, leather, piercings and tattoos. But somehow, it all felt strangely right.
My family sat at the front near the altar. My father was sniffing loudly and my brothers, I could hear, were letting out soft snickers. I fought back the urge to flip them the finger. I’d get them back later and it would be entirely too sweet. Lex and Kael sat with them at the front while River stood near the altar, hand on his sword, eyes alert for any threat.
When I finally made it to the end, I turned to face my fiancée. “Hello, lass,” he winked.
I smiled and then the ceremony began.
Strips of cloth were tied around our joined hands in colors of red and brown and black and gray to signify the unity of not only us, but of our clans as well. My father had resided over this part of the ceremony, giving us his king’s blessing on our union. Finally when it was over, the cloths draped to the floor and Akir and I just stared at each other.
Married. We were married now.
My father cleared his throat. “What are you waiting for, King Murtaugh?” He asked gruffly. “You can kiss your bride now.”
Akir smiled darkly and it curled my toes. Then he was reaching for me just as I reached for him and then we were embracing and his mouth was on mine. The rough scraping of his beard was so familiar, our mouths worked together as if they’d hadn’t been separated at all, as if they remembered every single detail.
And then he was pulling away slightly, touching the tips of our noses together. “My queen,” his breath was a warm whisper against my lips. “I’ve missed you.”
***
The ceremony was bright and uplifting. They danced and revelled. It wasn’t much compared to Ruined City parties. There was no bonfires, no strobe lights, no booming music or orgies. The village danced while Akir and I watched from our table after the feast.
River stood behind me, his body still entirely too tense. I didn’t bother saying anything. I knew he wouldn’t relax until after the wedding. Still, I felt the occasional brush of his hand against my shoulder and cheek and the action brought me comfort.
My father was dancing with my mother, the scars on his face bright red. He twirled and dipped her. My brothers were huddled together at a nearby table, their gazes often shifting up and going to Maudey, who was going around clearing plates or serving more heaps of food to the guests. And I noticed that they weren’t the only ones with their gazes locked on my mother’s lady’s maid. Braxtyn’s eyes kept flickering over her form, his gaze dark and low. And if I hadn’t been well versed in the desires burning deep in the blue of Akir’s eyes, I wouldn’t have known that Braxtyn was looking at Maude the way Akir often looked at me. There would be drama there, I was sure of it.
Kael was sitting at a table, smiling as he watched Lex stand up and steal my mom from my father, twirling her round and round. I laughed at his open happiness. I’d been terrified, so terrified that everything between us would change. I feared I’d lose them, that they wouldn’t want to stay. That they wouldn’t want to be with me after my marriage. But they had stayed. Because a part of them belonged to me just as I belonged to them. They were all by my side. We were together.
And I couldn’t think of any other better way to be.
The End
About the author
Aleera Anaya Ceres is an Irish-Latina romance enthusiast who loves reading, drawing, mermaids, movies and heavy fangirling. A proud Slytherin from Kansas, she currently lives in Mexico with her husband and son. Author of the Blood Novels, you can find her on her
facebook page: Facebook.com/AleeraAnayaCeres
or on twitter: Twitter.com/Aleera_Ceres
Other books by Aleera Anaya Ceres
The Blood Novels:
Blood Drug
My Master
Last Hope
The Hybrid Trilogy:
Braving the Beasts
Escaping the Beasts
Freeing the Beasts
Turn the page to get a sneak peek at Blood Drug!
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[1]Cole "always overlooked. never taken seriously. they believed he would never amount to anything. etc etc.
[2]is that how this shit is spelled?
Freeing the Beasts Page 11