by Alanea Alder
Beside her, Kendrick took a deep breath. "What if I asked you to abandon your search? What if I reached out to Thane, Justice, and Law and called them in? What would you do?"
Marshall frowned. "Why would we give up now when we're so close? Why should we abandon our missions? For decades we have sacrificed so much to see our kingdom restored. You may not see it Kendrick, but I do. Every day, witches are moving away from who we are as a people. They are abandoning the old ways, and the only thing that matters to them are their assessment scores. Storm Keep has become a corporation where the council is practically selling the services of our people to the highest bidder. King Kiran would never stand for this. He believes in the connection to nature and our Gods. King Kiran--"
"Is dead," Kendrick said softly.
Marshall stared at him. "You lie," he choked out.
Kendrick shook his head. "I wish I were. I buried them both, with my own hands, three hundred years ago."
Lily began to shake. "But we found a cabin; we found King Kiran's signet ring."
Kendrick looked at her, pity in his eyes. "Do you think that the king would leave something so important behind?"
Marshall took a deep breath. "They have to be alive, or everything was for nothing."
"They are buried about a half mile behind the cabin, in a small clearing at the edge of the forest, under a large oak tree." Kendrick's voice was calm, even gentle.
Marshall slammed his hands on the table. "How could you keep something like this a secret?" he demanded.
Kendrick looked him in the eye. "Who was I to tell? Their enemies knew they were dead, and their people had long since forgotten them."
Lily eyed him with suspicion. "Why you? Why did you know where they were? Did they contact you? Why couldn't you save them?" Her voice was filled with emotion.
Beside her, Kendrick clenched both fists. "You think I didn't want to save them? That I wouldn't trade places with them in an instant if I could?" He threw his head back and laughed.
Anne's eyes filled with tears. The laughter she heard wasn't born of mirth; it was dredged from the darkest places of his soul, through pain and a sorrow so deep she couldn't imagine ever smiling again after laughing like that.
Kendrick's macabre laughter echoed through the room. When he was done, his eyes looked empty. He smiled, but it was hollow. "Forget about your grandiose dream of a kingdom that will never exist. Even if he was still alive, I would never stand by and allow him to give up his happiness to serve a bunch of weak-willed sycophants who allowed their one true king to be routed from his home and chased like an animal." There was a sharp edge to his words. "Storm Keep deserves exactly what they got, a council that dictates their lives according to the rule of power."
Amelia stared at Kendrick as if she didn't know him. "You don't believe that."
Kendrick sneered at her. "Oh yes, yes, I do."
She shook her head. "No, you don't! If you didn't care, you wouldn't have deliberately chosen to live in Lower City where you could help the most people. You wouldn't have helped my brothers with the units. You wouldn't have sent spell after spell to witches outside the city to keep them safe. If you truly didn't care about anyone, you wouldn't have raised such a loving and kind brother. And you wouldn't have been my athair." Amelia's voice broke, and sobbing, she turned to Darian.
Darian glared at Kendrick. "You've hurt her."
Kendrick shrugged. "She's a crybaby; she's been hurting for other people her whole life."
Amelia wailed harder, and Darian ground his teeth together. "You and me, outside. Now!"
Kendrick twirled a hand at him. "Sorry, old man, I don't have time for a macho showdown."
Anne twisted her hands in her lap. She had to believe that Kendrick was doing this for a reason, but what reason could he have to hurt Amelia? She looked over at Meryn. Meryn was watching Kendrick closely and not saying a word. It was as if she, too, was trying to figure out what Kendrick was doing.
Marshall stood, eyes blazing. "You've gone too far! How dare you hurt my daughter? You'll make time for me, young man!"
Kendrick smiled lazily. "What do you care? You couldn't protect your king, and you abandoned your own daughter in the process. Tell me, why I should take you seriously? What are you going to do?" Kendrick stood, knocking his chair over. "Well? Your king is dead. You have no idea who your enemy is. You're clearly outnumbered and outmatched. What. Will. You. Do?" Kendrick drew out each word mockingly.
Marshall roared. "I'll fight! I will uncover the truth, and when I do, I will destroy the ones who killed our king. I will make our people face the truth. I will erase every assessment test and protocol our council has put forth!" Marshall drew in a shaky breath. "We'll start over."
Kendrick let his head fall forward, when he raised it back up, there was warmth in his eyes again. "Then it sounds like you have a plan." When he smiled, it was no longer empty or sardonic.
Amelia turned in her chair to face him. "I hate you!"
Kendrick winced. "Oh, my darling girl, I am more sorry than you will ever know. But I had to know how far your father was willing to go. You know I didn't mean any of it."
Amelia glared at him. "You called me a crybaby."
"Well, you are." Kendrick said, looking confused.
"I am, but you said it to be mean," Amelia pointed out.
"I said I was sorry."
"You owe me two rides," Amelia sniffled.
Kendrick sighed. "Fine. Two rides."
"Rides?" Anne and Meryn asked at the same time.
Amelia wiped her face with her napkin. "Kendrick can fly."
"Seriously?" Anne and Meryn asked in unison again.
Kendrick nodded and picked up his chair. "I picked it up somewhere." He sat down and placed his napkin in his lap.
Marshall remained standing, he stared at Kendrick as if he had never seen him before. "Who are you?" he asked in a raspy voice.
Kendrick shrugged. "I'm just a poor archivist from the Lower City."
Meryn gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
Kendrick shook his head. "I should have known you'd figure it out first. What gave it away?"
"Your name. Beth and I are doing the census; of course, I paid close attention to the family histories of everyone in this house. Keelan's was the only one that came up with a dead end. I was going to ask you about it later but..." Meryn blinked. "Holy shit balls," she whispered softly.
"Oh, Gods!" Gavriel and Beth exclaimed at the same time.
Anne turned over everything in her mind. The one word that popped out at her from the jumbled mess of confusion swirling around her mind was, heika. It meant...
"Your Majesty," she whispered.
There was a look of pride in Kendrick's eyes when he looked down at her. "I knew you'd get it."
"Holy shit balls is right," Colton echoed.
"How?" Aiden asked, looking from Meryn to Kendrick then to Marshall.
"Your Majesty!" Marshall exclaimed and bowed so deep Anne thought he was going to fall forward.
Kendrick shook his head. "Please don't call me that."
Lily stood quickly and curtsied low beside her mate. "Your Majesty, please forgive us."
Ryuu swept in from the kitchen and looked around. He turned to Kendrick. "You finally told them?"
Kendrick grimaced. "Sort of."
Ryuu placed a bowl of soup in front of Lily then Marshall. "You may want to get up; he really doesn't like that." Ryuu refilled their water glasses and walked around the table to check on Meryn.
Marshall and Lily straightened then looked at Kendrick who motioned to their chairs. They sat down, looking completely dazed.
Aiden stared at Meryn. "How did you figure it out?"
Meryn smirked. "Their last name. Ashwood. He combined the names of the two loyal houses. Ash from Ashleigh and Wood from Ironwood, Ashwood. There are no documented births or deaths of anyone with that last name in any of our records."
Marshall stared at Kendrick.
"Prince Julian?"
Kendrick nodded.
"Julian?" The question was echoed around the table.
Kendrick shot Anne an apologetic look before facing everyone. "My name is Julian Stormhart, son of Kiran and Celeste Stormhart of the witch's city of Storm Keep."
Meryn turned to Anne. "This definitely increases his rank."
"Meryn!" Aiden covered her mouth with his hand.
Kendrick winked at the small troublemaker.
"But you were lost to us, how? When?" Marshall stuttered.
Kendrick threaded his fingers together in front of him on the table and took a deep breath. "I never really fit in among the noble families. I didn't look like mother or father; the rumors the nobles allowed a young boy to overhear were hurtful. So, I left as soon as I was old enough. Father had mastered mind magic before I was born and was an expert dream walker. Even though I travelled all over the world, he would reach out to me at least once a month to see what I was up to."
Kendrick smiled at the memory. "For over a thousand years I trained with shamans, priests, monks, keepers of knowledge. I was in what is now called Japan when news of the Great War reached me. My father had kept all knowledge of the War from me to keep me out of the fighting. He insisted I stay away, so, of course I wanted to come home, but I was too late. When I finally returned home, a new city had been formed, a castle built, and my parents were missing." He took a deep breath.
"Since I had been gone so long, no one recognized me. I wandered around the city for days looking for clues to what happened. When I heard about the deaths of my father's most trusted and closest friends and their mates, I knew I had to leave the city. I traveled for weeks before my father reached out to me in my dreams. He said that they had been betrayed and could never return to the city. I argued and told him I would fight, but he said no. That it was impossible to fight an unknown enemy.
"I had no idea what he meant at the time. I was young and angry, but I did as my father ordered and I stayed away from Storm Keep. Over time, my parents were forgotten, and we settled into a peaceful life. I still travelled, and they built a tiny cabin in the woods."
His expression softened. "I think that the years they spent alone in that cabin were the happiest of my parents' lives. They weren't a king and a queen, they were simply Kiran and Celeste."
He shook his head. "Anyway, everything was peaceful until the twins were born. Father didn't realize how much power they were giving off. It made it easy for our enemies to find them. One night, during a dream visit, I finally was able to meet my baby brothers for the first time. Gods! They were so tiny and helpless, I fell in love the second I saw them." He swallowed hard. "Mother dropped out of the dream first, to put Kendrick to bed. Keelan stayed with my father since I was still playing with him. We heard a loud noise and a scream. I'll never forget the look on my father's face when he realized my mother had been killed." He squeezed his hands together tightly in front of him.
"When my father realized that my mother was already dead and Kendrick along with her, he made a decision. He pulled out his dagger and sliced open his wrists. He called upon the Gods to grant him one final wish. Instead of using his vast power to fight his enemies, he offered up his life and pushed the baby and his grimoire to me. I remember screaming at him to fight, but the look he gave me was so peaceful and serene, I knew he wanted to be with my mother and brother more than he wanted revenge. He didn't want them facing death alone.
"When I woke, Keelan was in my arms, and my father's grimoire was on the floor. My father made history that day as the first witch to pass physical matter across great distances in a dream state, but no one would ever know.
"To keep us safe, I bound Keelan's powers until he was old enough to do it himself and we moved back to Storm Keep. I figured that the enemy didn't know that Keelan or I even existed, and if we did, what were the odds we would live right under their noses? I took my brother's name, so that, in some small way, I could honor his memory and settled in as lowly archivist. I could monitor the council closely and slowly destroy the books of powerful spells my father was forced to leave behind."
"You don't look like a Julian," Meryn announced.
Kendrick gave her a grateful smile. "That's because I'm not, not anymore."
"But Your Majesty, this changes everything," Marshall started.
Kendrick shook his head. "This changes nothing. Without cutting off the head of the snake, history is doomed to repeat itself. I won't reveal myself and put my loved ones in danger for nothing. Only after we identify our true enemies can we hope to make any changes."
"Not to sound like a smart ass..." Meryn began. She had to stop when almost everyone around the table snorted. "As I was saying, I don't want to state the obvious, but aren't the ones in power now the ones who are responsible? Can't we just go kick their asses and call it a day?"
Lily shook her head gently at Meryn. "You are truly my niece. I'm afraid the answer isn't so simple, or I would have done just that years ago."
"Well, why not?" Anne demanded. She didn't like the idea that Kendrick was in danger.
"Because, Your Majesty, the ones in power were most likely manipulated in the same way as the people." Lily explained.
Anne blinked.
All at once, the implications of Kendrick's royalty hit her. "Oh, my."
Kendrick reached over and began rubbing her back. "It's okay, everything is the same as when we sat down for Ryuu's wonderful soup. Breathe."
Anne turned and slapped at him with both hands. "Don't tell me to breathe, you royal pain in the ass! I'm fine!"
Meryn cackled. "I knew I liked her."
"Actually, Anne, you're hyperventilating," Rheia called out from the end of the table.
Anne took a deep breath and held it before exhaling slowly. She did that a couple more times all while glaring at Kendrick.
"Where's my levelheaded nurse?" he teased.
She flipped him off, and he chuckled. He winked at her and lifted his wine glass. She narrowed her eyes and leaned in close enough so only he could hear. "Keelan showed me a dream where I had triplet boys."
Kendrick sputtered in his wine glass and began to choke, which caused him to inhale more wine. Smiling sweetly, she now rubbed his back. "There, there darling, everything is okay. Just breathe."
Meryn licked her finger and drew an invisible line in the air marking Anne's victory over Kendrick.
It took a couple minutes for Kendrick to clear his airways. His chest was still heaving as he stared at her in wonder. "Truly?" Kendrick grinned at her with a goofy look on his face.
"Maybe."
"Well, I know what I'm doing tonight," he announced.
She gulped hard and stared at him. The dark, heated look he was giving her reminded her of the way a jungle cat watches its prey.
"So what do we do?" Lily asked.
Kendrick broke eye contact with her and turned back to the others. "Do exactly what you have been doing. This secret cannot leave the room. If you don't think you can carry on as you always have, you need to let me know, and I'll erase it from your mind."
"I think I speak for all of us when I say that we will, of course, keep your secret," Gavriel replied formally.
"Our mission is over." Lily turned to Marshall.
Marshall smiled at his mate. "And we have a daughter, a new son and niece to get to know."
Aiden cleared his throat. "Actually, if you could call Caiden and resume your Elder role, that would help us out quite a bit."
Marshall nodded. "Of course, but why is that a problem?"
"Because we have multi-flavor douchebags from each of the pillar cities trying to cause trouble," Meryn explained.
Lily smiled and tapped her lips. "Really? That sounds like fun."
"Oh, Gods," Aiden, Marshall, and Elizabeth said at the same time.
Beside her, Kendrick stood. "Aiden, I'll let you catch Marshall and Lily up on where we stand with the Committee. I have other pressing matters to attend
to." Kendrick turned to Anne and bowed, one hand over his heart and the other stretched out to her. "My Lady, may I escort you upstairs?"
"Bow chica wow wow," Meryn sung.
Anne felt herself blushing furiously, but didn't care. She placed her hand in his and stood. Turning, she noticed that everyone at the table was grinning ear to ear.
"Good night everyone," she said.
"Sleep tight!" Rheia called.
"Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Amelia yelled laughing.
"But let Kendrick bite if he wants to!" Colton smirked.
Everyone was still laughing as they walked into the hallway. Kendrick was every inch the gentlemen until they stepped into the foyer.
"I will give you a ten-second head start." His eyes flashed with lust.
"Fuck!"
"Exactly."
Anne didn't waste another precious second; she ran.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Anne ran as fast as she could, but he still caught up with her before she even reached the top of the stairs. She laughed as he swung her up in his arms and headed to her bedroom.
"Not to ruin the mood, but I need to check on Keelan," she said as they passed his door.
Kendrick stopped and set her on her feet. "Thank you for putting his needs above your own."
Anne opened the door and approached Keelan's bed. "He may not be my mate, but he is my best friend." She checked his feeding tube and his IV port and replaced his drip bag. "Does he know about your parents?"
Kendrick shook his head. "No. I never wanted to put him in any danger, he was better off not knowing."
"What did you tell him about your parents?" Anne asked.
"That they died in a boating accident trying to cross the river; neither one of them knew water magic. It was the most plausible explanation I could come up with." Kendrick smiled down at his brother.
"He didn't even think to doubt you, did he?"
"No. Growing up, he must have believed I walked on water. He was always following me around, getting into my spell supplies." Kendrick laughed suddenly. "When he was two, he ate almost an entire bag of saltpeter while I was engrossed in translating a manuscript. When I realized what he was doing, I ran around like a madman trying to find someone to help. The widow down the road laughed at me and gave him a liquid that made him start throwing up. I felt like the worst brother in the entire universe as I watched my little buddy empty the contents of his stomach for five hours. That episode made me want to learn about healing. I never wanted to stand by helpless when he needed me again."