Shaking her head, Mor walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He immediately relaxed and turned around in her arms. “Hey, Ben.”
“Hey yourself, love. How was training?”
“Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I was with Samantha, Liz, and Cadi.” He groaned and she laughed. “I heard some interesting things about you four.”
“Damn it. I bet you did.”
“How’s the planning?”
Ben grimaced and turned her toward the table. “We’re having disagreements about who needs to go.”
Mor frowned. “What’s the disagreement?”
“Your mate here thinks you should go with a small contingent of fifteen. Obviously that is a terrible idea. Logic dictates that as the queen, you need at least fifty Fae with you.” Brandon glared at Ben
“Speed and stealth are more important than appearances.” Ben glared right back.
“I trust Ben. He knows this area far better than you do, I’d imagine.” She looked up at Ben for confirmation.
“I do. I spent years in this part of the country. I know it almost as well as Atreyu.”
Ethan scoffed. “You’re a child, Ben, and need to accept the wisdom of those older than you.”
Mor frowned. “If you think he’s a child, then am I an infant to you?”
“What? No, I mean, I would never think -” Ethan stumbled over his words.
“You just said Ben is a child. He’s over two hundred years old. I just turned twenty-five. Logic, which y’all seem to be so fond of, would indicate that if he is a child to you then I am an infant.” Mor shook her head at Ethan. “Do any of you have military experience?”
Ethan pulled back. “Well, no, but - “
“I don’t either. So I’m going to fucking listen to the guy that has actual experience in this shit.” Mor stared them down until they bowed their heads.
“Very well, Your Majesty.” Joshua stepped forward. “I’ll have a list of suitable candidates drawn up for you.”
“No.” Mor shook her head. “That has already been taken care of.”
“Your Majesty - “ Joshua started.
Slamming her hand down on the table, Mor yelled, “Enough!” Taking a calming breath, she looked over at Ben. “I can see why you are frustrated.”
He just nodded at her. “Yep.”
“Okay, time to take a break. We will be following Ben’s recommendations. He is in charge of all things military.” Mor pulled away and slipped her hand into Ben’s, tugging on it to get him to follow her. When they were out of the room, Mor said, “I’m hungry. Think dinner’s ready?”
“Should be soon, if it isn’t yet.” Ben smiled down at her. “Thank you for saving me from them. They’re good males, just…convinced of their superiority. It’s why Sebastian doesn’t spend a whole lot of time with them.”
“I can see why,” Mor mumbled under her breath. “Think the others are back yet?”
“They are. I saw them walk in while I was arguing with those three asshats.”
Mor snorted. “How did Sebastian end up so nice?”
Ben glanced at her and shook his head. “You’ve met him, right? He’s just as arrogant.”
“True, but he’s also kind and loving.”
“Darling, it was spending all that time with these lowly peons that showed me how to play nice.” Sebastian walked into the hallway and pulled Mor into his arms. “Your training went well today.”
“Thank you. It was more fun than I expected it to be!”
“That’s because the ladies were telling you our secrets, darling.” Sebastian winked at her. “I hear that my fathers were being insufferable?”
“They were. But Mor saved me from them.” Grumbling under his breath about annoying families, Ben stomped into the dining room.
“Maybe dinner will make him feel better.” Mor paused in the doorway, noticing Sebastian’s parents had already made their way into the dining room. “Well. Maybe not.”
Laughing, Sebastian led her in and got her situated before going over to his parents. “I hear you all have been vexing this afternoon.” He tsked and shook his finger at them. “Very naughty, parents. Very naughty.”
Joshua cracked a smile. “We only want what’s best, son.”
“But that doesn’t mean you know what’s best,” Ben growled.
Before the dining room could turn into a war zone, Trisha came in, leading the staff with plates of food. Mor heaved a sigh of relief and mouthed ‘thank you’ to Trisha when she passed. Dinner was uneventful after that. All serious topics were off limits by unspoken agreement. When they finished, Mor rushed out of the room, not wanting to risk the arguments starting again. Exhaustion was hitting her and she just didn’t have the energy to argue any more.
She drug herself to the stairs and stopped, glaring up at them. “Stairs. My nemesis.” When she heard laughing behind her, Mor turned her glare around. Sebastian, Ben, Max, and Atreyu were standing there. “Something funny?”
“It just seems like every time you have a moderately intense training session, you seem to think the stairs are your worst enemy.” Atreyu smirked.
“That was not a ‘moderately intense’ workout! I had my ass handed to me!” Mor huffed, trying to work up the energy to be mad.
“Whatever you say say, sweetie.” Max smiled and then swept her into his arms. “I’ll carry you.”
Mor smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. “I knew I could count on you!”
He looked down at her and whispered, “I’ll always help you.”
Reaching up, Mor pulled Max’s head down for a kiss. “Thank you.” Max growled at her kiss and Mor sighed softly. “I love when y’all make that sound.”
“Oh really? Why’s that?” Max raised his eyebrows at her.
“It’s…um…sexy.” She blushed and looked away. “Oh look. We’re here.” She tried to get down, pushing Max away. “Put me down! I want to go soak.”
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’?” Mor gaped up at him.
“I mean no. Atreyu is going to get the bath going and put in some salts to help soothe those tired muscle of yours. Then I’m going to take a bath with you.” He grinned down at her.
“Oh really?” Mor sucked in a breath, pulling her lip between your teeth.
“Definitely. I think you need help working out the tension.” He bent his head down and kissed her.
* * *
The next week was spent training in the morning and planning in the afternoon. By the end of it, Mor was feeling strangely comfortable with a sword on her back. Her previous martial arts training had come in handy, but she had never held a sword in her hand. Max was convinced it was because she was from the royal line. Isabella had said that the royal family had some secrets they had guarded closely, so it was likely that Max was right. It didn’t stop Mor from feeling strange. And the thought of actually using that sword in combat? While others were trying to actually kill her? She shuddered. Going from so sheltered she had never been allowed to even spar in a class to being prepared to lead an army? Mind fuck.
Ben had just let her know that they would be leaving in the morning. He had sent scouts ahead to the border to notify the King of the Pendragons that they would be arriving. He only hoped the border guard believed them and let them in. Mor shook her head. There was nothing they could do until they got there. Sebastian’s family had backed off some, but they were still making it clear that they thought the ‘children’ were making a mistake. Mor could only be grateful to Sebastian and Atreyu’s parents for keeping them in line. She didn’t have the energy.
Besides the daily training sessions and, planning for their trip, Mor had been having Cassandra tutor her in all things political. She was going into a working court that was reportedly filled with ‘intrigue and machinations’ - Cassandra’s words - and Mor needed to have some basic idea of how to function. On top of that, as if that wasn’t enough, Atreyu had been growing more and more reserved.
He hadn’t come out to training this morning, skipped lunch with all of them and was currently late for dinner. Mor was refusing to eat until he got there. Max, Sebastian, and Ben were fine with waiting but the parents were getting restless.
“Fuck it. I’m going to get him. Y’all eat.” Mor shoved back from the table, face set in a scowl. She grumbled as she went up to find him. “What the fuck is his problem? Making everyone wait. Not even showing up today.” She felt tingles running across her arms and knew she was starting to spark. She had been working hard at restraining her magic so it didn’t light her up like a Christmas tree every time she was worked up. But she really didn’t care at the moment. It was time for Atreyu to tell her what the fuck was going on.
Shoving the door to their suite open, Mor stomped in and slammed the door. “Atreyu! What the fuck?” She looked around, not seeing him. “Dammit!” She whirled around, ready to stomp back out, but pulled up short. He was sitting in the corner nursing a bottle of - whiskey? “What are you doing?”
“Getting drunk, beautiful. Want to join?” He held the bottle up and waggled his eyebrows at her.
“We were waiting for you. It’s dinner time.”
“Oh fuck. My bad!” He pushed against the wall, barely able to stand. He took a couple steps and tripped.
“Fuck!” Mor jumped and grunted as she caught him. “Ok, babe. Let’s get you settled.” She focused on the feelings of the other guys and tried to force a pulse along the bond. She really sucked at doing that, so she could only hope that they got was she was trying to send. After helping Atreyu to the bed, she snatched the whiskey bottle from him and then pushed him back on to the bed.
“Hey!! Give me back my whiskey!” Atreyu grinned and tried to sit up.
Mor rolled her eyes and just pushed him back down. “Stay there.”
A moment later, Sebastian pushed through the doors. “Wha - oh.” He stared at where Atreyu was giggling on the bed. “Is he giggling?”
“Yep. And really fucking drunk.” She sighed and looked over at him. “Can Max do anything about this?”
“I think so?” Sebastian’s eyes were wide as he stared at Atreyu who now had tears running down his cheeks.
“Do you have any idea what this is about?” Mor gestured to Atreyu.
“I do. But I think we’ll have Max straighten him out and then force a little chat on him.” Sebastian ground his teeth.
“Ooookay.” Mor blinked at Sebastian, unsure what to think. “How long do you think it will take?”
“Not too long. Why don’t we go get you some dinner while we wait for Max to sober him up?” Sebastian held a hand out to Mor.
She followed him downstairs and let him feed her. Sebastian kept up a running conversation with her while they waited. Ben joined them in the kitchen and tried to help Sebastian, but Mor could see the rising tension in them. Finally, she burst out, “Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”
Ben sighed. “It’s really not our story to tell, Mor.”
“Maybe you could just give me the gist?”
“No, darling, it must come from Atreyu.”
“Ugh. Fine,” Mor huffed. Probably it was for the best. But still. A little heads up on why Atreyu - the most carefree of the four - was drunk as a skunk would be nice.
Just as Mor was really starting to get frustrated, Max popped his head into the kitchen. “He’s ready.”
“Fucking finally,” Sebastian huffed. “Let’s get this shit over with.”
When he offered her his hand, Mor let him pull her to her feet. “Definitely. I do not like being the only one who doesn’t know.”
“I hope you still feel that way after this.” Ben’s face was grim when she looked up at him.
“Better to know….?”
“I think it is.” Sebastian shook his head. “Much of this drama could have been avoided if he’d just spoken to you straight away.”
“Well, he’s going to now.” Her face was set in grim lines. He was going to fucking tell her one way or another. Even if she had to drag it out of him piece by little fucking piece. They made their way back up the stairs to their suite. Mor opened the door and saw Atreyu sitting on the bed, his head in hands. “Atreyu.” He looked up at her as she crossed the room and sat next to him. Mor pulled his hands into her lap. “What’s going on?”
He didn’t look at her, but she could see his face was drawn and set in a frown. He opened his mouth and then closed it. He opened it again and then closed it again. “I - I’m not sure where to start.”
“The beginning is always a good place.” Mor forced herself to breathe, hoping he would let her in.
“The beginning. I’ll give you the condensed version.” Atreyu sighed. “It starts with a dare.”
Mor snorted. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting that.”
He cracked a smile before his face fell back into a frown. “Some of the guys in our unit dared me to sneak into Pendragon territory. They said I wasn’t strong enough to mask myself in enemy territory.” He sighed. “I was young. In my nineties, I think? I thought I was invincible. So of course, I took the dare and crossed into Pendragon lands.” He shook his head. “It was so stupid. I wasn’t caught, but while I was there I saw Selina. She was so beautiful and looked like no one I had ever met before. She had silver hair hanging past her hips and skin so white it glowed.” He gave Mor a sad smile. “I thought she was the one. My mate.”
Mor forced herself to keep quiet. She knew he loved her but she had a feeling this was going to be hard to hear. She squeezed his hand and waited for him to keep going.
“Everything happened so fast. We would meet on the border everyday, spending the nights together every chance we got. She said she loved me and would leave her family for me.” His jaw clenched and a bitter laugh escaped him.
“What happened?” Mor asked.
“I brought her to meet my family. Selina charmed them like she charmed me, except for Adair. He kept his distance from her. Then Selina started asking questions about who would inherit. When I told her my brother would - as the oldest - she tried to convince me to get rid of him.”
Mor’s jaw dropped. “She wanted you to do what?!”
“I know. Selina said she didn’t mean hurt him. She wanted me to ruin his reputation so he couldn’t take over.”
“I know you didn’t go for that.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t. And we had a huge fight. I stormed out of our room and then when I went looking for her later...I found her standing naked in front of Adair trying to seduce him.”
“That - I can’t - “ She took an unsteady breath. “I can’t even imagine how that would feel.”
He gave her a sad smile. “The only thing that made it redeemable was the look of disgust on Adair’s face. So I grabbed her by the arm and shoved her out the door. Naked.”
A snort escaped from Mor before she could push it back down. “I’m sorry. I can just see that in my head.” She grinned. “Thats my Fae.” She smiled at him and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “That’s why you’ve been weird this week.”
“Yeah. We’ve heard that she has managed to make her way up to being an advisor to the king.”
“So you’ll have to see her again.”
He nodded and frowned, bending over and leaning his head against her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner. I just…there’s a lot of feelings there.”
“I’m sure. Anger, sadness, embarrassment. Fear.” Mor kissed his head. “You won’t be alone there, my love. Your brothers and I will be there. And I’ll kick that bitch’s ass if she so much as looks at you wrong.”
Atreyu pulled Mor into his lap. “Thank you, beautiful.” He looked down at her, a thoughtful look on his face. “I kind of want to see you kick her ass. I think it would be so sexy.”
Mor laughed and smacked his arm. “Next time don’t drink yourself into a corner, okay?”
“I won’t.” He swooped down and kissed her hard. “I love you. Thank you.�
�
Chapter 8
Sebastian
Sebastian glared at the sun breaking over the tops of the trees. Ben had insisted that they start off as early as possible. Bloody ass that he was. He took a drink of coffee from his travel cup. They may still use horses for short distances, but they were not savages. Coffee must be had.
When Mor walked out, Sebastian felt a smile break across his face. His mate was stunning. Smart and stronger than she knew. This trip would test her, though, and Sebastian was determined to be prepared. She had made more progress than he thought possible with her magic and training, but it wasn’t the same as using it daily for years and in earnest. He took another drink. He wouldn’t show her anything but trust no matter what happened.
His smile turned into a grin as she walked over and went up on her toes to kiss him. “Good morning again, darling. Ready to head out?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Mor sighed. “How do the horses handle going through the rings?”
Sebastian chuckled. “Darling, they start going through when they are just a few weeks old. It’s easier to start them young. But not every horse is trained to go through.”
“I guess that makes sense. But then how do we have enough for the whole team?”
“Every solider must have one trained. Atreyu’s family kept some up for us.”
“How do I have one?”
Atreyu came up behind Mor and wrapped his arms around her. It was strangely satisfying to see her wrapped in the arms of his brother. “Isabella is letting you borrow hers, beautiful.”
“That’s really awesome of her.” Mor smiled up at him.
“Allow me to take you through the ring, darling. The horses were moved through earlier this morning with Samantha and her team.”
“Thank you.” Mor squeezed his hand and let Sebastian lead her to the ring. “I really hate this. Are you sure we can’t just ride horses or something?”
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