by Jen Talty
“That’s why we gave one drop to the witches at the camp, to see if they can make the exact same batch, or at least find a way for it to work on a seer.”
He had a calm answer for everything. Made her nerves fray like yanking at a single thread and unraveling an entire shirt.
“We’re sure Coral can do her branding ceremony with the Coven of the Raindrops?”
“They will welcome her with open arms.” He frowned, taking a step back. “I should tell you they offered to welcome you as well.”
“As a warrior?”
He nodded.
“No. I never wanted to be one in the first place.”
“It’s your witch destiny.”
“I think we decided that it was to be a traitor and protect your family,” she said, palming his cheek. Her heart swelled with love. She thought it might burst from the intense heat.
“You’ve been a witch for twenty-one years, I would never ask you to abandon that part of your life.”
She patted his cheek. “My wolf mate, you forget I was planning on running, turning my back on my coven, and risk being hunted for the rest of my life. I was trained to be a warrior, but I was forced to protect the wrong things. I’ve made MY choice, or fate made it for me, doesn’t matter. I’m here.” What kind of babble was that coming from her mouth? She woke up feeling different and figured it had been from a night filled with the kind of pleasure a person probably spent their entire life trying to find.
However, there was something else going on inside her.
“All right then, let’s go meet the family.”
She groaned. But before she could protest some more, the front door slammed shut.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” a young man, perhaps a year or two older than her, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a clean-shaven face said as he bounced down the porch steps. “James isn’t thrilled you had to leave the party, but he called a bit ago, and said if we need him, he’s in.”
“I hope you told him to just go on his honeymoon.” Nico laced his fingers through hers as he tugged her toward the porch. The young man had softer features than Nico but had the same dark eyes.
The air expanding her lungs burned as she exhaled.
The man nodded. “So, you must be Isidore,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Drew.”
She raised hers and immediately a white trail like fog floating in the air, wrapped around his as she took it in a firm handshake. Concentrating on the speckles, she willed them to disappear.
They didn’t listen.
Then she called them back.
That they seemed to understand.
“You weren’t kidding about her being a royal fairy.” Drew shook his hand.
“Did I hurt you?” She frowned, mentally scolding the electricity that zipped through her veins, giving her a little understanding of what they were.
They weren’t anything other than an extension of her emotions and a hint of her fairy magic.
She blinked. This is strange as fuck.
Relax. Nico squeezed her hand.
Drew laughed. “No pain, but it is an odd sensation. Daphne has been able to control it, but the babies, not so much.”
“It’s not much different than magic, only it has a bit of a mind of its own. It wants to spread love and joy, but it can be deadly,” she blurted out, not knowing where all this newfound knowledge came from. Her mind filled with images of the past.
And not her past.
“What’s happening?” Drew whispered.
“I have no idea, but maybe we should stand back.” Nico tried to pull his hand away, but she wouldn’t let go.
Couldn’t let go.
Can you hear me? she projected through screaming that filled her brain. A dozen people or so, pointing and yelling at her. But when she saw her reflection, it wasn’t really her. Looked like her, sounded like her, and her outfit was badass with some armor thing around her middle and a cool piece on her head. Kind of looked like Wonder Woman.
The people in front of her called her Arjuna.
Barely. You have a red glow around your body and your eyes are pure as snow. It’s not an attractive look for you.
I don’t know about that. You should see what I’m wearing in this weird dream-like thing. Her head felt like someone had jabbed her temples with freezing cold ice picks, but it didn’t hurt. It only fueled her need to seek out more.
Now you’ve piqued my curiosity. Describe it to me in detail.
Totally inappropriate under the circumstances. I feel like I’m in two different worlds, being tugged and pulled at. I’m no longer liking this.
How do we stop it? Nico asked, his voice filled with concern.
I haven’t a clue.
One young man stepped forward from the crowd, shouting at her, holding a vase of some kind. He pointed the cork, holding it closed, then held it up as if it were an offering. A picture formed on the base. Isidore squinted. It looked like a painting of a celebration of some kind, but in an instant, it disappeared in a rage of fire and smoke.
She focused on Nico’s energy, trying to grab the particles of his mind into her vision, or whatever the fuck it was. Seemed like something that would happen to her sister, only Isidore looked into the distant past, not scrolled the future of possible outcomes.
Who the fuck is Arjuna, and where the hell did you just take me? Nico asked. She could see him standing on the outskirts of the scene playing out in front of her like an old film with jagged edges. One person in the group turned and pointed at Nico, who snapped into the vision like the last piece of a puzzle.
Herod! the man yelled as the group fell to their knees, bowing.
‘Please get us out of here,’ the crowd yelled.
Isidore? Nico called from across the vision. Can you pull us back to reality?
In the vision, she raised her arms and wiggled her finger. A long trail of sparks following a green fog floated across the vision, coating Nico. She snapped her arm back and Nico’s body, in her mind, was at her side. Focusing on the real ground her foot stood on, she pushed the vision as if she hurled it back to the past.
Her knees buckled as the green, lush woods that lined the cabin in a small town in Vermont blinked in and out of focus.
“Whoa,” Nico said, scooping her up into his arms as he stumbled to the steps.
“Dude, you’re almost in as bad of shape as her,” Drew said, helping them both to the porch. “Mind telling me what the hell that was all about?”
“It was a vision of some kind, but not sure what,” Nico said, smoothing his hands over her hair as she tucked her face into his neck.
Her heart slowed to something that felt as though she might black out. The world around her spun as if she were the earth and the rest the sun.
“She needs to rest,” Nico said, his voice and gentle touch lulling her into a quiet place.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and she gave up trying to focus on anything other than birds chirping in the background. A warm blanket of something wrapped around her, and she curled up as close as she could to Nico, drawing on his strength. The details of the vision, for lack of a better word, became clearer and clearer as her body regained its normal vigor.
Something told her the image on the vase was more important than anything else. She concentrated on replicating the image and what she saw jolted her heart into hyper speed.
“Nico,” she said, with a sudden rush of urgency.
“I’m right here.” His fingers tangled in her hair, her head resting in his lap.
She blinked open her eyes, surprised to see wood walls and a dresser on the far end of what appeared to be a bedroom. Adjusting herself to a sitting position, she eased back on the pillows.
“How long was I asleep?”
“Only about fifteen minutes, actually,” Nico said, tracing his thumb under the cut on her cheek. “Are you feeling better?”
She nodded. “What about you?”
“Whatever that was, didn’t affect m
e quite like it did you.”
“At first, I thought it was about the past, considering the way I was dressed.”
“That was hot.”
She let out a long breath, shaking her head. He hadn’t seen the vase, so she gave him a pass, this time. “You noticed they were all fairies in my mind, right?”
He nodded.
“They are trapped somewhere. Being held against their will. They were reaching out to me.”
“They called you Arjuna.” Nico said, lacing his fingers through hers before kissing the back of her hand.
“That means foremost warrior in an old Hindu Myth,” she said, remembering a story her mother used to tell her when she was a little girl about a great female warrior who saved a group of special people when they’d been held captive by an evil monster. “And Herod is the Greek word for Warrior God.”
“In this vision, I’m a God?”
“Don’t let it go to that fat head of yours,” she said, tapping his temple with her finger. “We need to set them free.”
“We can figure all that out after the Spring Fling.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think the Spring Fling will happen without them,” she whispered, her gut churning in knots. “The twins will be stillborn if we don’t free them.”
Chapter 9
NICO PINCHED THE bridge of his nose as he sat waiting impatiently for Isidore to be done being interviewed by the expert on all things fairy, Brenda, and his sister, Cheryl, the former art historian. Ever since the Royals had been unlocked, Cheryl used her ability to help Brenda map out the real history versus the myths that had been handed down generation after generation.
“We can’t tell Chaz what she saw.”
“We have to tell him. He’s still Alpha of this pack, and we’re talking about his children,” his father said with a stern voice as he crossed his legs, tapping his foot on the hardwood floor.
“I can’t imagine what he must be going through,” Nico muttered. His older brother had always been a strong, virile wolf with a mind as sharp as a tack. When Nico had been younger, he followed Chaz everywhere, wanting to be just like him. He’d been Nico’s hero as much as his father had been.
Only Nico never wanted to be responsible for the pack, but now he felt the weight of the world resting on his shoulders.
“You’ll understand someday soon,” his mother said.
“I’m in no hurry to have children and neither is Isidore,” he said. That might be the truth, but the fact remained, they could already be pregnant, which was insane. They just met. Fated mate or not, there was so much he didn’t know about her or her past.
“She’s wise beyond her years,” his mother said as she continued to put her hand on his father’s leg, trying to get him to stop rattling the floor. “My heart aches for what she’s had to endure in her young life.”
“No one will ever lay a hand on her again, not while I’m breathing,” he said with a long, dark growl.
“Spoken like a true mate,” his mother whispered. “I’m glad you found yours.”
“I’m still shocked she’s a witch.”
“Actually, I’m not.” Isidore leaned against the doorjamb, waving a piece of paper in her hand.
Nico waved his hand, patting the sofa. Being apart from her gave him a blinding headache. “How is that possible?”
“While we combed through dozens of documents, trying to figure out who these trapped fairies are and where they are being held, and if it really was a present-day vision, we found something interesting.”
“I’m adopted,” Isidore said with a frown on her pretty face as she snuggled in next to him. Amazing how quickly they’d become comfortable with each other in one day. Normally, it could take weeks to months for fated ones to even mate, much less have that coziness that came with years of love and compassion.
“What?” He glanced at the paper, then back at Isidore. “Are you sure?”
“Your brother is checking on the validity of the adoption papers and to see if my sister was as well.”
Nico took the paper between his fingers, staring at the words. “This says your mother, a human, died during childbirth and that your father is unknown. How can you be a warrior witch if you’re part human and…do we know the other half, besides being from the Royal Fairy Family?”
“Not yet. Your sister called in the witch doctor from the Coven of the Raindrops. He’ll be here in about an hour.”
“She shouldn’t have done that without going through Chaz, or myself,” his father said.
“Dad, we need to know, and we need to know now. We’ve got to get her sister out, especially if she’s a royal fairy.”
“Wait.” Isidore raised her hand. “If neither of us are really witches, and I’m going to assume someone cast a spell on us to one, help us fit in, and two, hide what we really are, that means Coral isn’t really a seer.”
“Not necessarily,” his father said, waving a finger. “There are seers in the fairy world, only they are called visionaries. They are the ones that predicted the coming of the Spring Fling, but it’s believed they were all killed in the final fight.”
“That’s what you are. A visionary of some kind,” Nico said, rubbing his throbbing temples. “If your sister is too, she won’t need a Branding Ceremony.”
“How do we find out?” his mother asked.
“While we wait for Drew to find the information the old-fashioned way, we have Isidore channel whatever it is she needs to in order to see her own past.” Nico didn’t like the way being in a vision affected Isidore, but it made the most sense.
“I wouldn’t even know how to do that.” Isidore looked at him with wide eyes.
“What were you doing when it happened?” his father asked.
“I had just finished shaking Drew’s hand.”
“Let’s get Drew’s ass over here, now,” Nico said.
***
“Are you ready?”
Isidore blinked a few times, shaking out her hands, keeping her eyes locked on Nico’s, which was about the only thing that kept her calm. “You can’t let go of me no matter what, okay?”
Nico nodded.
“Try to recreate the same emotions you had at that moment, but focus on learning about your past,” Nico said.
“Because you know this shit will work.” Her sarcastic tone caught a hearty laugh from Drew.
“I think this is crap. I mean, what the hell do I have to do with any of this?” Drew pushed out his hand. “Let’s go.”
Isidore closed her eyes, pulling up one of her favorite memories of when she was a young girl, feeding her baby sister, her mother telling her the story of a warrior female. Once upon a time, her mother called them the three musketeers. One for all, and all for one.
Drew wrapped his fingers around her hand. She released the sparks, now finally understanding how she could control them. It actually wasn’t a matter of restraining them, but allowing them to be an extension of oneself and affecting others.
Either positively, or negatively.
‘Or, in our case, sweet child, guide the future that others want to destroy,’ a male voice said.
In an instant, she found herself surrounded in a field of daisies. Tiny sparks, of all colors, dotted the sky. Warmth spread over her skin like a hot shower dousing her with water.
She spun in a circle, searching for the voice.
‘Who are you? Where are you?’
‘I’m everywhere. In everything you see. And nowhere at all.’
Wonderful, someone who spoke in riddles that meant nothing. She tried to project out to Nico, but something blocked her and that sent a chill up her spine.
‘Relax. I mean you no harm. I want to spend a few moments alone with you.’
‘Then show yourself,’ Isidore said in the vision. While she could still feel Nico’s hand in hers, holding tight, she couldn’t communicate with him, and that made her feel almost empty inside.
Except, this being, whoever it was, seemed f
amiliar.
The sky opened up and a hologram-looking male descended from above. It was like he was translucent, and she could almost see right through him.
The same him she’d seen in her earlier vision.
‘Hello, my child.’
‘Who are you, and what can you tell me about myself, my sister, and the trapped fairies. You are the man I saw earlier, right?’
‘Yes.’ The man folded his non-existent legs just above the daisies and smiled. ‘You look so much like your mother.’
‘Excuse me?’ She tried once again to pull Nico in, but the man waved his hand, blocking the connection with a thick wall.
‘Your mate won’t ever leave your side. He’ll protect you better than I ever could.’
‘Look, not to be rude, but I need answers, and I need them now. A lot of lives are depending on me.’
‘And your mother’s hot-headed attitude,’ the man said. ‘My earthly name had been Peter Rubico. You can find everything you need to know about where in the present you came from. But the past you, that might be a little harder to trace.’
‘You’re my father?’ She inched closer, making sure the slight flesh to flesh she had with Nico remained solid. ‘My biological father?’
He nodded. ‘I’m also a member of the Royal Family, and a doctor. Without me present, the twins won’t survive. I’m the only one that can save them, but I’m trapped in this bottle, as are twenty Royal Fairies, and important ones to reestablish our world. All fairies will parish without us, and you’re the only one who can release us.’
‘Where are you?’ she asked.
‘We don’t know, but your sister does. It just needs to be unlocked, and the only way to do that, is make sure she doesn’t go through her Branding Ceremony. If she does, she’ll be a witch seer forever.’
‘I went through mine, and I’ve come into my fairy powers, what makes her different?’
‘You were born to be a warrior. A protector. Fierce and powerful. Your children will be the future leaders of our kind. However, you are a visionary as well, but your sister is only that and doesn’t have the strength you do to fight the curse the warlock cast on you both, and her fairy self will dissolve, leaving her hard and cold.’