Sylfic

by Kenna Bardot

  "Hollis," I called out as I rushed over and threw my arms around him. I felt a hand pinch my butt before lips kissed my temple. I took a deep breath and for the first time, I was happy with the fact that I was a Sylfe. Being gifted with better senses meant it allowed me the opportunity to experience my men better. Better enjoy every moment I could touch them and see their beautiful faces and, as I took a deep breath, smell the unique scents that could only be theirs.

  "Ryle, Tate, Shep and Char." I breathed in a sigh of relief because even though I'd known that they'd survived, I still worried with the way their blood had dripped onto the arena ground. How their bones had crunched under the harsh hits of weapons. "I was so worried about you all. There was nothing more tortuous than having to watch you fight like that. Even your Ascension battle wasn't as nerve-wracking or horrific."

  I reached out and tried to wrap my arms around them all, a feat that was impossible particularly given how muscular Ryle was with his wide and bulky shoulders. And the possessive way that Shep had of wrapping his arms around me.

  Char ran a hand down my hair. "We were proud to do it, Mireyah. And we would have gladly dropped every single ounce of blood that courses through our veins to prove our love for you.”

  I twisted around to lay my lips on his. “And I am honored to have you fight for me. I just wish the stakes weren’t as high as they are now.”

  Shep walked forward and grabbed my hand, kissing it as he did so. We will do anything in our power to make sure you become ours. We won’t accept anything less."

  "Thank you. I know that you guys won't stop me from achieving what I want to achieve." I turned towards Tate because I felt those silver eyes on me, understanding what I was feeling and thinking.

  "You're fated to stir things up in Demiorgo. We’ll be honored if we have a hand in getting you there." He ran a finger down my cheek just as Shep squeezed his shoulder. "Speaking of which, it's time to go. Much as we've enjoyed spending time with you here in Sylfeshire, it might be best to take you somewhere more private. And show you a part of the world we're sure you've never seen."

  My heart raced because we would finally get time together alone. Yes, we’d had some time barely a month previously after they had Declared for me, but it had not been enough and I was desperate for more. Now that they were here, I wanted to take as much time as I could. It wasn't that I doubted their ability to make sure that we would be together as Gods and Goddess, but I'd always been a realist rather than an idealist.

  "We've asked the favor of someone from the Express to help us in transport since it’s a little ways away, and we don’t want to spend the hours we have with you just trying to get there. It’s also the safest. We wouldn't want Colm Svadeni punishing us if we don't appropriately protect you." I threaded my fingers through Ryle's fingers as they walked me out the front door.

  A Springen stood by the foot of the steps. His gaze went straight towards Char, sneering as he did so. "Vide."

  "Springen," Char returned just as coolly, although his face was calm and unruffled. Hollis pushed back against Charolais, and walked forward with his arms out. "Rik, I thank you for this favor and on your day off too. Much as it might be painful for you in certain aspects."

  The Springen Hollis called Rik raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "Well, it doesn't kill me, in any case. I'll send you to where you want to go, and I'll be there to collect you after five hours, you say?"

  Hollis nodded. “Five hours.”

  He lifted his hands, and a yellow light wrapped around me. I felt the nausea kick in before my world went to black. I came to a few moments later with Ryle's arms wrapped around me. I was very grateful for the support when I noted that I was still upright after the jump. I took a deep breath of air that was crisp and clean and allowed it to clear the nausea.

  "Are you okay, Mireyah?" Ryle's warm eyes stared down at me with concern, and I gave him a small nod, relieved when the action didn't make me feel dizzy.

  "Let's be honest. The Springen could have done that with a little more finesse," Char huffed out even as his white eyes examined me. It was a little annoying to note that he appeared unruffled. Then again, he always did.

  Hollis walked forward even as he combed fingers through his hair to put it back in place. "Charolais, let's not start this again. You know how South and North blend."

  Shep laughed and shot me a wink. "Not at all. You guys fight more than the East and West do."

  "Hey! That's because the East concedes that the West can never be beaten." This from Ryle, who had walked over to stand next to Hollis.

  "That's ridiculous!" Shep interjected. "We know not to waste our time on endeavors that already have a foregone conclusion."

  I felt Tate sidle up next to me and bump my shoulders with his. "Fascinating, isn't it, Mireyah? Much as we love and respect one another, regional allegiance can still rear its ugly head." I watched as the worry made my brows furrow as he laughed when Ryle pushed at Char.

  "Tate Nastroj, break it up this instant. I don't want to spend this time fighting." I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at Tate. He eventually raised his arms in a defensive position. "Fine, I'll break it up, but it's not fighting so much as flirting and some foreplay. It can be more fun than sex. You should see it when they use their powers. Ryle sometimes ends up kissing the ground thanks to Hollis. It's hilarious."

  I tapped my foot against the ground. "Tate...."

  "Fine." He spun around towards the guys. “Okay, guys, stop it! Our Mireyah is annoyed, so I say that it’s time to show her our surprise." Tate grabbed Shep's shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze before the Tempestas could throw a punch towards Tate's face.

  "Fine, fine. Calming down." Shep visibly gave himself a shake before throwing a glance my way. "Sorry, Mireyah."

  'Yeah, sorry, Mireyah." Hollis and Ryle had the decency to throw me sheepish looks but my eyes landed on Charolais, who looked all too smug and pleased. When he realized that I stared at him, he smirked at me and stepped forward, reaching towards me with an outstretched hand.

  Since he would never apologize, I just let it go and gave him a reproachful look instead before finally conceding and grabbing it in mine.

  He led me forward, guiding me so I could duck under the low-hanging branches of the trees. Behind us, I could hear the rest of my men following, and I wondered what this surprise was that they'd prepared for me.

  "We're here," Charolais announced, and he stepped to the side and gestured for me to walk forward. I shot him a questioning look, but he just gave me an encouraging nod of his head. I heard Shep speak up, "Go on, Mireyah."

  My heart started racing as I stepped forward. It was the sound that reached me first - the loud sound of rushing water. Then I saw it, the waterfall that fell onto a crisp, clear lake that was disturbed only by the water crashing against water.

  "It's beautiful," I whispered even as Tate wrapped his arm around me. I didn't have to look to know it was him. Some part of me always knew who it was who touched me. Such was my connection to them.

  "There's something else we want to show you." He led towards a break in the copse of trees. He pointed upwards, and it was a view of Demiorgo that I hadn't seen before.

  "It's almost friendly and welcoming from this angle," I muttered softly, not caring if they could hear me or not. "I used to hate the very thing the place stood for." I spun around to face them and held my hands out. "I'll be honest. I don't know if those feelings have completely changed, but I can accept going up there if it means I can be with you. And if it means I can push for change." I reached up to pull at the neck of my dress.

  "Hot?" He pointed right by the lake where there was more shade. "Come sit by the shade."

  I shot him a puzzled smile even as I decided to just tease him about it instead, "Well, I suppose it would be more pleasant to be naked in the shade. Right?"

  "Naked?" Charolais asked as he came over and wrapped an arm around my waist, kissing my temple. "Why, pray tell, are you
getting naked?"

  I stepped from his hold gently and swiveled around to face him. "Well, I'm assuming sex is best done naked even if we’re outside. It looks to be well-hidden and private, so there’s no worry that anyone would see.”

  The five just shot me varying looks of amusement, grinning at one another as I continued to speak, “And in case it's not clear yet, I am very much okay to have sex with you. It’s nice to have to give that permission, to know that Ashric and Lathyn can’t just take from me. Theoretically, at least.” I tried not to think of the irony of my expressing those concerns to the very men who had done just that.

  "Don't talk like that, Mireyah. We'll do everything we can to make sure it's just us who ever have private time with you. They had to handicap us in the First Trial, and we still won. We’re determined that nothing will ever stand in our way." Shep shot up from his very comfortable position by the side of the lake. The light that shone from the copse of trees landed on his dark purple hair.

  "My point was that only you will ever have my explicit permission. I grant it to you, Charolais Vide, Shephard Tempestas, Ryle Kald, Tate Nastroj and Hollis Svadeni." Something pulsed in the air, and I felt a warmth surround my ear.

  "Well, apparently, that's been locked down then. Your earcuff might not just be a cosmetic, after all." Tate stepped forward and ran a hand down my cheek. "However, while we are all very much thankful that you gave us your permission and while we very much want to be with you, we aren't looking to have sex with you today."

  My mouth dropped open as the words left his lips. "No sex?" My head turned until I met Ryle's eyes, and he smiled at me even though I could see it was an effort for him. "No, Mireyah. Don't get us wrong. We love you and there isn't a moment that doesn't go by that I don't imagine my hands on you. There’s time enough for sex on a different day.”

  "We simply want to spend time with you. That seems to be something we've rarely done. Just spend time in each other's companies." Hollis walked up and gave me a hug, enclosing me in his warmth. It was intimate but not sexual and breath-taking in its simplistic beauty. "And take it from someone who does seduction. Emotional intimacy can be much sexier."

  "Although if you want to remove your clothes and sit around naked, we wouldn't mind it," Tate piped up with a wink in my direction.

  "Speak for yourself, Nastroj. It'd be too tempting to see it and not touch." Shep muttered, although he was good-natured about it. "We had a picnic prepared for you, Mireyah. We have some of your favorites." I looked towards it and saw the Dijari fruit. It was my favorite, and I could remember how they'd fed it to me at the dining table back when I'd served them in Godsvail.

  "Are you going to feed me like you fed me back in Godsvail?" I teased even as I pulled at my skirt to make it flare around me. I looked up as Charolais walked towards us and cast a shadow over me. He held the fruit teasingly between his fingers and gave it a kiss before dangling it right over my parted lips. "Sweet. But not as sweet as you."

  I took it, making sure my lips grazed over his fingers. "No one can ever accuse you of being too sweet, Charolais." I took his hand and pulled him down. "Join us."

  ✽✽✽

  I was wrapped around Ryle, who squeezed me from behind even as he nuzzled my neck. I arched towards him as Shep held my hands in his, playing with the fingers, teasing and tormenting them with his lips. At the foot of the blanket, Hollis sprawled on his back, and Tate's head lay on his stomach.

  Charolais sat with his back leaning against a tree trunk and watched us all with a satisfied look on his face. When he realized I was staring at him, he gave me a genuinely pleased smile before he looked up and sighed. "Noon has passed and gone." He sneered in Hollis' general direction. "The Springen will be here soon."

  We packed up with haste and a general tinge of sadness. Rik was there at the exact time he said he would be and without incident before he got us back to Sylfeshire without a word. Hollis held back long enough to thank him even as the rest of us walked inside. Or, as I did, dragged my feet.

  "Had a good time?" Lathyn stood at the very spot where my five had waited for me just that morning when I'd been running late. I could not deny that the way he looked at me was warm and fond. He ignored my five and just focused on me.

  I felt sad and sorry for him, because I knew that I would fight and fight hard to make sure my five won. And he didn’t deserve the pain of that disappointment, because he deserved to have someone just for him. Just as my men were just for me.

  "Probably had a good gang bang," Ashric snarled, staring me up and down, no doubt imagining me without my clothes.

  Shep stomped towards him, but Lathyn stopped him with a regal long-fingered hand. "No." And Shep was just startled enough at the command to listen.

  Lathyn turned towards Ashric and reached out, giving his shoulder a hard squeeze. "You will keep such ghastly opinions to yourself, Ashric Tovenaar. Your House doesn't have the most stellar of reputations, however you profess to want to marry the lovely Mireyah so you will not disrespect her nor the House of Tovenaar."

  "Or what?" Ashric spat out as he pushed the hand from his shoulder away.

  "You don't want to find out." Lathyn spun towards me and gave me a shallow bow. "Lovely to see you again. I'll see you in the next Trial and perhaps it will be my turn to win." He nodded to my guys. "Gentlemen."

  "Beat it, Tovenaar," Ryle bit out the words, and Ashric sneered before bowing at us mockingly and walking away.

  "Good riddance, yes?" spoke a voice from behind us, and we all turned to see Colm walking towards us. He reached out a hand towards me, which I grabbed reluctantly, allowing him to pull me away from my men. "Gentlemen, I hope you had a wonderful time with our darling Mireyah. However, I must ask you all to leave."

  Hollis stepped forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek, throwing him an arched look.

  The rest of my guys gave me equally chaste kisses under the watchful eye of Colm Svadeni, but I was distracted. Once again, I had to be in the position of watching them walk away.

  Chapter 21

  Mireyah

  "And aren't you excited, Mireyah?” Edlynne Nastroj asked me as we stepped out of the classroom where I had been in a class with her.

  As in just me. In a class with her.

  To say it had been awkward was a gross understatement, especially when I’d sat there staring at her tattoo as she tried to set my expectations on what it would be like once I Ascended. She shared with me the nuances that someone who didn’t grow up in Demiorgo wouldn’t know.

  And if that hadn’t been bad enough, the way she watched me made it seem like she expected me to grow an additional head. Apparently, having a group of five Gods declare for you and fight for you was enough to make people treat you weirdly.

  "I'm not, no. I'm afraid I cannot particularly explain what I feel. May I know how you felt when you were in my position?" I asked her quickly, even though I really had no desire to know, particularly. I just wanted to steer the conversation away from me and my feelings.

  'Well, perhaps it differed from how you feel right now. Then again, I am sure that being a God and going to Godsvail were not things you worked towards as a child back when you had been in your city or village?" She tilted her head at me, those long silver curls glinting in the hallway lights.

  "You are... right, Madam Nastroj. In fact, I lived my life expecting to meet my death not long after. Thoughts of my mortality did not scare me." I chuckled even as I remembered the Mireyah that Caprice had shown me. How different she had been, but how essential she’d been to my growth as a person. Without having been who she was, I would not have become who I was.

  "A lot would resent you for that," she observed, with a finger on her chin.

  I shrugged. "Many have. In fact, my sister resented the fact that I qualified on my first Collection when she had already gone beyond her years." I sighed, choking a bit as I struggled to remember the family and friends I’d had to leave behind. I could barely remember their faces
after nearly six years away from them.

  "Yes, I'm sure. Well, we each have our own journey and path. Some who come here to Sylfeshire find that their journey ends here, and that means it's the journey they are destined to take. Had I not met Markus, allowed him to fight for me, become his wife, I'd have been perfectly content just living out the rest of my years as a Sylfe. Then I'd have become Unwanted and accepted it to be my path and journey. However, when he Declared for me, the prospect of becoming a God finally became real. And because it was more real than ever, it became more difficult to prepare myself for it. So I am not surprised that you cannot see nor say what you feel like in this journey you are in. I know precisely what you feel. But, speaking of journeys, there is someone else who is in her own unique journey." She nodded to a spot farther down the hallway, and I looked over to see Astraea, face set in a frown and walking straight towards Lysandra who stood waiting for her, leaning against the hallway wall.

  “Oh,” I reacted, wondering what may have happened with Astraea.

  "Class is over, Mireyah. You’re excused. I do not presume to think you prefer my company over theirs." She smiled at them even as I gave her a shallow curtsy before dashing off to join Astraea and Lysandra. "Hey, guys!"

  As one, their heads turned towards me and while they both smiled, I could see the fatigue in Astraea’s and the worry in Lysandra’s. I walked over and wrapped an arm around Astraea, as she commonly did for me, hoping I can offer her comfort. "Are you okay?" I kept my voice soft, soothing.

  Lysandra's gaze never left Astraea’s face, even as she replied for her, "Caprice. It was Caprice. However kindly she might mean things, she can destroy your soul. And still make you grateful for it."

  Astraea lifted a hand to stop Lys. "Lysandra, I'm fine. Mother Caprice wasn't as bad now as she has been in the past. It was me I had to contend with. However much I wish I’ve changed, it’s hard to see that it’s not to the extent I wish I did." She looked down at her hands, which I saw were shaking. "It’s disconcerting to see into me and find myself lacking.”