Tatyanna

by Lindsay Johnston

  Kwyk pulled his long gray hair back off his face, and inserted several blades of various lengths into his clothes, hiding them all, but they were there in case he needed them. “Let's not keep them waiting.”

  Marek finished putting everything away, and had taken a few steps out the door when he suddenly fell to the ground, clutching his right leg, all while howling in pain.

  “What the—” Gavin started to say, but it was Kwyk who shushed the younger gentleman, kneeling down to look Marek in the eye. “It's time, isn't it?”

  Marek nodded, tears in his eyes, still grasping onto his leg for dear life. “Shit, no one ever said it would hurt this bad.”

  “What's going on? Do you need one of the healers?” Gavin asked, concern lacing his voice.

  Kwyk smiled, and shook his head. “There's a healer headed this way, but she is the cause of his pain.”

  “What do you mean?” the younger man asked.

  Marek pulled up his pant leg to reveal his normally faded phoenix tattoo. It was fire red and hot, as it burned into his flesh.

  “Oh shit. Is the celebration starting early?” Gavin asked in awe.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter,” Marek barely forced the words out. After several incredibly excruciating moments, the pain started to subside enough for Marek to let go of his leg and strengthen up. He reached out to the rogue, and took several deep breaths, trying to compose himself before answering his cousin.

  “The phoenix is letting me know my mate has arrived.”

  “You have a mate? And you never told me?” Gavin asked hurt.

  “It was an arranged marriage when we were both kids. I haven't seen her since the day we were bonded to each other.”

  “I didn't realize arranged marriages even happened anymore. You know you can decide whether or not you want to stay with her.”

  “Thanks for that, but when I say bonded, I literally mean bonded. The phoenix recognized her as my rightful mate the day we made our vows. She has the ability to deny me, but I will never love anyone else but her.”

  “Umm...Marek...” Gavin started uncertainly.

  “What?”

  “Is it normal for the aging process to reverse before your birthday celebration?” Gavin asked.

  Marek looked to the old rogue for confirmation, and Kwyk nodded his head. “The same thing happened to your mother when she met your father. You may want to cancel the celebration tonight, or else explain everything to the princess, so she is prepared for the change in your appearance.”

  “What? No, man. Marek promised us a birthday celebration, and he never goes back on his word.”

  Marek grimaced inwardly. His cousin was right. No matter what, he had always kept his word, and in a time of war, that was the most important thing he could ever offer his men. “He's right. Gavin, go and grab me a hooded jacket. I will try to hide my appearance from the princess and her party. Maybe she won't be interested in staying up tonight after her travels and will have missed the grand revealing.”

  Kwyk snorted, but kept his thoughts to himself. Gavin came running back, and Marek quickly donned the jacket, making sure it covered his head and most of his face. “Come, let's give her a proper welcome,” he said, limping toward the opening of his camp, feeling the phoenix continue to burn his leg.

  They made it to the clearing, and Marek watched as his people walked to and fro preparing for his birthday, oblivious of the approaching royal party. He could make out two figures dressed in extravagant clothing, and his heart stopped in his chest and he forgot to breathe. As the two figures grew closer, he could make out the Lady Tatyanna, and saw the necklace she wore on her neck proudly displaying who she was. His people stopped to see what was going on. All around him, people dropped to the ground to show their respect. They knew instantly by the showing of clothes, Tatyanna's necklace, and both her and Terran's markings, they were two of the lost royals.

  Marek only had eyes for Tatyanna, and the breath he had been holding rushed out of him. “Fuck me,” he whispered under his breath. “I'm going to screw this up,” he said more to himself.

  Kwyk clapped him on the back with laughter in his voice. “That's what I'm betting on. This is going to be fun.”

  Marek wanted to glare at his friend, but he couldn't take his eyes off the beauty in front of him. She walked like a queen, with her head up high. He could see that she was nervous, but she had no reason to be. Her skin had tanned during her journey, and he could see her black hair had a slight blue tint to it, outside of her recognizable blue bangs; the sign she was the rightful ruler.

  Tatyanna and her friends stopped a few feet from where Marek was standing, and she stood there, uncertain of what to do next. She glanced around, and was surprised to see everyone was bowing. Marek watched her like a hawk, and saw her put her left hand over her right fist. He could see the telltale signs of an identical phoenix tattoo burning on her wrist, just like the one on his leg was doing. He wondered if she was aware of the significance.

  Medo stepped forward and offered his arm to Marek. They both grasped each other’s elbows in a firm shake. “Good to see you again, old friend,” Medo said.

  Marek opened his mouth to speak, but instead of greeting his friend, he said the worst words to ever come out of his mouth. “Medo, you didn't have to bring me any entertainment tonight. I have everything covered.” Marek inwardly cringed, and blamed his idiotic cousin for putting those words into his head. He had no clue where that came from, and hoped Tatyanna didn't hear him.

  She stepped forward, and quietly asked, “Excuse me?”

  Marek had already dug his hole, maybe he could dig it deeper, and she'd just blame it on the craziness of an old man instead of his true identity. He shrugged, and pulled her to him by her waist. He rudely roamed his eyes over her thin, yet womanly, shape and smiled. “I bet we will have some fun together.”

  “My Lord Marek, she is the princess,” Medo stammered out.

  And then everyone could hear a crack as Tatyanna lashed out at Marek striking him across his face. He knew he was going to have a handprint there, and now his charade was over. Instead of hiding his identity, she knew who he was.

  The princess leaned forward. “The only entertainment you are getting here is watching my backside walk away from you. I hope your balls shrivel up and die,” she said with venom in her voice, walking back the way that she came. Marek touched his aching cheek, and knew he had met his soulmate.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Birthday Celebration

  Emmett punched Marek in his arm, pulling him out of his thoughts. Marek's eyes turned dark as he looked at his opponent. “Back off, Guardian. I am not a threat to your princess.”

  “No?” he asked. “You just called her a slut. What the hell were you thinking?”

  Marek let out a humorous laugh and scrubbed his hands down his face. “Fuck. I wasn't thinking. All common sense left my brain when I saw her.”

  “Yeah, it went south,” Gavin said behind him, chuckling. Again, Marek had to close his eyes and force himself to count to ten. He couldn't wait to put the kid in his place.

  “At least I know she still has spunk,” he said, trying to make light of the situation, but Emmett wasn't willing to budge. “Look. I screwed up. Okay? I wasn't expecting you guys to come until tomorrow, and I didn't want her seeing me like this. It's going to be hard enough to explain this to her. I guess I was hoping I could piss her off, and she'd stay inside tonight. Tomorrow, I will be me again, and we can start fresh.” He was in a staring contest with her Guardian, and Marek wondered if the man had crossed the line at some point and fallen in love. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, nor the last, but he didn't want to make an enemy out of a potential ally. Marek could feel Emmett in his mind, rooting around to make sure what the man said was true. He pulled back when he saw Marek truly was being an ass to conceal his change, and nothing else.

  “Fine. Let her blow off her steam. I'll try to keep her inside. Show us whe
re we will be staying so I can get the queen to relax.”

  “Queen?” Marek asked, feeling his stomach drop.

  “Yeah, queen,” Emmett answered. “Grandfather crowned her when we arrived at her castle. You may want to rethink your strategy with her.”

  Marek felt worse now than he did before. He didn’t even know if he could make up to Tatyanna for the way he treated her. But he did know he needed to stay on her friends’ good sides in order to have any hope.

  “Fine. I screwed up. Do what you can, and tomorrow, I’ll try to repair the mess I made,” Marek said, noticing they were missing someone in their group, and saw one of his men had turned around to follow his queen. He felt a fire grow in his belly. He didn't want any other man near his mate. He had to push the jealous feelings aside. He screwed up once. He didn't want to screw up and piss her friends off, and inadvertently pissing her off as well. He would play nice...for now.

  “Come, I'll show you to the guest cabins. Lilly will stay with the...princess.” Marek glanced back once toward the way Tatyanna had stomped off and smiled. He was pleased she had spirit. She would need it in the days ahead.

  “How dare he! How dare he call me a slut?” Tatyanna shouted, her voice laced with malice. “I want to hit something. I want to throw something. ARGH!” She felt her hands heat up, and saw they were an angry glowing blue. This was a sign, telling her she was about to lose control. She tried to tamp down her anger, but the harder she tried the more it continued to grow. She knew Marek was someone important to her, but she couldn't understand why.

  He was an old man, old enough to be her grandfather, yet when she saw his eyes, she couldn't help feeling drawn to them, feeling like there was more beneath the surface. She realized she had had those same feelings toward Cale. She couldn't possibly have feelings for Marek. One, because he was a jerk, and two, because he was at least four times her age. She drew up a picture in her mind of kissing the older man, and laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all, letting the anger drain out of her.

  “Hey.” Tatyanna turned to see Cale walking toward her, but she didn't feel the butterflies like she normally did when she was in close proximity to him. “Are you okay?” he asked her, concern written all over his tired face.

  “Yeah, I just needed to get away,” she said, walking toward the water, feeling the breeze off the lake sweep over her, as if it were cleansing her mind.

  “I can't believe that jerk had the right to call you a whore!” Cale said angrily. “Couldn't he see you are anything but?” He reached out to grasp her hand.

  Tatyanna gasped softly, as she felt heat radiating off him. The more Cale spewed about the audacity of the man, Tatyanna started to grow angry. Cale was the fuel to her fire. She thought she had moved past the anger, but here she was, seeing that Cale was right. How dare someone insult her? What right did they have? And why didn't he bow down to her, and show her the respect she deserved?

  Tatyanna listened to Cale's words. He was right about it all. Her hands glowed blue. She couldn’t rid herself of the emotion. She lifted them up to her face, still holding Cale's hand and then pushed out toward the lake. She watched as water came pouring out of her hands, and rained down from the sky over the village. It wasn't a few droplets of rain, but a downpour of her rage. She knew she could keep this up and completely flood the camp, and she was content enough to do just that, especially with Cale besides her cheering her on.

  But then, something changed. Her necklace grew warm, and she saw Marek's startling blue eyes in her mind. What she was doing was wrong. She wasn't a killer. She immediately dropped her hands, and let go of Cale's hand, taking a few steps away from him. When she did, she once again felt at peace.

  “Why did you stop? You have every right to seek your revenge,” Cale said, pointing to where, just moments ago, it had been a downpour.

  “This isn't me, Cale. I don't hurt people for the sheer pleasure of it, no matter how much they angered me.”

  “How do you know who you are? You've always hid your true self?” Cale said, walking closer to her and closing the gap between them. He reached out with his hand to grasp her face, and leaned it and gently kissed her. There was heat in their kiss, and she was surprised by how warm his lips were, almost too hot to stay connected to. When the heat started to build, she broke it off, touching her lips, unsure of what to do.

  Something changed in her, and she didn't know when it happened, or why. But Tatyanna knew she wasn't as attracted to Cale as she once was, and was starting to see him for who he really was. She didn't want to see him as a fraud, and so she brushed her thoughts away. After all, Grandfather had chosen him to be on this mission. There must be a reason why he was here, and he must be trustworthy.

  Cale stalked toward her, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her again, but this time with more force, more determination, as if the kiss spoke the words he could not voice. Tatyanna didn't do anything at first, surprised by the act, then she felt Cale's warmth sweep over her, and she didn't fight the kiss, but instead leaned into him, begging for more.

  It was Cale who broke away from the kiss this time when he saw the lake water swirl up into a vortex. As it calmed, it took on the shape of a woman.

  ‘Come here, child,’ she said, speaking into Tatyanna's mind. ‘These words are for you alone. You must come to me.’

  In a trance, Tatyanna walked away from Cale, and as soon as they stopped touching, she felt a loss of power in her. The water lady reached her hands out to Tatyanna, and she grasped them in both of hers. Tatyanna experienced a cooling sensation, her body cleansed of all emotion.

  ‘You will be tempted, because you are still weak. This world is not what you know. You need to build walls around your mind, as well as your heart, or you will be taken advantage of. When you are lost, come to me, and I will give you clarity. Trust in yourself.’ The Water Lady backed away as she said these words, all while Tatyanna held her hands. As their fingertips barely touched, the woman drifted back into the water, leaving only a ripple behind.

  Tatyanna was at a loss for words. For a second there, she felt pulled to Cale, but now she felt at peace and had no desire to return to his arms. She was confused by the emotions she was feeling, or thought she was feeling, and wished she had sister there to turn to. Before she could make some excuse to Cale, out of the corner of her eye she saw Emmett walking toward her. She was excited to see him, because it took the heat off her and what had happened between her and Cale.

  “Impressive water show. Wasn't sure how long it was going to last,” Emmett said when he was within a few feet of her.

  Tatyanna lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I needed to let off some steam. It came out more forcefully than I had planned. Are the others okay?” she asked, referring to the people who lived at the camp.

  “Yeah, they put two and two together, and realized their lord pissed you off. Now they are giving him hell for it. Nothing he can't handle,” he said with laughter in his eyes.

  Tatyanna was tempted to ask how the Lord was doing, but then she purposely envisioned kissing a man such as himself, and was able to keep the question from coming off her lips.

  Emmett grinned, as if he knew what she was just thinking, but instead, tilted his head toward the way they came. “Come on. I'll show you where you will be staying. There is a celebration starting soon.”

  “Celebration for what?” she asked curious.

  “Marek's birthday.”

  “His birthday?” she asked surprised. “How old is he? He already looks to be almost a hundred, if not older.”

  Emmett laughed her question off and started to walk away, with Tatyanna running to catch up to him so that she could badger him with questions. They didn't notice Cale behind, who was staring at the water. He was surprised to see the Water Lady rise up from the lake, this time with no fanfare. The two stared at each other, waiting for the other one to break. He refused to look away, knowing that it would be a sign of weakness.

  The woman spoke,
her voice deep and with no emotion. “You will stay away from Tatyanna, or suffer the consequences.”

  “Ha,” Cale said. “You can't hurt me.” He pledged his allegiance to Larik, and the prince had blessed him with powers that had no equal.

  “You are a stupid human. You have no real power.” The woman raised her hands and splashed water at him. At first, he thought she was playing a juvenile prank on him, but when the water landed on him, he screamed out in pain, because it felt like the water was burning his flesh. “No burning,” the lady told him. “Cleansing the evil out of you. Come near Tatyanna again, and you will see just what I am capable of.” She disappeared deep into the world under the lake.

  Cale didn't take her threat seriously, knowing his lord would save him from any harm. Nothing could harm him.

  It was several hours later, and the day had turned dark. Tatyanna spent the evening avoiding Marek, who still walked around wearing a hooded jacket to cover his face. She had no idea why he still wore it, considering the sun had gone down hours ago. She was waited on hand and foot, and rarely did she have a spare second alone. She wished she didn't take her peaceful days for granted, wishing once she could eat in silence and enjoy the meal, instead of being pestered if she liked the food, if she would change anything, what could make it better, and the list went on and on. She turned, looking for Terran, and saw him making himself comfortable in a tree, holding a plate of food. He smirked at her when he saw her looking at him, and she glanced down at her beautiful dress, denying her the chance to climb the tree.

  Despite the cool air, and the cut of the dress, Tatyanna wasn't cold. Every time she thought she was going to shiver, she felt warm, and it reminded her of swimming in the lake earlier. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see Marek walk up to her until she saw a hand in her face. Startled, she yelped in surprise, and did a second take when she realized who it was.