Heiress of Light: Magic Reborn (Reverse Harem)

by Ashlyn Allbrook

  “I am possessed,” I said. “You must kill me.”

  Shock replaced his anger. “No!”

  “I feel your life force,” I said, tears clogging my throat. “I could feel it living in your chest as you followed me back here. The thing in me wants it. Needs it. It will do anything to get it.” I took a breath, tears streaming down my face. “You each have a life force, and the thing inside me wants each and every one.”

  He stared at me in horror.

  It killed me to confess the evilness inside me, but I loved my guards. They had always respected me and treated me with kindness. I needed to show them kindness now. I needed them to know the danger they faced.

  “Let me go, Tobias,” I pleaded softly. “Let me escape you while I still have control over it. Let me save you from this.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Liam’s right. The priestess will save you.”

  Liam rounded the corner with a plate of eggs and bacon in his hand. “The only place you’re going is with us, Elena. Get that through your head. I’ll tie you up if I have to.”

  I held out my hands, wrists together. “Yes. Tie me up before I hurt you.”

  Some of the anger bled from his eyes. “Oh, Elena. Trust me to take care of this.”

  My own anger returned at how easily he dismissed my threat. “I would if you took what is happening more seriously.”

  Liam turned to Tobias. “Go inside and tell the others we’re about to leave. I need to talk to Elena first.”

  Tobias took off, probably eager to get away from me, not that I blamed him.

  Liam turned to me. “You are not demon-possessed, Elena, but you might be possessed by something else. The villagers were whispering about you yesterday, and I suspect it was planted in advance by the priestess.”

  I blinked. “What were they saying? Yesterday, Mrs. Putney insisted I bring you to town to protect me.”

  “They were gossiping about an old wives’ tale,” he said in disgust, yet I could see he was giving it consideration.

  “Which one?”

  He sighed. “Some of the old tales say magic once existed. When it was here, the royals were doubly blessed with it. That was part of the reason they were royals.” He paused and held the plate out to me. “Come with me into the barn and eat your breakfast while I saddle our horses.”

  The demon inside me rejoiced, and I took a step back. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Sympathy washed over his face. “You can’t hurt me, Elena.”

  “You don’t know that. I can feel your life force inside you, and the . . . thing in me wants it.”

  “That may be so, but it won’t take it now. Come with me, and I’ll tell you what I know.”

  Why was he so adamant about getting me alone in the barn? My demon begged me to go, so I found myself saying, “Okay.”

  I followed him and noticed the others watching from the two windows and the open door. Tobias and Matthew watched with a mixture of respect and fear. The other two out of curiosity.

  Liam moved to his horse and grabbed the blanket to throw over its back while I sat down on a bench at the opposite end of the barn.

  “I won’t bite you, Elena.” The humor in his voice was familiar and set me somewhat at ease.

  “No, but I might bite you.”

  His gaze looked up, piercing. “Is that what you want? To bite me?”

  The familiar ache filled my core. “Among other things.” I took a breath and forced the demon back down. “You said you knew what is wrong with me.”

  “No, I said I might know. What I heard the villagers say.”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense. Spit it out.”

  He paused and looked as though he was still deciding whether to tell me or not. He ran his hand over his horse’s flank, avoiding eye contact. “They say you are the mother of magic. The awaited one.”

  I gave a soft shake of my head. “What does that mean?”

  He glanced up. “I’m not sure, but they think you will rebirth magic into the world.”

  Two days ago, I would have dismissed the idea. Now that I had a parasite living in my chest, I was listening. Besides, the priestess had pretty much said the same thing. “This thing inside me, though . . . it feels like it’s something dark and dangerous. If I had even an ounce of magic in me, I think I’d be able to banish this demon from me.”

  “Don’t be so sure. What if what you believe to be a demon is actually magic?”

  Magic or demon, it still tried to control me and make me behave in scandalous ways. It was evil. “And some of them know this is bad? Is that why Mrs. Putney wanted you to protect me? They want to destroy it?”

  “No. They welcome it. I suspect the baker wanted us to protect you because of how you will give birth to magic.”

  “Give birth? As in have a baby?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” he said, slipping the horse’s reins over its face. “But Prince Leonardo’s men called it sex magic. That might explain what is happening to you.” He glanced up at me. “Eat your eggs, Elena.”

  I ate two scoopfuls, mulling over what he said. I was embarrassed beyond belief, especially with him, but I was more desperate for answers. “Do you think it’s true?”

  “Maybe. I have no other explanation. Something is going on. With you. With the others.”

  That caught my attention. “But not with you?”

  He paused, then said, “I feel it too, but not like they do.”

  “Why?” I definitely felt it with him, probably the strongest with him.

  He grimaced. “I don’t know for certain. All I have is a gut feeling.”

  “And that is?”

  He shrugged. “It’s not my time yet.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Exactly as it sounds. It’s not my time yet.” He looked up again with darkened eyes. “But it’s no one else’s time either, Elena. You are a virgin, and a virgin you’ll stay until we figure out what’s going on.” He walked closer to me. “What if there’s something to this?”

  “Me having sex with Leonardo?” I asked in disbelief.

  He squatted in front of me and held my gaze. His warm brown eyes looked troubled. “Do you want to marry Leonardo?”

  “How can you ask me that?” I asked in shock.

  He took the half-empty tin plate from my hands and set it on the ground, then took both my hands in his.

  My demon roared to life, and tears sprang to my eyes.

  “Why are you crying, Elena?”

  “Because you are the hardest to fight.”

  His eyes widened in surprise. Then he asked again, “Do you want to marry Leonardo?”

  I shook my head. “I just confessed that I want you more than the others, and you dare to ask me if I want to marry Leonardo?”

  “You didn’t ask for this, Elena. The priestess set this in motion. Maybe you do want to marry him.”

  “We’re on the run to save me from that monster. Did you suddenly forget that?”

  “But did you want to marry him before this happened?”

  I shook my head. “I never wanted to marry Leonardo. I do not love him, not that my father bothers with trivial things such as feelings.”

  “I suspect magic cares little about your feelings either.”

  Something in the way he said it caught my attention. “What does that mean? What do you know?”

  “There’s more to the legend.”

  “What?”

  He pushed out a sigh. “I don’t know much, but I do know this: the legends say that the mother of magic rules the Kingdom of Light, but she is only half of the rebirth.”

  My breath stuck in my chest, and I forced out, “And what is the other half?”

  “She merges with the Kingdom of Darkness.”

  I cinched my breath, my mind spinning. “And you think Leonardo is tied to this—this Kingdom of Darkness?”

  “I think, given all the evidence, there’s a good chance of that.”


  I jumped to my feet. “No!”

  Liam stood too. “Elena, calm down.”

  I took several steps backward, my hysteria rising. “No, Liam! I will not do it!”

  He moved toward me with his hand extended. “You don’t have to. We’ll stop him.”

  “But if it’s predestined . . .”

  “We’ll stop him.” But he put so much force into the words, I wasn’t sure he believed it.

  I strode over to him, then grabbed his extended hand and wrapped it around my back so that it rested on my butt. “He needs me to be a virgin. We can take care of that part.”

  “No, Ellie. Not like this.”

  I rested my forehead on his chest and sobbed. “Please, Liam. I’d rather it be you, when I know you will keep me safe, than with him and his . . . masochism.”

  He cupped the back of my head, holding me close. “I will protect you with my life, Ellie, but I cannot give you this. There is too much at stake. We have to ask the priestess. She’ll know what to do.”

  “And if she tells me to marry Leonardo?”

  He grabbed a handful of my hair and gently pulled my head back so that I looked up into his face. “Then I will kill you myself. I swear it.”

  I collapsed into him, sobbing. “Thank you.”

  “I have just damned my soul to hell,” he whispered against my head, and the agony in his voice was my undoing.

  6

  “Liam.” Matthew’s voice echoed in the barn as part announcement and part threat.

  Liam’s back was to him, blocking Matthew’s view, but Liam kissed my temple and said, “Please trust me to keep you safe, Ellie. This will be so much easier if I’m not worried about you running off.”

  I looked up into his warm brown eyes. “I trust you, Liam.”

  “Thank you,” he said, gratitude washing over his face. Then he dropped his hold on me and said gently, “Now finish your breakfast. We’re about to go.”

  I picked up the plate as Liam turned to Matthew and said, “Gather the others. It’s time to go.”

  They joined him within seconds. I ate what was left of my food in only a few bites. I would have worried about looking so unladylike, but my guards’ attention was on Liam and not me. But then again, I’d groped, licked, or come on to almost all of them. What was shoveling some eggs into my mouth?

  “Elena is not to be left alone. She must be with two of you at all times. It’s too . . . risky to leave her alone with only one of you.” He paused, then his voice took on a hard edge. “This is not Elena’s fault. The priestess started something inside her yesterday.”

  “She is the mother of magic,” Dax said.

  Finn shot him a glare. “Magic is dead.”

  I was pretty sure he was the only one who believed that now.

  “We don’t know what it is,” Liam said. “But we are all in agreement that this is out of her control. She’s handling it the best she can, but we need to help her.”

  “How?” Tobias asked.

  “By giving her as much space as possible when we can. Reduce her temptation . . . and ours.”

  No one said anything, but thankfully they looked to be in agreement.

  “One more thing,” Liam said, his tone turning harsher. “Though the state of Elena’s virginity is important to Prince Leonardo for purposes other than the traditional royal wedding, we shall see to it that her status doesn’t change. Have I made myself clear?”

  “You mean to keep her a virgin for Prince Leonardo? You plan to hand her over to him now?” Matthew angrily demanded.

  “No,” Liam said. “She will not go to Prince Leonardo. But I have a strong suspicion that her virginity is closely tied to her magic, which I’m guessing is why Leonardo wants to ensure she remains a virgin. The priestess will know what to do.”

  I could almost hear him say in his head, At least I hope she does.

  We’d been traveling for over half the day when we came upon a town. Liam was in the lead again, and they rode with the same formation as the night before, but they had given me a good twenty feet of distance between us. But when the town came into view, they pulled our group in tighter and Dax rode beside me. My hair was still down, so I pulled up the hood on my cape and tried to hide as much of my light blond hair as I could. I was sure it wouldn’t take long before word got out that the princess had escaped. I didn’t want to tip anyone off prematurely, although six men and one woman traveling together wasn’t exactly inconspicuous.

  We skirted around the town without issue and had traveled nearly a quarter mile on other side without incident. Woods surrounded the road, and a wagon was parked to the side, with a wheel off the back axle. Two rough-looking men were huddled around it and turned their attention to us.

  As we approached, one of the men moved to the center of the road, blocking our path.

  “Can we help you gentlemen?” Liam asked, sounding irritated at the interruption, but I could tell that he was tense. He was prepared for trouble.

  “I dunno,” said a man with a scruffy beard and a scar across his cheek. “Maybe we should be helping the lady.” He waved his hand toward me. “A group of men traveling with a comely young woman . . . it’s our duty to make sure she’s okay.”

  “She’s our sister,” Liam said. “And she is fine.”

  The other man cocked his eyebrow. “And why would six men travel with their sister?”

  “That’s none of your business,” Dax said, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

  The second man lifted his hands in self-defense. “Calm down there boy. Just makin’ sure the lady’s okay.”

  He hobbled with a limp toward us, and he held his right arm close to his body, his hand curled tight.

  I wondered what had caused his deformity, but I still didn’t trust him. “Thank you for your concern,” I said with a lot of attitude, “but it looks like you should be more concerned about yourselves. There’s a town up ahead if you need help.”

  “We’re doin’ just fine on our own,” he said with a grin. “And as for you, we’re just doin’ our good deed for the day.” His eyes narrowed. “What exactly are you doin’ out on the road with your brothers?”

  I considered echoing Dax’s line that it was none of his business, but it obviously hadn’t worked. I had no doubt my guards could get around them, but I hoped to do so as peacefully as possible. And as quickly as possible. The magic inside me could feel the essence of my men around me and had begun to call to them. We needed to end this fast. “My mother has sent me to my aunt’s house, and my brothers are so overprotective they all insisted on coming and making sure I made the journey safely. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re hoping to be there by sundown.”

  “Where are you traveling from, little missy?” the first guy asked, walking closer to Liam.

  “That’s none of your concern,” I said with a glare.

  “Maybe we could join you,” he said. “Maybe you’d like another brother.” Then he gave me a lewd wink as he evaded Liam’s horse.

  Dax moved his horse and blocked the man from getting closer to me.

  I shot him a glare. “My brothers are all the escort I need. And if you’re planning something stupid like challenging them, then I give you fair warning to make your peace with the gods because you will be meeting them sooner than you planned.”

  “I done made my peace with the gods years ago.” The man pulled a long knife from underneath his coat and slashed at Dax’s horse’s neck.

  Dax swung his horse out of the reach of the blade and pulled out his sword, then ran it into the man’s chest.

  I’d never seen a man killed before, and I watched in horror as blood soaked his shirt and he fell to the road. But even as he was falling, there was movement on both sides of the road.

  “Ambush,” Liam shouted. “Dax! Finn! Stay with Elena!”

  Finn moved to my right side as a group of men rushed from the trees with knives and spears.

  My guards moved quickly to counter the attack. Th
ere were at least a dozen men heading toward us from both directions. Liam took the left side while Tobias and Matthew took the right. Dax and Finn stayed by my side, with Dax dealing with the few men who made it past Liam.

  “You have to do something,” I said, “Liam needs help.”

  “We have our orders,” Finn said.

  Matthew and Tobias were holding their own, with two of the invaders lying on the ground, blood coating the packed dirt road. Matthew had jumped down from his horse and was defending himself against two men while Tobias fought from his horse. Liam was surrounded by three men, but two more had split away and were making their way toward Dax.

  “Finn,” I said, starting to get worried. “We have to do something.”

  “Get your blade,” he said, keeping his eye on the men fighting Dax. They were only six feet away, and Finn had moved next to me, putting himself between Dax and me.

  A knife wouldn’t help me much up here on a horse. I reached around into my bag and loosened the fastenings enough to find my own sword. I pulled it out of its sheath and held it in a defensive stance.

  Finn looked surprised, but he was more concerned that one of the attackers had gotten past Dax and was advancing toward me. Finn intercepted, but the attacking men now seemed intent on reaching me.

  Dax shot a quick glance over his shoulder. “Elena. They don’t have horses. Go up to the creek and wait for us. We can intercept them if they try to go after you.”

  Liam had told me to stay with Dax and Finn, but they were trying to fight men off and keep them away from me. I could see how it would be easier for them to focus if I wasn’t there as a distraction and in danger.

  There was a clear shot to the road, so I kicked my horse and leaned forward. My horse bolted, leaving my guards and the other men behind.

  I continued down the road with my sword still in my hand, my horse galloping for a good quarter mile, until I reached a creek that was spanned by a bridge. Pulling the horse to a walk, I turned off the road onto the grassy area and guided him to a group of trees and bushes close to the creek. I hopped down and led my horse behind the bush, then tied his reins to a low tree branch, giving him enough slack that he could drink from the creek.