Yes, well, that isn’t by choice. I still have three days to figure something out.
“Alright. Enough chit chat.” I pulled my pack on. “Let’s get moving.”
I’m going to go north of the keep today and see where Melana is.
I nodded. “Thanks.” I swung onto Dodge. “All set, Bud?”
He nodded.
“Hayden?”
I looked down and smiled at Marianne. Rodney was sitting by a tree chatting with a group of his friends. He glanced up, stared at her for a moment then turned back to the conversation. It had been that way since she’d let him comfort her on the day we’d gotten back from the camp. Even though she’d admitted to him she thought he was a great man, she couldn’t get over the fact that he was a cat.
“I found some chitta berries. I thought you might want them.” She handed me a bag that contained a handful of pink berries.
“Thanks! That’s great!” The berries could be used to help hydrate a being. Though they were only the size of a dime, they seemed to hold just as much liquid as a big glass of water. I caught her looking at Rodney. “It’s not really my place to say anything, Marianne, but maybe if you let yourself get to know him a bit better…” I let the statement hang in the air.
She jerked then looked at me with a frown before walking away. Tara started to laugh.
“You always sucked at matchmaking.”
I smirked at her. “Fine. Oh, well, we have bigger things to worry about besides Marianne’s love life.” I heard a chuckle in my head and frowned. It hadn’t been Dodge or Ternach.
“Everyone down!” Someone ahead of us yelled and everybody dropped where they were. I lay against Dodge’s neck, trying to see what the commotion was about. I caught a glimpse of a sparrow sized form flying toward us and burst out laughing.
“It’s alright, everyone. Bryenk is with me.” The little burgundy colored dragon landed between Dodge’s ears.
Hello, Chosen One. He bowed low.
“Hello, Bryenk. What are you doing here?”
The water dragon tilted his head to the side and blinked his blue eyes. I should think that would be obvious. You could hear the smile in his voice.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. Is Faren with you?”
He nodded. She was about five minutes behind me.
“Dragon!” I started to laugh as someone pointed to the sky and everyone scattered. Jasper smiled.
“Everyone calm down!” His voice carried over the chaos around us. “For future reference, if you see a dragon, they are with us.” He got a few untrusting looks. The air around us swirled as Faren landed near us. Her black scales shone and her red eyes focused on me.
Chosen One.
“Faren.” I smiled up at her. “Are there any more dragons coming?”
The thirty foot long fire dragon shook her head. The mother wishes you luck but gave orders for the dragons to stay away.
“And yet, here you two are.”
She chuckled. Being bonded to you makes it easier to ignore what comes naturally.
I nodded. “It works that way with everybody.”
Bryenk’s voice took over my head. Melana should be about five days to the north of the keep.
“What happened?”
Have you heard of the Jintoles?
I shook my head.
They are a cousin of the Burries. They are about the same size but are furry and dark green in color with red eyes. Jintoles are nowhere near as civilized as Burries. In fact, a Jintole’s only objective is to eat whatever it can get its hands on. Melana’s pack came across a tribe and a fight ensued. I’d say that next to Ternach, Jintoles are the second worst thing to live in the Northern Regions. This coming from a dragon. I wanted to laugh.
I object to that comment, Bryenk. I’ve never eaten anyone and you know it.
Both of the dragons’ heads came up in surprise. I shrugged. “I’m bonded to Ternach.”
Faren grunted. We could kill him for you and fix the problem. The man is a nuisance.
I shook my head. “It turns out he’s not as horrible as everyone thought him to be. His sense of humor when it comes to magic was a bit strange, but now that he’s stopped testing my abilities I’d even go so far as to say he’s a decent being. He’s saved my life more than once and has been crucial in getting us here with minor casualties.”
Why, thank you, my love.
Jasper burst out laughing. “By the moons, every once in a while I remember how absolutely strange this situation is.” He frowned. “You know, I just realized I can hear the dragons.”
“Hmmm. I wonder if it has anything to do with our three way link with Ternach.” I shook my head. “So many weird situations with no explanations.”
“Alright then Rainen, Damian?” Jasper waited until the two Majs were standing with us, both of them looking with amazement at the dragons. “We’re two days ahead of Melana. Do we risk getting closer to the keep?” He was already shaking his head as he suggested it. Damian mirrored him.
“I’d say staying put would be our safest bet.” His strange grey eyes were looking into Faren’s red ones curiously.
Where do you want me, my love?
“Come back. That is, if you’re done socializing with the enemy.” I smiled.
I am. Should I kill them?
“No.”
As you wish. He reappeared by my side as I slid off of Dodge. I did a double take at the blond man standing there. His dark blue eyes squinted with his smile and he laughed. It’s nice to know I can still surprise you. He shifted back into his true self.
“Cole? Pass it along that we’re staying here for at least today.” Jasper turned from one friend to the other. “Kendall?”
Kendall walked cautiously around Faren. He ran a hand through his black hair and his light blue eyes widened as they settled on Bryenk who was sitting on my shoulder. “Why is it so small?”
I burst out laughing.
Who is he calling small?
I turned my body so that I stood between the two of them. I didn’t want Kendall to turn into an ice statue. “He’s not small, Kendall, he’s average size for a water dragon. And don’t get huffy, Bryenk. I thought the same thing when I first saw you. Compared to Faren, you’re small.”
Bryenk grunted and Faren laughed, at least that’s how it sounded in my head. To everyone who couldn’t hear them mentally, it came out as growls. Everyone nearby stepped away from us.
“Kendall.” Jasper’s voice snapped his friend out of whatever trance he was in. “We need to hunt.”
Kendall nodded. “I’ll get a small pack together.”
“I’ll come along,” volunteered Kacey. The two of them left in search of a hunting party.
“Are you going with them?” I leaned against Jasper. He shook his head.
“I’m going to stay here and make sure you stay calm.”
“Ooh, look,” Tara pointed to the sky. “Delaleh is coming.”
We all watched as the Faelie landed gracefully.
“Why are you not moving?”
“Hello to you too, Delaleh.” I smiled. “We aren’t moving because Melana is behind schedule and we need to sit for a day or two.”
She nodded and flew off. I grunted. “See you later.”
Jasper chuckled. “Don’t take it personally, Shlova. I don’t think they’re used to talking to anyone but themselves.” He pulled me close. “The last crossing before we get to Paradin is about an hour from here,” he mumbled. Ternach looked up. I shook my head.
“I can’t.”
Jasper nodded. “Just thought I’d mention it.”
The immortal was frowning.
“Don’t get any ideas, Ternach.” I could see the wheels turning in his head.
He took a deep breath. “Fine, though in my defense, having you cross over would be a perfect solution to our dilemma.”
“I have to agree with him, Shlova.”
I rolled my eyes. “Again with the two on one thing. I’m no
t crossing over.” The urge to take a walk and be by myself was overwhelming, but I knew that the odds of it happening were slim to none. There was no way I would be allowed to wander off this close to Paradin and, to be honest with myself, I knew it would have been a bad idea to even attempt it. I mean, this was me we were talking about. I looked into the woods wistfully. Was that a wolf? I squinted and looked again.
“What are you looking at, Hayden?” Tara was looking where I had been.
“Hmmm. It must have just been shadows. It almost looked like there was a wolf watching us.” I took a deep breath. It was going to be a long two days until we could move again.
*****
By the following night, everyone was on edge. At least when we were traveling closer to our destination, we were paying attention to our surroundings, thinking of staying quiet. At this very moment, we were all thinking about what we would be facing in five days. Any time a breeze blew through the brush someone would twitch and the beings sitting close by would chuckle nervously.
I heard a noise to my right and looked up.
“Ok, that’s it.” I stood. “I swear I’m not imagining things, Jasper. I just saw that wolf again.”
He came to stand beside me. “Kendall, Kacey, Alex.”
The three of them nodded and disappeared. We all stood in silence, waiting to for them to come back. I jumped at the shouts and the sound of daggers being drawn. I heard Kendall holler to Kacey and the latter yelling back that he’d got whoever they had been chasing.
“I guess you were right about the wolf, Shlova.” Jasper let go of me and we waited for our friends to get back into sight. It wasn’t so much what he looked like because his face was to the ground, but what he was wearing that made my heart leap in my chest. Jeans and a t-shirt were not very common in these parts.
“Oh, my god! Is he ok?” I ran toward them. Everyone else seemed too shocked to move. Kacey and Kendall were dragging the unconscious man into our midst. “Put him down!” They laid him on the ground and I turned his face toward me. The beard hid most of it, but there was no mistaking the man hiding under the shaggy dirty blond hair. Hazel eyes opened and locked with mine. He groaned.
“Jesus, Hayden, is that how you treat all your friends?”
I smiled. “Only when my friends sneak around and especially when this particular friend is supposed to be crossed over! What are you doing here?”
William grinned. “What can I say, this place grows on you.” He sat up and winced as I checked the bump on his head.
“You’ll live.”
“I should hope so. I’d hate to have crossed back over just to get killed by my own pack.”
“So what happened?”
He shrugged. “It turns out that after ten years there are more people I love here than there.” He stood and his eyes found Rainen’s.
“How did you cross back? Humans only have enough magic to do it once.” She frowned.
“I’m not sure. I was having a crappy night where nothing made sense, I had a lot of those, so I went for a walk. I knew where I’d crossed before so I went there and I could still see the path.” He took a step closer to her.
“So you chose to come back.”
He nodded then shook his head. “No. It wasn’t really a choice. When I saw that path I could have cried I was so happy. I didn’t even go back home for my pack or my clothes, or even my dagger, which, as an afterthought, would have been the smart thing to do, but I was too scared that if I left and came back the path would be gone. I just started running.”
She bit her bottom lip. “Why did you run when Hayden saw you?”
“Honestly?”
She nodded.
“I knew Hayden would take me back, that’s just her.” No one argued with him. “I was going to just walk into camp. I…well, I saw you and I realized I hadn’t thought of what I’d say to you. When I thought of that it made me think that I since I’d left…” He cleared his throat. “I suppose it’s my own damn fault for leaving you in the first place.” He wiped his hands nervously on his jeans.
“So have you thought a bit about what you might say to me?” Her mouth twitched slightly and I was sure William had missed it because he was looking at his work boots. He nodded.
“I was going to try and come up with a long romantic speech, but here’s what I can come up with on short notice.” He reached over and took her hands. She looked up at him, her face void of all expression. “Leaving Quelondain was the worst decision of my life. I was miserable over there. The only thing I could think of was you. I love you, Rainen, and I know that at one time you felt the same way, but I understand if things changed when I left.”
She frowned. “If I told you things had changed, would you leave again?”
“No. This is home now, but if you didn’t want me around I would go elsewhere. Well, once this fight was over.” He took a deep breath. “Do you want me to leave?”
“I think it would be alright if you stayed.” She nodded and bit the corner of her mouth to keep from smiling. This time, William caught it. He looked relieved and grinned.
“God, you’re a bitch.”
Rainen burst out laughing. “It’s one of my finest qualities. It’s the least you deserve after leaving me like that!”
He pulled her to his chest and hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry, Rainen.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly. She sighed.
“Yes, well, you’re lucky I love you, too.”
We all sat down to listen to William’s story of his time away then filled him in on everything he had missed in his absence.
Chapter Ten
It was strange that today of all days I was feeling calm. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was still nervous, but not to the extent I had been feeling. We stood on the crest of the long hill that stood before Paradin. This was it. Today was the day I’d been born for… I hoped. I didn’t know how many more of these experiences I could live through if this was just a prelude to my destiny. I looked to the north with impatience. At least this would be the day if Melana and her packs would arrive.
I looked straight ahead at the human keep in front of me. I shivered, partly with excitement, partially with fear. I took a deep breath and was comforted by the presence of my own pack standing behind me.
I heard a low growl and glanced at Jasper. His fur was standing on end, his tail twitching. He shifted and looked back to Matthew and Luke who were standing just behind us. The blue bird landed on his shoulder and chirped. He turned back to me.
“Ready?” Jasper’s face was grim. He put his hand on my knee.
I nodded. “Are they here?” I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the walls that surrounded the keep of Paradin.
“They are.”
Dodge stretched his wings. It’s about time.
I took a deep breath and patted his neck. We’d been waiting a good six hours for Melana to make her way to the north end of the keep. I pulled my swords out of the scabbards on my back. I gazed down into Jasper’s sky blue eyes.
“Let’s do this.” I turned back toward the human fortress. “It ends here.”
He shifted and roared. Rainen followed suit and howled. Kacey, Kendall, William and Steven all gave a quick nod before disappearing. They were on Brice duty. The rest of us started down the hill toward the gates of Paradin.
The staff knows you are here and is calling to me, my love. I’m afraid this is as far as I go.
I frowned. “Where are you?” I jumped as he appeared beside me. He looked up at me with a frown. “Until we see each other on the inside, try to stay out of harm’s way.”
I swallowed hard, the butterflies in my stomach quickening their pace. “Ok, but be careful in there.”
He grunted.
“I’m serious. If they find out you’ve been helping me they won’t be happy and you’re not up to full power yet.”
“And what could they do to me, my love?”
“Well, Braw could touch you with his staff,
for one.”
“Hmmm. Well, I’ll admit I hadn’t thought of that. There’s no need to worry yourself on my account. I’ll be careful to stay far enough away just in case.” He nodded to Jasper. “Keep her away from me.”
My mate nodded back.
“Ternach…” A thousand emotions were running through me and I couldn’t seem to settle on one. “Just… thank you. For everything.”
He looked up at me and smiled, his clear green eyes widening as I leaned down and kissed him.
“Stay safe.”
He nodded and disappeared. I blushed and looked at Jasper.
“Sorry.”
He smiled. “I don’t know about you sometimes, Shlova. It’s a good thing I can feel how you do when you kiss all of these other men.”
“What do you mean, ‘all of these other men’?”
Ben and his archers pulled ahead of us, all of them riding the Winged Ones who hadn’t yet been on their stone quest.
“Stay safe, Tara!” I called to her as she loped by. She waved and got her bow and arrows ready. I called out a similar farewell to my Uncle Brinnan and Aunt Fillian. Anyone who hadn’t been assigned to take out the humans’ wall defenses stopped halfway down the hill. Dodge flexed his wings nervously as we watched the archers place themselves behind the last row of trees at the bottom of the hill.
“Well, there was Luke.” Jasper glanced up at me then turned back to the archers.
“He was trying to get me back to you by pretending I was his mate, remember?”
He nodded. “Brice.”
I blushed. “He’s like a little brother. Isn’t this a bit of a bad time for this conversation?”
He smiled. “I’d rather think of this than of what is coming up. Besides, I’m not starting a fight. I’m just stating a fact. Damian.”
“He kissed me and I had no clue who he was at the time. Not to mention he was just a projection, so I’m not sure that even counts.”
He chuckled. “Then there was Alex.”
“Hey, you made me kiss him!”
“I object to being brought into this conversation.” Alex glanced back and smiled. “Like Hayden said, you made us kiss. That was your own damn fault.”
Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) Page 30