“Never better,” he replied as he repositioned and grimaced.
“I thought heku didn’t get hurt,” she said, and sat down on a chair by the bed.
“Well… mortals can’t hurt us, but we’re pretty good at injuring one another.” He watched her.
“Good to know, I guess. I owe you another thank you it seems.” She leaned toward him.
“I couldn’t just let you leave that mad, Em. I’m glad I was there though. So enough about me… how are you?” He watched her intently.
“I wasn’t hurt at all, I’m good.” Her eyes told a different story.
“I’m not talking about what happened on the mainland and you know it. Are you talking to him yet?”
She shrugged.
“I’ll take that as a no. I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit this morning, and I’m not sure it’s as bad as I first thought.”
“Are you kidding me? Kyle, I drank blood!” She wrinkled her nose, fighting back a gag.
“Is that the real problem?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Well no… he lied to me and I trusted him,” she said sourly.
Kyle nodded, “If he’d told you, would you have done it?”
Emily shook her head.
“Are you sure about that? You are as in love with him as he is you. I have a feeling you would have done it anyway.”
She looked at the ground, “At least if I had, it would have been my choice.”
“Fair enough… but didn’t he spare you the agony of having to decide?”
“You’re on his side now then? Is that it?” she asked, getting mad.
“I didn’t say that.” His voice was almost pleading, “I just said that he’s good for you, I can see that and I wish you would too. I wouldn’t punish him for too long for one bad judgment.”
“He lied to me!” Her voice faltered.
“He loves you… he lied to protect you. I’m not saying it wasn’t wrong, but look at it from his side. Would you lie to him if it would save him the pain of making an impossible decision?”
Chevalier stood outside the door and listened. He’d planned on going in to talk to them both, but Kyle’s words hit him and now he just stood by the door, awestruck.
Emily didn’t answer.
“Just give him a break, ok? I’ve known him for almost 950 years and I’ve never seen him like this, the way you make him. I hate to use the word happy, but it’s close. I’ve no doubt he doesn’t want anyone to know you two are bonded, it would show he has a weakness… a very human emotion.”
“That or he’s embarrassed to be married to a mortal.” Chevalier could feel some of the self-loathing creep back into her and he cringed.
“You know that’s not it. If he were embarrassed, he wouldn’t have paraded you back through the island. He would have stayed in Colorado. It wouldn’t have been the first time he disappeared for a few years.”
Emily’s voice was much softer and Chevalier could feel her emotions changing, “I still don’t know, Kyle.”
Kyle laughed, “Well do me a favor and next time you decide to take off… don’t.”
“We’ll see.”
There were a few minutes of silence before Kyle spoke again, “That ring suits you.”
Emily looked down at the large glittering ring on her finger, “Yeah… well, for some reason, I can’t get it off.”
Chevalier winced.
Kyle laughed, “Did he not explain anything to you? You can’t get it off… not until the bond is broken.”
“Do what?” she gasped.
“It’s an essence ring. In the bonding, it’s the symbol that you are tied to the giver. It won’t come off until the bond is broken.”
“Nice… and how does one break the bond?” she asked, still tugging at the ring.
Kyle’s voice became nervous, “I’m not going to tell you that, that’s between you and Chevalier.”
Chevalier was thankful for that and stepped away, leaving them alone. He walked slowly to the solitude of his office. He shut his eyes and focused on her again, moments before the phone rang and broke his concentration. He cursed under his breath and answered it.
“What?” he snarled into the phone.
He straightened up when the nasally voice spoke, “I have called to inform you that the Elders will be making a formal visit to your coven in 3 days, please be prepared to discuss…” He heard papers shuffling, “Past Encala attacks, and they also request the presence of one of your coven by the name of Emily Russo.”
He cringed.
“She’s not in my coven.”
“She is still required to be in attendance.”
“Fine, we’ll be ready.” No one refused the Elders, not even a member of their Council.
Chevalier slammed down the phone and yelled for Storm. When she knocked on his office door, he stepped out
“Yes, Sir?”
“The Elders are coming in 3 days, we need this place ready. Set up the conference room to accommodate six.”
“Yes, Sir.” She sounded panicked and immediately sped off, barking orders at heku as she passed them, ordering to clean faster.
Chevalier knocked softly on Kyle’s door and the two inside became quiet.
“Who is it?” Kyle called.
He sighed, “Me.”
“No,” Emily whispered.
“I can’t deny the Chief Enforcer,” Kyle whispered back.
“Then I’ll go out the window.” Chevalier heard her chair scoot a bit as she stood up.
“We’re on the third floor, Emily, just sit down,” Kyle whispered, and then turned toward the door. “Come in.”
When Chevalier entered, he saw Kyle sitting up in bed and Emily looking out the window. He saw how her fingers tensed around the window frame and could feel unease coming from her.
“How are you feeling?” Chevalier asked, sitting in the chair by the bed.
“Fine, Sir, thank you.”
“Kyle, I owe you a great debt of gratitude… again.” Chevalier couldn’t tell him how much he owed, it was more than words could describe.
“It’s my duty.” His voice was professional, but Chevalier understood it was more than a duty.
“I need a favor,” he sighed, and looked toward Emily, “From both of you.”
Emily turned to look at him.
“I have no right to ask, I know that, but there’s no time to make things right before.” He watched Emily.
“Before what, Sir?” Kyle asked.
Chevalier reached out with his senses and caught nervousness from Emily.
“The Elders are coming… in three days.” As Chevalier spoke, Kyle sat up further in bed.
“Here?” he asked, shocked.
“Yes, to discuss their recent meeting with the other Elders.”
“That sounds easy enough, why do you need Emily? I can make a full report of what I saw here that day.” Kyle was watching Emily also.
“They have requested an audience with her.” He saw her shoulders tighten.
“What? Why?” Kyle was frantic.
“I don’t know, but there’s one tiny problem.” He glanced at her hand.
Kyle sighed, “The ring.”
Chevalier nodded, “She’s obviously bonded to a heku and… well… it can’t be me.”
Kyle nodded, “I see.”
“I don’t see,” Emily said, turning to face them finally.
Chevalier hesitated, so Kyle spoke up, “The ring is an essence ring, it puts off certain… shall we call it… vibes… that tie you to a heku. It pretty much lets others know you are taken.”
He hesitated also when he saw her wince.
“The Elders will want to know who you have bonded to and as we’ve mentioned, for Chevalier to remain in his position, he can’t have fallen in love,” Kyle sighed, “So for this meeting, I will be your mate.”
Emily frowned, “That’s absurd.” She tugged at the ring.
“Love to a mortal is a weakness, at least as se
en by most heku. The Chief Enforcer can’t show any weakness. The Elders are going to want to know why you’ve bonded and to who. I’ll be there too to make it official.” He saw the need for this and couldn’t understand how to make her see it.
Emily just shook her head, “Whatever, I haven’t agreed to stay.”
Both Kyle and Chevalier inhaled sharply.
“What?” she demanded.
“The Elders can’t be denied, Emily. If they show up and have requested an audience with you and you aren’t here… they will find you, and you would be punished for being disloyal,” Kyle explained.
“I’m not loyal to them,” she hissed.
“It doesn’t matter… you ‘belong’ to a heku from the Equites, so in their eyes, you belong to them, too.”
Chevalier finally spoke up, “It’s formal too, and I’ll have Margaret get on it right away. You two are going to have to work out how to be convincingly in love.” He froze for a split second when he felt an odd emotion coming from Emily, she was uncomfortable acting in love with Kyle.
As Chevalier watched Kyle, his mind reached out to Emily and he was relieved to find she was looking at him differently. The anger wasn’t gone, but it was being masked by her deeper feelings for him. He finally understood that things would be alright.
***
“Emily, we’re going to be late,” Kyle said from her bedroom.
“They don’t like waiting,” Chevalier called to her.
She stood, horrified, in front of the mirror. She had given Margaret strict orders that the formal dress she was making was to be modest and now she wondered if Margaret needed to re-learn the word. She liked the material, the way the long layers of soft fabric flowed when she moved. The top wasn’t too bad, a circle of pearls wrapped around her neck, and the upside down V of fabric draped from it did cover her mostly. One problem was that it left her shoulders bare and the sleeves, if that’s what you could call them, were split open all the way down, and hung from her arms by small beads of pearls. The color was alright also, the top was dark blue and it faded as it went to the floor, ending in white with what seemed to be runes stitched in contrasting blue thread.
She turned to the side though and gasped.
“I’m coming to get you in 30 seconds,” Chevalier called out to her.
She stepped out into her room and blushed. Suddenly, she wasn’t sure she liked her hair piled elegantly on her head with draped ringlets, she figured her hair would have hidden her body nicely. She felt uncomfortable as both Chevalier and Kyle looked at her and smiled.
“See, that’s not so bad,” Chevalier said, motioning for the door.
Emily sighed and stepped toward the door, spinning when the two heku started to laugh.
“I’m warning you.” She eyed them.
“I’m sorry, it just took us by surprise,” Chevalier said. He couldn’t tell from the front, but the top of the dress in its flattering inverted V shape left her back and sides completely uncovered. The back dropped dangerously low and accentuated her small waist, exposing down to just above her waist.
He fought the desire to reach out and run his fingers along her delicate spine. He had to stay away from her tonight though, he couldn’t let the Elders be suspicious.
Kyle glanced away nervously as he noticed that the revealing top also left the smallest portion of the outside of her breasts uncovered. He walked up beside her and held out his arm, which she took timidly, and smiled at him. Chevalier repressed the desire to remove Kyle’s arm.
They descended the steps and met the Elders at the bottom. The two male elders gasped at the sight of Emily. They hadn’t imagined she would be so beautiful. They stepped aside so Emily and Kyle could lead the way to the conference room. Kyle grinned as Emily blushed, she knew how revealing the back of the dress was and she could feel their eyes on her.
Kyle opened the door for her and barely touched the soft skin on her back as she walked past him. He could feel Chevalier tense up, but he had his orders, he had to act like they were together. Touching was a vital part of that and one which he was enjoying too much.
He kept his hand on her back as she walked to her seat. Her seat was obvious as there was a glass and pitcher of water in front of it. The other seats faced an empty portion of the table. Kyle pulled out her chair and scooted her in as she sat. He reached down and kissed her lightly on the shoulder before sitting down beside her.
Emily watched Chevalier, and his face was unnaturally still. She felt Kyle’s lips against her skin and stiffened, ready for Chevalier’s rage, but it didn’t come. She sat back in the chair and waited for everyone to be seated.
The female Elder, Selest, spoke first, “Thank you for allowing us this meeting, Chief Enforcer, and you, Lady Emily, for gracing us with your presence.”
Emily just smiled politely, feeling uncomfortable as all eyes turned back to her. Kyle squeezed her hand gently.
“You know you are welcome here any time,” Chevalier said. Emily was proud of him. He was acting perfectly normal though she knew his jealousy had to be raging.
A young servant entered and placed a glass of red wine in front of Emily, then bowed and walked out. Again, all eyes turned to her and she could feel her face flush.
“We have spent the last week in the company of the Valle and Encala Elders,” Selest began. “I can’t say as though any progress was made, but we did ascertain that, for now, there will be no further attacks.” She emphasized, “For now.”
The Elder to her right began, “We do believe we have found that the attacks on the Encala’s coven were from the government of Greenland, not from one of the other factions. They do send their apologies for the unwarranted attack on this island.”
Chevalier growled.
“We understand the frustrations, but things are explosive. We had to come to a mutual peace understanding or we fear these attacks would continue and grow.”
“So what happens now?” Chevalier asked. “My way of life was attacked, the people I protect were put in danger and that’s unacceptable.”
“We all understand this. The Encala Elders were most upset by the attacks and have punished those involved. We have received…” He glanced at Emily, “Proof of their punishment and have accepted it.”
Chevalier scowled.
The Elder to the female’s left then spoke, “We will leave the proof with you to do with as you wish.”
This seemed to calm Chevalier some but Emily wasn’t sure what they were talking about.
The female Elder smiled, “Now on to more joyous things, Emily?”
Emily jumped at her name and stammered out, “Yes?”
The Elder smiled, “You were of some contention in the meeting, Child.”
Emily frowned but Kyle spoke, “What kind of conflict could my wife bring?”
“The Valle are trying to seek a claim to her.”
Emily gasped and she saw a twitch in Chevalier’s face. Kyle wrapped an arm around her waist, “They have no such claim.”
The Elder smiled, “It is true, more so now with the bonding and we will tell them about that when we return.”
Emily’s body was tense and she found little comfort in Kyle’s arm.
“We didn’t realize though, how very young Emily is… how old are you, Child?” the female Elder asked her.
She looked at Kyle and he nodded and smiled, “I’m 24.”
“Ahhh, so young, we had no idea.”
Emily couldn’t help it, “I’m not a child, 24 is an adult.”
The oldest Elder laughed, “Still a child, Dear.”
Emily scowled and felt Kyle rub her back.
“And beautiful, the Valle failed to mention how stunning you are.”
Emily blushed.
“We look forward to seeing the children this union produces, to think a Winchester heir could be in our ranks.” He smiled reassuringly but Emily froze.
“I… I… I can’t have children,” she finally managed to say.
&n
bsp; “Why is that, Dear?” the Elder asked, sounding honestly concerned.
Emily shook her head, “I just can’t. The doctors told me that a long time ago.”
The Elder turned to Kyle, “And you knew of this?”
Kyle didn’t miss a beat, “Of course I did. I didn’t marry Emily for the sole purpose of reproducing, I love her.”
“Kind, very kind of you, Dear. It’s just so rare that we as the immortal get a chance to procreate that we thought it might be part of your plan,” he said, not sounding at all like he meant to pry.
Emily looked at Kyle questioningly.
“Immortal women cannot bear children,” he whispered in her ear. Her head suddenly filled with questions.
Emily grabbed the goblet and took a sip of the wine. It gave her a moment to think and the alcohol cleared her head. She sat it down and noticed everyone watching her again.
She looked nervously at Chevalier, “Why don’t we let Emily go then. We have more to discuss that doesn’t involve her,” he said to the Elders.
The Elders stood as Emily did, and one reached out for her hand. She hesitated and placed her hand in his and tried not to grimace when he kissed it softly, then held it as he addressed her, “It was good to meet you, Child.” His eyes glanced down to her exposed waist, “Very nice indeed.”
She pulled her hand away and left the room, ignoring the feel of eyes on her bare back. Once she heard the door shut behind her, she slipped off her heels and ran to the kitchen. She flung open the door and began to go through a nearby cupboard.
“Can we help you, Child?” one of the young chefs asked from behind her. She dropped her hands. She could only imagine what skin was exposed with her hands extended.
“First, stop calling me Child… second, I want more of that wine I just had.” She was looking around the kitchen when the chef appeared ahead of her with the bottle.
“Thanks,” she said, heading back out to her room.
She couldn’t get out of her dress fast enough, and piled it onto the floor. She then slipped on one of Keith’s old t-shirts, and sat in a chair with the bottle of wine between her knees. She pulled and tugged on the cork, but it wouldn’t come loose.
Frustrated, she stepped out into the hallway, held it out and said, “It’s stuck.”
Within less than a second, a strange heku appeared and pulled the cork out, and then vanished.
Heku : Book 1 of the Heku Series Page 21